What carbon bikes should I consider?
 

I am fairly financially comfortable (though make far less than many of you) and have a great (Mosaic) titanium bike I love. I suppose I could be happy forever with my Mosaic, but that would violate the N+1 rule.

I had a 2012 Cervelo R3 I really liked, but the limitation of 23mm tires got old. (Mosaic has recently been found to take 28s.)

Suppose I have more money than sense. (That likely says more about my sense than my money.) If I want a carbon fiber bike, what should I get? (Don't 'splain to me, just answer the question.) I would like to go fast and comfortably. I will want a power meter and nice deep wheels (if I have to add on, okay). Looking online, Trek Madone is highly recommended (although I must admit I don't love the looks), Cannondale SystemSix and SuperSix Evo, and Specialized Aethos and S Works Creo (okay this is getting even more expensive than my imagination, but if it's that good, let me know). Some of the Canyon bikes look pretty great too, but I'm shy about ordering online. What bike would make you envious when you see a rider less talented than you riding it? That's my goal!

I personally am not jealous of others bike purchases. I think each person enjoys the bike they want. You need to find what fits, what you would enjoy riding and not worry about what others think about what you are riding. It you like the Madone, but dont like the base package, go Project 1, and you can get it looking like you want.

There is clearly only one bike that meets your criteria, the ******** **** *******.

On edit: I don't know why, but the name of the bike keeps getting deleted by the forum software.

Get a custom steel bike. Steel contains carbon atoms.

On Bike Forums there are a whole cadre of people who are absolutely disgusted that anyone would spend more than they did on anything. From everyone else, there can be appreciation when they see a nice bike, sure, but envy? Nah.

I suppose it's easier to think of the bike that elicits the opposite reaction from envy, and that would be the chuckle of seeing a bike with a rider who doesn't know themselves. Don't get a bike that has a geometry requiring too much compromise to match your fit. Don't go for ridiculously deep wheels if you have difficulty handling crosswinds or are spending most of your effort struggling up climbs, or featherweight tubulars that suggests a misguided belief that you're tackling HC mountains on the regular if you JRA in plains of the Midwest where the steepest pitches are the interstate overpasses (at least that's how I remembered my childhood in Chi-town).

Or, don't care what others think and ride around happily and confidently on anything.

P.S. if you get a Creo, which is an ebike, the most likely emotion you'll evoke from others is relief when they realize its motor is how you made up for the gap in talent.

LOL....I was riding a MUP one day and I was cruising along about 18 -20 and I noticed some people up ahead of me by about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. They seemed to be on upright bikes just based on the profile an I just noted that to be aware of my surroundings. It took me about 4 miles to catch them, and when I did I realized they were on e-bikes, cause I was seriously questioning my speed showing on my computer. As I was making my way back, they put those things into turbo and rode by me. :lol:

If you like your Cervelo, check this out: Caledonia

Current Cervelo R-series will take a 28-30mm, depending up the rims and tires used and then there's the previously mentioned Caledonia/Caledonia 5 which will take larger. If you really want to go larger and do fast gravel, there's the Aspero series.

If you buy a $15,000 bike that's less than your new car will depreciate in 3 years.

It seems the "sweet" spot for a great bike is the $4000-$5000 range. You can get a really nice frame with Ultegra and nice wheels.

As surak pointed out, if that's not what I spent then it can't be the sweet spot ... for anybody.

Not whatever the top level is. I swear that just exists to make the second-tier stuff look affordable.

I own a Trek so for them it'd be something like an SL7 with Ultegra Di2 and Pro level wheels and not the Dura Ace and RSL wheels. I ended up ordering an SLR7 Domane simply because the SL7 wouldn't be available until 2022.

Your goal is to make other riders envious?

Hmm....

I'd reach out to trekmogul, he'll have advice on what to get.

None.

Same here....

The try-hards are doing Factor bikes these days.

$$$$$$$$

Did I put enough dollar signs in?

if you really want a carbon bike , or just a bike upgrade , try to just get a newer bike with disc brakes , new bikes depreciate in value so fast , i saw a robioux 2018 at 1000 usd WTF
also you really need to nail down what you main style of riding will be , the madone is super fast on flat , but requires a more skilled climber to bring up hills as easy as a pure climbing bike , some times you need to figure out the trade off...
if you want a slick aero bike you can always convert an older tt or tri bike to road bars !!


for specialized the allez elite at 1200ish and sprint around 2000 are just as fast as sworks venge ( imo aethos is a POS )
the new cannondale has a few proprietary parts that kinda make it suck m if you break one of those parts you will have rely on them being available or your shop being able to oder , and that might leave you without a bike for weeks .
you could look at the new BMC roadmachine , super slick bike not to expensive .

id really recommend building up from a frame , you can get more value for your money rather than being forced to ride on what the factory gives you , but i wouldn't spend more than 5k on a bike .

id be hyped to see any bike that just set up nice , i like Chinese carbon american steel , as long as its set up and personalized , that shows you actual know what you are doing rather than just spending money !:)

You forgot to make them sideways. :innocent:

I wouldn't buy based totally on frame material. Figure out what components you want on the bike and whether weight or aero means more to you.

You probably won't find many bikes in your area with top tier components on them that are anything but carbon, maybe a few aluminum.

I say spend as much as you care to spend. You can't take it with you, money or bike.

I'll put in a vote for the aethos. I haven't ridden it yet but based on what specialized claims to have done, I think it's closer to the future (and yes, also the past) of carbon bikes than any other bike on the market right now.

The structure/shape of a frame heavily influences how stiff it is, how it rides, etc. Material alone is probably less than half the story. The reason early aero bikes sucked is that it's hard to make efficient structures that aren't shaped optimally for the load they bear. The only reason aero bikes etc exist is that the UCI doesn't allow fairings. IMO any frame that caters even slightly to the wind is fundamentally compromised from a structural point of view. I'll even extend that to wheels, but maybe that's a bit extreme.

I'm sure this sounds trite but all carbon bikes by major manufacturers are good these days so find what fits. Don't worry if its got 105, Ultegra or whatever, unless you have to have Di2, of course

I bought a Spesh Tarmac SL6 Sport and everyone slags it for vfm but it fits me like a glove and is comfy to ride, and I wasnt going to spend SL7 money for proprietary components that can't be sourced elsewhere.

Out of what you mention, I'd go Aethos as its a classic design with modern tech, so parts are interchangeable

Well, consider the DeRosa Merak - read the review in recent issue of Cyclist magazine.

In the for what it's worth category, I too own and ride a Merlin Ti bike that is really a great bike. I also own and ride an Orbea Orca Gold that I also love.