After 18 years off the bike I got back in last year and bought a Felt T-23 that doesn't fit. Blame me, the shop, the incredible deal...you know the story.

I'm 6-2 and about 220 lbs. Mostly plan to do fast group rides, short solo rides and perhaps a few road races if I get up to it. Say 150 miles is a good week. Southern New England riding, all rolling hills but no major climbing. I've only ever rode pretty stiff alum race geometry bikes.

I've been looking at the plush roadies, Specialized Roubaix Expert, CDale Synapse Carbon 3, Felt F4. They are all about the same price, and I'd assume any one of them would make me very happy. In my size the Roubaix is the only local bike in stock and this is a factor, I don't want to wait months. Plan to test ride later this week.

Anyone in a similar position made a choice of plush over race geom and wasn't happy? Anyone look at these bikes (or others) recently and have any input?

My assumption is that I'm headed down the right path.

thanks - spence

where do you live?

dont forget to look at the LOOK 566, i like that bike.

Rhode Island.

The Look looks nice and I've heard good things.

ahh, i used to live in Westerly myself, there is some nice road biking to be done around there.

Competitive Cyclist has some nice deals on the LOOKs, if you are OK with buying online i've had great experience with them, their customer service is top notch, and you can get a lot of bike for the money with them.

this is a great deal:

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...bike-6651.html

I had a Roubaix. Loved that bike. For long distance it was quite nice. It was so plush that I didn't feel anything on the road. That old "dead" feel. I did eventually sell it as I got in better shape and become more flexible in favor of a more aggressive geometry bike. Only thing that makes it faster is I'm able to get out of the wind more on it. In the drops on the Roubaix I was still pretty upright. On my current bike, I'm pretty flat. But, if I was going to have a long distance bike, the Roubaix would be the pick.

Very nice around Westerly, the entire state is pretty scenic. Around where I am (Tiverton, Little Compton) it's costal and the wind can be pretty interesting as it swirls around. You never know where it's going to come from. Awsome roads though...

Good comment on the Roubaix. My concern is that I may not really get a good feel just test riding. A also plan to completely overthing this as well

thanks - spence

Synapse is a great frame. They've supposedly stiffened up the Roubaix over the past couple of years which it needed IMO. I haven't ridden the newer ones. Don't know the Felt F4. My 2c is you should really try more than one to compare unless you just love the Roubaix.

When I brought the bike before last (five years ago), I spent a long time test riding a lot of high end bikes. I wasn't sure even what frame material I wanted so I had fun trying out many. The advantage I had over is I live near a lot of LBSs so I didn't have to go far. But I would take the time and effort if I were you and see first hand what is best for you. Use vacations and travel to visit other stores.

I also learned I don't like plush fits and my latest bike is CF and a race model. It feels very comfortable as well.

That's part of the issue, most of the shops around here carry one brand that I'm looking at, and there are nearly no bikes in my size (58 ish) in stock.

Looks like the Felt Z's are sold out until summer!

The Felt Z series is the relaxed-geometry bike. I think the F series is more race-oriented. The Z4 has Ultegra, so maybe that's a good one for you.

You might also take a look at Giant's Defy range. They make them in Alu only, carbon/alu, and full carbon versions. I have one and it's a very nice bike for longer rides, and has a fairly relaxed geometry. It was the first bike I'd ever ridden that was so relaxed.

Did a ride on my Synapse C3 yesterday. I dropped the GP4000s tire pressure from 120 to 110 and it was so comfy. The carbon stem and handlebars I'm sure helped to.

I ended up putting a deposit on the Synapse Carbon 3 today. Hopefully I'll be able to actually get one without a terrible wait.

Couldn't test ride the C3 but I did ride the C5 which felt pretty nice. I was a bit surprised at how plush the frame "isn't". I've only ridden very stiff aluminum frames over the years and found the Synapse to be pretty responsive both in and out of the saddle. Of the plush bikes this one seems to be the most like a real race bike but just dialed back a bit. I'm sure some people would say, just get the race geom, but perhaps the makers are on to something

Can't wait...

-spence

I ride just about like you do. I did the opposite, tried the Fuji CCR plushie, ended up with their Team full race bike. CCR was more stable, more comfortable, "quieter" on the road. Team felt a bit more "efficient." But that may just have been because it's twitchier. Same money, same component quality. I chose the race bike but the CCR would have been just fine, too. Then again, I'm smaller and weigh about 50 pounds less. Either race or plush will do you fine.

Think of the plushies as Corvettes: plenty of performance, but they pay attention to rider comfort. Race cars don't.