orph

Hi. This is my first post at BF so be nice (or not.)

I’m currently on the market for a new road bike, max budget 3000 €. Among all the desirable features one should expect in a “good” road bike I’m especially concerned with transmission efficiency and lateral flex. I’m looking for a very responsive and stiff bike, even if comfort has to be somehow compromised. Frame weight is also secondary. In fact, I rejected a Scoot Addict frame because it intuitively seem fragile for my 83 Kg (183 Lbs)

I usually ride about 80 to 160 km (50 to 100 miles) during weekend and holidays with a group of fairly fit cyclists (avrg speed of 32 km/h on flats for 4 hrs). My current bike is a is 3 yrs old Columbus Zonal (alu 7005 triple-butted) custom frame with 105 except for the dura-ace rear derailleur, weighs a ton and flex substantially when I sprint (carbon rear…).

After a lot of research I’m leaning towards Cannondale (six carbon 2009) which as a big reputation about paying a good deal of attention to transmission and lateral stiffness, but I can also get a good deal on a BH G4 (8.9 - 9.2).

I would appreciate any input on these and other bikes, provided they have similar characteristics and share the same price range. Which one would you get and why?

Sorry for the lousy spelling/grammar.

Thank you.

10 Wheels

You can download the spell check.
What bikes do your Friends ride?

monporn

why not try a Colnago CLX?? tried a mate's and that thing is a serious beast. a little off what i would look for in a bike. It'll do what you want and accurately although maybe it'll not be what you are looking for in an out and out sprint, but unless you are seriously powerful..

there is one around your budget here. and if you are into bling, i suppose that the colnago will be as exotic as you could find. i don't know if it will bother you, but they are made in Taiwan, although i see no reason to fret about this.

adamt

The BMC SL01 seems right up your alley. If it were not for the 100 miles rides - id say caad9, but since distance is in your future - the sl01 is the hotness.

Unagidon

Why not Cervelo S2?

BarracksSi

Or you could download the fact that he ain't in the US.

orph, there really isn't much that can go wrong in your price range. The bikes that have been mentioned already (including the Cannondale you mentioned) are all good, raceworthy bikes.

orph

Hi there.

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate your help.

@10 Wheels:
In my group there are a couple of specialized tarmac (one sl and another sl2), a Bh g2 from 2006 (I think) and one 2009 g4, some Bianchis, a couple of madones, one Look (not sure about the model, I've been told its a >5k € bike) two Isaac Pascal, some alum Trek, one Cannondale six 13, one De Rosa, etc. Fun fact: one of the tarmacs actually belonged to José Azevedo (USPostal/DSC) during his last season in Benfica, a Portuguese cycling team, and still has is name on it.

@monporn
I really don't care where the bike comes from, nor if it have a "bling" factor. An integrated bb30 is more appealing to me than any custom paint job or country of origin. Nevertheless, I'll try to read a little about the CLX. Thanks for the suggestion.

BMC and Cervélo are not easy to find around here. I think we have a Cervélo dealer but he doesn't sell complete bikes. I really like the s2, tho.

One think that is holding me back about the six is the fact it has carbon dropouts. Sometimes we ride through some very rough roads and since I'm not particularly light for cycling standarts I'm worried they might break more easily. Any thoughts about it? How does the Cannondale warranty applies in these cases?

orph

Just wanted to say that I manage to stretch my budget and ordered the 09 super six with ultegra sl / elites from a local dealer today.
I had this naive thought that I should mention it here, but then again, I'm frequently wrong with this kind of things.

Cheers.