flyjimmy

Hi

I have been riding a heavy Dutch bike for daily errands for the past couple of years. Mostly just to keep from being lazy and jumping in the car for every thing. I moved from the city to the suburbs. I was used to walking everywhere and hated getting in the car for every little errand. I started to really look forward to running errands. Last year I bought a Trek cross rip Elite and have been using that as my "fun" bike. I mostly ride it on some MUP and unpaved canal paths. I change the tires frequently and lately find myself starting to like the 25 mm slicks and going fast on the road. Between the two bike I ride about 100 miles a week. I thought about upgrading the cross fit a bit with a better group set and a second set of wheels. I think it makes more sense to just buy a road bike. (Is 3 bikes too selfish?) I would still want the cross rip for the unpaved stuff. I would just keep the bigger tires on it.
I have been eyeing the Trek Emonda ALR 5 or 6.

So Im looking for opinions. Do some upgrades to the cross fit, get some extra wheels and have one versatile or bike or buy a new bike.

Is the difference between the ALR 5 and 6 worth the extra 500 bucks ? Ultegra instead of 105.

Thanks

dgunay

The difference is not only groupset, but carbon seatpost, better wheels/tires.

Not worth imo. You could buy Madone 4.3 carbon for that price.

Dave Cutter

Nothing selfish about owning bicycles. Get the Emonda.

flyjimmy

Thanks.
I think a road bike is the way to go as opposed to spending money on the cross rip. The cross rip is great as is for the purpose I purchased it for. So now I guess I should amend my request for opinions to just road bikes. The Emonda ALS caught my attention but Im opened to suggestions.( thanks dgunay for yours) I would like something that best compliments my Cross rip elite. The cross fit will still be used for the unpaved stuff and for some light touring I promised to do with my 7 year old.

cale

If that 7 year old is you first or only child and is a boy, you're going to be amazed by the change to your grocery bill. At 14, my son is trying to eat us out of house and home!

Ah, but back to the subject at hand. I think the "general consensus" is that Ultegra has a slight weight and performance advantage but... enough of one? They share the same designs on so many parts that the finish of the parts is as much the difference as any weight or performance differences. I think 11-spd 105 is VERY well made. But I've been known to get in trouble with my significant other for spending too much time with my bike. LOL

I've never had any luck with keeping three bikes just for myself. When I got my last bike it was not so easy on my ODB (Old Dutch Bike), as you so gently put it. She finally just flat out left because she had enough of being ignored. (I think there's a theme here.) Haha I'm not a mountain biker but I see the need to own two bikes of different character, a gravelly sort of bike and a road bike. Works for me.

rbk_3

Just curious. What is your reasoning for choosing the ALR over an S model? Because you want better components?

flyjimmy

Well I haven't chosen anything yet, but the component thing was my first thought. Maybe I should add the s5 to the short list. I would like to get at least 105s. My cross fit has sora. I have not had any trouble but i borrowed a friends bike with ultegtra and was pretty impressed.

I am new to this stuff and appreciate the discussion. The ALR was mostly a starting point.

The pros are obvious.What are the cons to carbon fiber?

flyjimmy

I didn't think he could eat anymore but ill try to prepare for it. Expensive little guys aren't they? He started riding a 2 wheeler at 3 years and 2 months. A trek jet 12. I think my initial motivation for the cross fit was when he turned 5 he got a jet 16 and I had a tough time keeping up on my dutch bike.

Dave Cutter

There is no "wrong" decisions on the purchase of a road bike. If you think you might enjoy an occasional race or some race training.... get something racy. If distance is more your thing... a road bike made for distance might be best. Test ride and read about the ones for sale at LBS near you.

Demobrett

I just bought and picked up an ALR5 over the weekend. I absolutely love it.

flyjimmy

Did you happen to test ride any of the carbon frames? Just wondering how they compared.

dangerd

The Emonda is a nice bike. I have a Madone 3.1 with 105 compact 12-30 10 speed which I love. When I went to ride in France recently I rode on a rental which was the Emonda sl6 with Ultegra 11 speed 11-32.
The Emonda was great, the shifting was smoother at the shifters (did not click as much, shorter throw) I kind of like the click, but also like the shorter throw. The 11 speed was great too.
The Emonda was lighter than my bike which was great when climbing (both are carbon) but not so great when the wind hit me from the side!
I would get the carbon bike as it would be lighter, the drawback is that it scratches REALLY easy. So if you are worried about that be extra careful.
Any way you go you will get a nice bike!
good riding to ya!

cale

This is a bit of a can of worms but it is reasonable to expect the following:

Puncture or concentrated forces are least resisted by carbon, most by steel, and aluminum falls in between.

Tensile strength and forces inline with the tubing are resisted just the opposite. Steel offers the least resistance, carbon fiber the most. Aluminum still in between.

Ride quality: I won't even go here. There's so much going on between the road and your body that frame comparisons would have to include blind testers on very similarly constructed bikes. I don't know about you, but I'm concerned about the idea of blind bike testers, on the road, etc.

cthenn

I've heard nothing but great things about Trek's ALR bikes. It's not just a cheaper, lower quality bike compared to CF anymore.

cicatrize

New ALR 5 owner here. Great bike. For me, I'd rather have top grade aluminum and a full gruppo than cheap carbon and a frankenstein group. I also agree that the ALR 6 is not worth the extra $500, even for the carbon seatpost and better wheels, and especially not for 5800 > 6800 upgrade.

flyjimmy

Thats what Im leaning towards.

flyjimmy

I rode a SL6 today. Carbon with an ultergra group and another carbon one that had 105. They were both really nice. I didn't see much difference between the 105 and ultegra. I would imagine the ALR models are pretty close.

So the big question for you ALR 5 guys is ....what color?

RDB

Me too!!!!!!!!

RDB

Starry night black. The paint job is gorgeous.

rbk_3

All Emonda S's come with full groupsets.

Either way, I am sure you will be happy with with which ever one you choose.

RDB

Another plus for the ALR(5 OR 6). The frame is made from Trek's alpha 300 series aluminum which is their best.

Nobody can really tell you what to buy but if it's the ALR5 I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

cicatrize

Agreed. That's what I went with. When the sun hits it and you see the flakes, it looks awesome.

Yeah, someone else in the thread commented about a Madone though.

Demobrett

I went with Viper Red. My wife said that she would commit to me buying a new bike, as long as it was a bright color. She felt i would stand out to drivers better. It was an easy compromise. And, i liked the Viper Red out of the 3 colors for the ALR5.

flyjimmy

I thought it only came in black or blue.

Demobrett

Lol. Nope. I had to convince the guy at my LBS that it was available in red. They didn't have it in stock at that location so I had to drive another 45 minutes to another one of their locations...