eippo1

Who cares what your group rides. The Tarmac is a great stage racing bike in that it is very comfy over longer distances, but will turn quickly and require less input for maneuverability. The Roubaix is more of an all day comfortable century bike where the bike will track well so less fatigue for long rides, but a bit less maneuverable.

You can race both if that ends up being your thing, but they will drive differently. That said, if you are really inflexible, then the Roubaix might be better since you can set it up with a higher head tube. As far as the year to frame comparison, it's almost moot because the Tarmac is the Expert level and the Roubaix is the Elite level, so because everything trickles down they are both roughly equal (the Tarmac is still a slightly nicer frame, though). Ultegra is very very, nice, but Apex is solid - heavy, but solid.

Edit: I should mention that I rode a 2011 Tarmac Pro and effin loved the bike. Only sold it because someone sold me Ti at a great price and I could not justify 4 road bikes.

kiddcline

Thanks for that info. I liked the feel of the Tarmac a lot. It was weird to go from my HUGE aluminum frame to the light carbon. My klein is at about same angle as the Tarmac so I don't think that it will be a huge change for me. I could tell that it will be a lot faster. It just has the feel of being meant to fly! I do worry about my weight being too much for the carbon frame.

ThinLine

The Roubaix, great bike.
BTW, what hobbies are you selling off?

kiddcline

I used to train retrievers for hunt tests and field trials. I have a ton of training stuff if you have ever been involved in either you will know how expensive the gear is. I also decided to get rid of my old mtn bike. I use the road bike to commute to and from work and never ride in the mountains due to lack of time to get there and go. I have little kids so The 25 mile commute one way is my training through out the summer.

ls01

Your weight is fine, its not the frame, its the wheels where you need to be concerned. I have 2 Tarmacs and have been as heavy as 240 lbs. no problem. The newer Tarmacs have taller head tubes, than earlier models. I would still ride both before making a choice.


EDIT: NOTE. am not responsible for the credit link placed in this message

Campag4life

Newest Tarmacs have shorter headtubes than previous models...not taller.

ls01

I have an 07 and an 09. The 09 is 2 cm taller than the 07. But then again it is 2013 so you may be correct. 2013....how the hell did that happen......


When did the Tarmac get changed back to the shorter head tube?