lennyparis

Have always been a Trek Madone rider (they have fit me well)
But not super satisfied with them and was thinking of other brands
I am 5'6" and 132lbs; decently flexible
I will test ride several models but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions so I had a general direction to go
Price is not an issue

Also is electronic shifting worth it esp. with full finger gloves and being able to shift

seymour1910

Are you open to buying online or do you mainly get yours from a shop? If you are open to buying online Competitive cyclist has some great prices. As for other brands, Cannondale Supersix, Synapse Carbon. I have not tried them but I hear that Giant makes good bikes. Raleigh Militis is another nice bike to consider.

lennyparis

Thanks
Want to test ride before buying

YOJiMBO20

If money were no object I would either get a Seven Axiom SL or a Holland ExoGrid.

The wanting to test ride makes it a bit harder, though.

seymour1910

Understood, what all do you have loacal to you? Do you have a Cannondale dealer, Specialized?

lennyparis

Have all major brands near me (Trek, Giant, Specialized, Cannondale, Cervelo, etc.)

eippo1

If money's no object, screw the major brands and get an IF, Parlee, Firefly, Serotta or something semi-custom.

Adrianinkc

Only if you seek perfect shifting every single time. I bought a di2 bike a couple weeks ago and I don't think I could go back to mechanical, it's that good.

thomasmedlicott

I have on order A Specialized Tarmac SL4 Expert Mid Compact. It won't be delivered until April. Does anyone know if Specialized is having a problem or are the bikes as good as I hope mine will be?

36Oly_Rider

They did recently recall their forks for some of the bikes. SL4 being one of them. I just placed an order on the Allez Race frame and it won't get in until about April as well. Specialized was quick to recall them too, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I test rode one and it was an awesome riding bike. I ride an Allez Sport right now, and don't want to move to carbon yet, but want to build one up.

lennyparis

Any issue with shifting with full finger gloves or winter gloves?

lennyparis

How do you test ride or know which one would be best for you?

Fox Farm

Have you read bout the new Madone? It is supposedly a full-on race rig. I ride a Merlin which you can not get anymore (((( and a new Orbea Orca which is very nice. It replaced a 2009 Orca and they did some nice things to improve it.

echotraveler

OP. do you race? Look for Time bicycles. Specialized are awesome too. If money isnt a big factor get what you r dream bike! Whats your dream bike?

Mine would be a colnago master steel frame, with boras, campy super record... dreamy and classy

lennyparis

I don't race. Just want something that is light and fast. I will get a professional fitting but wanted a good starting point. Ride about 8000 miles per year doing several century organized rides. Trying to find a good starting point (narrowing it down a bit) before riding every brand and several models that I have available to me locally. Could go custom or another non carbon material (titanium) but would want to test ride so not sure that would work for me just yet or is worth the money.

terrymorse 

Marketing wins. The Madone frame ranks near the bottom for steering stiffness and bottom bracket stiffness.

https://www.winwithgiant.com/WinWithG...8211;FINAL.pdf

bianchi10

I would test ride a cannondale evo honestly. Keep in mind that I was NEVER can Cdale fan before. I just didn't like the aesthetics of them. One of my very good friends works at my LBS which is a Cdale retailer. I got done with work early one day and happen to have my gear with me. He set up an evo with Di2 for me. We went out for an hour and I was amazed. Of course I was coming form a bike that was no where near the quality so it was easy to have the shock and awe factor. My Ridley scandium was a nice bike, but evo was so smooth. The power transfer was amazing and the though the Di2 took a little bit of getting used to, it was fantastic. Instant, precise and smooth shifting. I would imagine Di2 to be even better with cold weather gloves because you only have to push the button a little bit to get it to engage, where as manual shifting requires a full extension which i have found to be a little bit cumbersome at times with thick gloves.

Since then I have done several test rides with high end bikes and the evo is the top of my list. I sold my ridley and bought a supersix (Mainly because it was more in my price range). Even the stiffness and smooth factor was very nice with the Supersix. I have been very happy with my purchase. It may not be what you will be drawn to, but i highly recommend a test ride.

pgjackson

OP, what about Trek are you not satisfied with? What specifically are you looking for? Your input has been very vague other than "light and fast". Not sure one bike is faster than another by design (all manufacturers claim to be the fastest). If one bike truly was faster by design, then all the pros would be riding it. And everyone tends to recommend the brand they own. I'll recommend a Rossetti. Great prices and extremely well-made. Pick your frame, pick your groupo, pick your wheels, and there it is.

99Klein 

The EVO may actually be the worlds best road bike. If you have the cars you oie it to yourself to at least ride one.

roadwarrior

The new redesigned Di2 is, IMO much better for that. Rather than it being a little push button, it moves more like a regular shifter. If that helps. You still push on itbut it has some give to it like a normal brifter.

lennyparis

Trek is ok (don't hate or dislike it). Just looking for something more with geometry that is a bit more aggressive and stiffer. i have H2 Geometry and it seems a bit too upright (more relaxed then want). Little cumbersome to handle when really pushing it (particularly when sprinting up a hill). A little more like a diesel when get up to speed rather than being one with the bike. Don't really feel in control when going all out

aztimm

I'd find shops that will rent you bikes, and take the rental cost from whatever the new bike eventually costs.

I did that last year, rented 2 different bikes. Everyone had told me I should get the one, but in the end I bought the other.

One nice thing about test riding for at least a day (I'd recommend a weekend), is it gives you time to work through the initial roughness. When I first got on the rental bike of the model I eventually bought, I hated it, was ready to run around and go home...but kept telling myself to give it at least ~20 miles. I ended up putting over 100 on it.

The downside of renting is that they typically have higher components...and of course you want a bike at least as the one you rented

escarpment

That ad is such BS. There are no sources for the testing and no description of how it was judged. just a lot of text saying "giant wins, giant is the best"

I know they make good frames but my bogus meter is reading high levels on this.

Digitalfiend

Shifting Di2 with winter gloves isn't an issue. I've got a pair of reasonably thick Specialized gloves and don't have any problems. Di2 is awesome in the winter - it just works and I've been out in -15c (before windchill) weather and not had a single issue, though was only out there for 40min as my toes started to freeze lol. No issues with rain or spraying the bike down with a hose on low-pressure. It actually works so well, I'm really tempted to give my wife my 7970 group set and buy the new 11spd 9070. If you don't want to spend the premium on DA-level Di2, the Ultegra Di2 gear works almost exactly the same, perhaps a tiny bit more sluggish in my opinion (and a whole lot uglier hehe)...but also quite a bit cheaper.

terrymorse 

Well, given that Giant makes many of the competitor frames listed, I'm willing to give trust their test data until it's shown to be bogus. And if their testing numbers are wrong, I'm sure that Cannondale/Trek/Scott/etc. will respond with their own test results.