Cyclist0108

I'm sort of getting carbon-curious in my old age. I have two steel road bikes. I'm purely a recreational rider, and not particularly fast. I do a lot of climbing by virtue of where I live.

My primary steel ride is a custom frame with Di2/Ultegra and hydrolic disc brakes. I also have a 1987 Bianchi, recently downgraded with modern Campy Athena-11 components (conventional shifting and rim brakes). I ride with the bars at about seat level, due to being too fat, too old, and too inflexible.

I have no reason to believe the bikes hold me back. But I am curious to compare them to a comfortable (not excessively stiff) carbon bike.

RNAV

Sounds to me like you should test ride a Trek Domane SLR. You can adjust the amount of ride compliance you want, and it's available in either rim or disc brakes.

The Emonda (which I chose over a Domane) is another very smooth riding bike. I find it a bit more nimble than the Domane, which is why I went for it.

Silvercivic27

Any carbon frame with endurance geometry.

chaadster

Look 765

zymphad

I think a climbing bike then!

Trek Emonda, Cervelo R3/R5, Orbea Orca, CAAD Evo, Specialized Tarmac, Giant TCR.

I think for more compliant rides of those, I'd look at Giant TCR, and Cervelo R3.

But wait, maybe BMC Roadmachine or Focus Paralane? If I could buy any bike right now, it would BMC Roadmachine, ready for any kind of riding, racing, climbing, trail, whatever you can think of. Roadmachine is a mashup between their fast Teammachine and their Gran Fondo bike.

shelbyfv

IDK about Cervelo. There was a guy in General who claimed he had too much upper body and it caused him to randomly fall off his S3

12strings

I have a friend in his sixties who just got a new Domane with the decoupler... and he says it's way better on his back than his other carbon race bike. Riding with him, I can see his saddle moving up and down a bit, bit he says he doesn't notice it, bit his back feels way better.

Cyclist0108

The only carbon bike I ever tried was a Domane. I rented it for a day at the Trek store, for $100, which is more than many places charge for a car rental. It seemed like the bounce was 180° out of phase, so every pedal stroke, it gave me a little kick in the arse.

I admit it was almost certainly user error, but it convinced me to buy a custom steel bike.

noodle soup

What do you want this new carbon bike to feel like? It's fairly easy to tune the ride of a carbon fiber frame, but it's not easy to replicate the feel of a steel frame.

kbarch

I'm not clear on where your curiosity wants to take you. Do you want to see what else cf can provide besides lighter weight (climbing was mentioned), or are you hoping that every other difference will be negligible? I say: embrace the differences. Get an aero frame.

Cyclist0108

The engine gets less aero every year.

tedder987

2017 Roubaix...

Hiro11

I'm trying to decipher what you're looking to gain here.
...so I assume a couple of pounds of bike weight is irrelevant.

I obviously don't need to tell you that this is already a very fancy, completely updated bike so it's probably not additional functionality improvement we're looking for here.

An aero bike with zero seat to bar drop is pointless. Actually I think aero frames are the height of pointless marketing hype silliness in general, but that's a story for another day.

Ok, so is it comfort you're looking for here? Assuming the position on your bike is OK, have you tried simply running bigger tires (if they fit)? Bigger tires will make a bigger difference in road shock comfort than any frame.

I see scads of posts here about "moving from steel to carbon" or "alloy vs. carbon". Discussing frame material in a vacuum like this is pointless when so many other factors are more important. What are people expecting out of a carbon frame?

redfooj

lateral stiffness with vertical compliance so the bike rockets ahead with every pedal stroke whilst floating over the MUP like riding on a cloud

oh and to corner like a steam train

Maelochs

In terms of comfort I doubt CF is going to beat steel if both are of sufficient and comparable quality. If the OP rides a custom steel bike ..... and That is not sufficiently comfortable .... whew.

I might recommend a Cervelo R3/R5---or a Workswell 066--and a very light build. That weigh he would save a couple pounds for the climbing, and still have reasonable comfort every else he rides.

Build a 14-lb Workswell for $1800 and if he doesn't like it sell it. Maybe the difference on the climbs will be noticeable ... as for overall ride comfort ... he owns a custom steel frame .... I am confused.

Wileyrat

You literally just described my Ridley.

Maelochs

Steam trains corner for crap. Corner like a Corvette or something .... something exceeding a G of lateral acceleration ....

The real thing is, of course, and everyone knows it but no one wants to admit it .... CF frames make the rider stronger. By a CF frame and you are immediately a better rider. And faster .... much faster ....

kbarch

I was going to say, the Ridley Helium from 2015 kind looks like a steel bike, too. Until just today, I hadn't seen any on the road since the Giro when Lotto Soudal was riding them. Made quite an impression.

zymphad

Has a custom steel with Ultegra Di2 Hydraulic brakes. But wants a custom.

What am I missing here. I don't understand why he would want a carbon when he paid wheel barrel of money for a custom frame made just for him, with top of the line race quality components.

Cyclist0108

I never said my steel bikes were uncomfortable. The new custom one is extremely comfortable, and the Bianchi is a bit less so, but a bit zippier. I also didn't say I wanted to buy a carbon bike, but simply to try something comparable to get a feel for what (if anything) I am missing.

BTW, the steel custom frame came out to about what a mid-tier carbon factory-made frame would run (about $1600 at the time, w/o fork).

zymphad

You really don't know anyone who has a carbon bike you can try?

You can't go into any LBS and pose as a buyer and test ride?

Does it matter really which one? Just ride any carbon bike that has similar geometry to yours. Problem solved.

Cyclist0108

Where do you live, and what's your inseam?

Cyclist0108

My wife has a carbon bike -- a Specialized Sirrus. It is a bit big for me (she has longer legs) and feels dead stiff and twitchy. Should I conclude that this is how all carbon bikes are? I agree playing obtuse provides endless internet entertainment, but presumably there are a subset of carbon frames/bikes that more closely emulate the feel of steel. After all, one of the virtues of carbon is that it can be tailored to give a wide spectrum of ride properties.

Noahma

I have only ridden a few CF bikes, but I personally LOVE my Orbea Avant. Its in the lower range of their CF range, but it is a very nice bike to ride,.

UmneyDurak

OP what is your price point? Probably a good start for your carbon curious adventure.