Should You Buy a Road Race Bike? 8 Things You Need To Know First...
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
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According to a survey right here on Just Ride Bikes the majority of you are looking to buy a road race bike when you next come to make a purchase. So what exactly is a road race bike and what separates them from other types of bikes and what is the good and bad of owning a race bike. Lots to cover so let's dive in.
Survey link bit.ly/3nUbGte
Content
00:00 Intro
00:13 Survey Says…
00:54 Geometry
3:26 Stiffness
4:32 Squarespace sponsor
5:27 Gearing
7:44 Carbon frame material
8:14 Aluminium alternative
9:10 Steel and titanium
9:35 Disc brakes and electronic gears
10:52 Wide tyre clearance
12:47 Lightweight, Aero or Both?
14:05 Your Next Bike?
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I am 63 years old and still ride a race bike, even though I ride in group rides. I have a 2022 Emonda sl6 pro with zipp 454nsw wheels and 28 mm Continental 5000 STR tires. I have it set up tubeless. What a bike! it is faster than the other bikes in my group rides, I can tell. I'm not fast, but it helps me keep up. Great video David!
Sounds like an amazing setup!
I have an older Cannondale Evo High Mod that I've owned from new. My mates with their new disc rigs are shocked with how much lighter it is than their bikes, not to mention I can service it myself.✅✅
For street performance, it's a road bike like a CAAD13 105. For bike packing on gravel, it's a Topstone 1.
I have an Émonda Sl 5 2022 and it’s been a great bike. I’ve put 2000mi on mine with no problems.
I am refusing to upgrade to a new £4k bike because the industry says so. I'm using my Canyon CF SLX 2015 (RIM BRAKE/MECHANICAL) getting custom painted and chucking mechanical Dura Ace for less than £1.5k
Currently have 3 disc brake and 1 rim brake bike...I'm using my rim brake bike more often than my disc brakes. There is absolutely nothing to gain from disc brakes unless you feel the need of confidence on down hill braking or wet rides. Everything is just marketing. If your rim brake bike fits you then you don't need anything new.
@@bonbonflippers4298 only issue I’m having now is finding Ultegra r8000 or dura ace 9100 parts. Either sold out or discontinued
This video is all fine and good but hydraulic disk brakes and electronic shifting are just the manufacturers way of running up the prices! No benefits. Lol. Someone had to say it if hasn’t been said on this thread before. I’m only joking. David is spot on with the modern improvements whether you want a race, endurance or gravel bike. I just bought an endurance bike with 105Di2 and 32m tires. Gives up nothing on performance for my riding and comfort is amazing on the less than perfect roads most of us ride on. How did I justify the cost? Just calculate how many miles you ride a year and break it down per mile. Worth every penny for those of us that ride regularly.
Just got one of these sl6's in the same color and threw on a d-a di2 groupo I had sitting and this thing is cerebral. Does exactly what I want l, when I want, and it's faster than the Noah fast I stripped the di2 off of. Favorite bike I've ever ridden.
Excellent! You are on a roll David, spitting out more videos then old farts spitting out seedshells on a park bench 😉
My main thing with the horses for courses (n+1), is for me, it depends on my ride. If I'm going for a long ride and average 200w, i have more weight on my hands. If I'm in a race pushing 350w, my hands are much lighter. A higher stack helps if you're not crushing watts.
I am very happy with one endurance road bike, and one 2.35 inch tired gravel tourer that also takes two racks and has mounts en masse if i want to go the long route in comfort. i built both bikes to my needs and couldnt be happier, so no need to upgrade in the foreseeable future. however, i am looking very curious into bikes like the vitus venom evo, that have the potential to unite both bikes into one light sporty frame with two wheelsets. i guess we will see more of those in the future and if one fits the needs some years from now i might buy the frame and transfer parts.
I think the logic of the “race” bike is nowadays endurance bikes like a defy or a domane are really heavy compared to the race bike and as you said with wide tyres the comfort is much closer
Hi David. As always great video. But I can’t help noticing that for the past few months you’ve been riding a Wahoo Roam V2 and in this video you’re now riding with a Karoo 2? Is a long term test/comparison video coming in the near future??
Blessings. 👍🏻
Another often overlooked advantage of an aluminium frame is it can be recycled.
...so you can cast your next ride with the metal of the previous one?
great video
I use Reacto 6000 stock build, upgraded to 30C tyres. Long rides on rough Polish roads are still comfy. So for me Aero (great look😂) + wide tyres = perfect road bike🙂
Good balanced review
My current "road bike" is a retired from the trail '00 Trek 8500 mountain bike with 1.4" Ritchey Tom Slicks. Fast and light enough for me. Won't win any races on it against a proper modern roadie of course but those older 20 year old mid or top end mountain bikes with some road slicks are much lighter and faster on the road and have a much lower stack than modern mtbs and gets the job done on the road or for some commuting/urban assault. I can eat up the miles on that bike.
Hi David as you’ve ridden the canyon, ultimate and the trek Edmonds .
Which would you buy ….?
Keep up the great work
You can use mechanical on the emonda Arthur its just more faff. Check that stem spacing as that top stack on the stem is leaving hardly any plug inside the stem clamping zone.
Nice video, I Just started building a Dura Ace mechanical, Emonda SL 500 2018 frame set. 58cm nearly on UCI limit and its all I want, before everything out there has Disc Brakes! 😂I blame you 100%
Does anyone know what kinds of wheels are in this trek?
I answered as part of that 35% as my last bike was a gravel bike so next it’s time to replace my current road race bike.
Nice bike David, if I were in the market a light weight bike it would be my choice. Aero smraero, a weight light bikes ride better.
David, noticed you’re rolling on Reserves…I just picked up a set of Reserves 52/63 wheels for my Supersix and they are by far the most stable deep wheels I’ve ever used and just roll away from others in a downhill group ride.
That trek frame looks awesome
That Trek looks great ! What colour is it?
Our roads in Michigan are just to bad for a road bike. I have an aluminum specialized Allez and I've relegated it to my indoor bike.
I have a carbon Trek Checkpoint that smooths out the bumps when I actually have to ride into the ditch to ride on a smoother surface
I’m over 50 and has never raced bikes. Oddly I find more aggressive bikes more comfortable than relaxed ones. Tried the Giant Propel and it was a great fit. Sadly I can’t afford it. 😅. My big problem is that my weight varies a lot +\- 12 kg and when I’m at my heaviest my stomach is in the way when riding really aggressive. 😂
I own a carbon bike with hydraulic brakes and electronic gears, but still I’d rather have an aluminum frame with mechanical gears and rim brakes. SRAM electronic isn’t anything special.
You need to make a video reviewing the beautiful Emonda. I have a 2022 Emonda SLR and it's fast, light and responsive. My body still fights against the geometry since i am coming from an endurance bike but i love it.
As someone in their 70s my next bike will be an Ebike
That's the evolution of age, we eventually will end up getting an ebike at some point to be able to climb some hills
So I was watching the Giro, when I caught that David dropped a new video 19 minutes ago. Mute the Giro time trial and watch Just Rid Bikes immediately!! The new Emonda looks really good. Although one thing I've never liked that Trek does is that seat post mast design. I understand the intent and honestly; I've only ever heard one complaint about it by a Trek rider. But I'm just not sure its for me... But I do admire Trek very much. As far as a road race bike; I've finally come to the conclusion that the older I get, I just need to accept it and stick with my Endurance platforms and also move into gravel. I'm just glad I'm at a point in life were I can have just about any bike I like and I don't to worry about being 'competitive' 🙂
😍
just got an aeroad, madly in love!
I have to disagree about the sram gearing. I have sram rival axs on my SL7. And it’s awful compared to my ultegra mechanical because the gearing ratios are off. Sram left out a 16 tooth cog and so the 48 crank set has a huge jump from 17 to 15 at cruising speed 20-21 mph. So you’re always in between. If you go to gear ratio calculator a 50 tooth crankset is way more effective at managing the huge jump and the big cassette at the back still means you have enough bail out gears. Sram missed the mark for people buying bikes with rival groupset
Even in my 50's, I have trouble riding a bike without race-bike geometry. I suppose 20+ years on a Colnago Master Bi-Titan with classic Euro race geo has molded me. Granted, when I built that bike, it was considered to have "relaxed" geo compared to the typical US made bikes that tended to have steeper and quicker geo suited to criterium racing that is so common on this side of the pond.
Getting used to my gravel bike also taught me how sensitive I am to bar width - too wide and my hands start to hurt. I didn't think going to a 44 bar from a 42 would make such a difference, but I was wrong. After some time trying to figure out why my hands would hurt after an hour on the gravel bike, I switched to 42 bars similar to the ones on the Colnago and the pain went away. Oh, and flared bars - created by demons as far as I'm concerned... instant pain for me. Those didn't last a month on my gravel bike. It's not that wide bars bother me - I run 760 and 780 bars on my XC, enduro and DH bikes.
I'm thinking of buying an emonda sl just like this next week. I want to go back to a more classical geometry and I like the low stack in the 58cm
Go the Emonda for sure! I love mine :)
Think twice about the Emonda... bad experience here with a Emonda SL 6 Disc, issues with headset continuously loose, stupid seat post and top tube design which makes it impossible to hold the bike on a bike stand, rattling gear cables, sub-standard heavy components for the price (in my opinion) including re-branded joytech hubs destroying bearings every 1000 miles, shockingly heavy overall for a climbers bike and other bikes out there are much better value for money... although depends on what you want it for, if it's your first bike and you don't cycle much it will be 'fine' as you won't know any better and won't notice much of it anyway. If yo do actually cycle, you will be handing money to your local bike shop / making warranty claims or spending a lot on upgrades to the point it won't be the same bike anymore.
Sorry for the rant... but it is just such a bad bike!
@@marcelinocambeiro4268 I have to agree with you. I had a2022 Emonda and didn’t like it at all. I ended up selling it and just got a Pinarello Paris last week which is an endurance bike and my Paris climbs much better than the Emonda did. I was really disappointed in what I got with the Emonda.
The top tube design makes it hard to put in a bike stand? Why are you trying to clamp your bike on the top tube? Sounds like a great way to ruin the bike. I have an Emonda and have zero problems putting it in my stand attached at the seat post. I think it’s a great bike, much faster than my 2015 SuperSix Evo. This is coming from someone that was never a Trek fanboy too.
I agree. I don't understand why people who don't race, buy race bikes. And then they complain about comfort.
I just got a 2023 emonda sl6 pro coming from a 2020 domane. I love the emonda’s handling and h 1.5 geometry. Bike is fast! I’ve had a downhill speed of 42mph which is a little scary. Good video
Just a super nice bike the Emonda 😎👌
I looked for a more "sportive" geometry but the weight penalty was real. Downspec on carbon grade, some components and wheels was a turn off. Let's not mention the lack of in store stock in the US to demo. I bought a full on aero race bike at 50. I still prefer to be in the drops and the stack height on endurance bikes was too much of a compromise. But I do agree that the race bike I purchased is likely not the best choice for me. The search was difficult.
WOW!! 60psi. No way Jose. Call me old fashion, but not to the extreme. For me a nice best of both world will be 100 psi. Great video and keep doing your excellent work.
Treks nice but I'd keep my tcr over it any day of the week
That is cool, because my road race bike will be going up for sale. Have no idea why I bought it
it's not rocket science.....you need the stiffest bike not to lose energy, the lightest possible to climb hills, wheels with light rims to catch up the group and not get dropped, and a stem a few inches below saddle height to be aero in case you breakaway...
Needless to say you need a bunch of stretching to handle that bike, and you can forget about "comfort"....
But the real question is : why do I see so many guys with a "racing bike", when they just go for sunday bike rides with their buddies....?
6:28 showing detail of the derailleur hanger frame mounting screw location, it's a definite no from me for Trek (and others unfortunately). Planned obsolescence on bikes is shocking these days!
Hi Dave,
What endurance bike is closest to being a race bike?
Maybe a canyon endurace
Yes that’s a good bet. Also Wilier’s Granturismo
That Emonda looks soooo nice…
My 2018 Emonda SLR rim brake bike is rapid & super lightweight, 6.8kg I see know need to ever by a new race bike 😮
I think a frame with more "endurance" geometry, along with being super aero, would be my choice. Aero bikes just look better, and aero is always good on a bike (low weight is nice too, but not quite as important). I don't know if anyone makes what I'm looking for?
Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7 would be the bike your looking for.
I just got a pinarello Paris last week, and instantly felt that it was faster than my trek emonda with a much better ride all the way around. The Paris is endurance and aero.
The name drops in this video is nuts 💀
My American bike is a Trek Emonda, which is a race bike according to this video, and my Greek bike is a Cervelo Caledonia, which is an endurance bike according to this video, but the Caledonia was actually raced at Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders. Both bikes have the same group set - SRAM Rival with 48,35 crank set and 10-36 cassette. The Emonda came with 25 mm tires, and the Caledonia came with 30 mm tires, but this video notes that the Emonda can take 30 mm tires. The stack (54.1 Emonda vs. 55.5 Caledonia) and reach (38.6 Trek vs. 37.8 Caledonia) of the two bikes are different, but they probably could be adjusted to provide the same rider position by changing the stem and spacers. The point is that the line between race bike and endurance bike is somewhat blurry.
This is true. Put a -17 degree stem on the caledonia and you'll have the same stack or even less.
That Evo 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Endurance is what it’s about.
Yes, a race bike will get you to work FAST and safely. I ride in on a Dura-Ace equipped Pinarrello.
You ride dura-ace Pinarello to work? You lock it outside? 😮 If I tried that it would get stolen the first day.
Aside from the Gran Turismo SLR, most race bike are just sexy as hell to look at, which is what motivated me to build a Madone SLR. Hopefully, with 28c tyres, lower pressure, and the IsoSpeed lends to a comfier ride. I love the wheels fitted on your Emonda SLR, BTW. What brand is what?
Looks like Reserve
Trek are great bikes now . They smarten up by changing bottom bracket from press fit witch was garbage to threaded bottom bracket . I Love my Campagnolo Bora wto but tubeless set up sucks .should of stick with Tubular set up with older Campagnolo Bora one wheel
If I were to get a bike like that, what would my excuses be for the speed I ride at?
You're doing base miles or you're on a recovery ride. *Always*
That's the reason I've never bought an aero bike. Im just too slow.
Yeah...I mean you shouldn't be ashamed of your speed if you can afford an expensive bike. Isn't it the same for guys on ebikes looking down on roadies because we can't ride 25+ on headwinds even though we "look" fast lol
You don’t pick the bike,
The bike picks you
im pretty sure trek is gonna launch a new emonda this year
Naaaaa. Not until 2024 trust me ;)
Hard to believe so many picked the least versatile and least practical bike - whatever
CAAD 10 - best bang for your buck - fast, stiff, stable and not going to crack if you drop it.
Deffo.. I’ve 2015 CAAD10 and wouldn’t swap it for a modern heavier disc version 👍🏻
Is that a cyclocross bike?
I didn't realize so many dentist race😂😂😂😂😂......such over kill for a club Rider unless your a snob or ego hunter😉
@Ryan Terence sorry mate I put my resources into my health not material things as you can see I train everyday because I can afford to I ride cheaper bikes as I do many types of exercise and understand fitness needs to be balanced in all area's of your body hence why I lift,run,cycle, climb along with gymnastics,yoga, taekwondo and judo. I do all this naturally...no steroids or other enhancing drug.....I've never smoked or drank or ever done drugs I'm actually over 50 years but look and feel decades younger...yes my ego is from my hard work I put into my self not what I ride👍
e mtb fully 🙂NOX Enduro
48x11 on a road bike? I have that gearing on my old trekking bike. I'm a seasoned (meaning aging) amateur mostly doing road rides, even 50x11 is sometimes a bit too little on faster group spins. I'm thinking to gear my next road bike like this: 12-34 on a 12 ring cassette and 52-36 front rings. (On my current 11 system 11-32 already has slightly too big gaps, but I still ride that when I do hillier routes.)
I do find it odd how many channels (like yours or GCN etc) whos orginal viewers watch because of the road/race bikes started changing the last year constantly pushing gravel bikes constantly. I am surprised you are surprised you do not realise this ? Even during this video, you never spoke really positively about a race bike. It was almost all negative/ almost off-putting like your trying to sell a different type of bike.
I think some of these channels have forgotten what got the subscribers/views originally came to watch in the first place, not everyone wants gravel, a lot of people just want to go fast on a road on a bike.
I’ve been reviewing gravel bikes since about 2014/15 and from the beginning of this channel. This video was based on the survey results which provided a good insight into buying habits - gravel and endurance together are more popular than race bikes
Granted that Emonda is nice but what is it, 10-12k or something?!😂
My back struggles with 50 miles on an endurance bike. My race bike now sits unused. 😢
Time to get an touring bike lol
Too much...trek al5 ..105 group set is great ..after that gains are to small...i live in canada...15 percent sales tax...you must include this in the price cuz you have to pay it..and 90 percent of the friction is moving your body t
We pay 20% in the UK. In 1973 we paid 55% sales tax!
@@bikeman123 ya the price of everything is crazy...16000 Canadian for a high end bike....its a peddle bike...and look at those companies profit margins
People want road race bikes simply because going fast on the road is the most fun.
Nothing against the bike or creator, but at 62 not happening! 1st it is a road racer-not happening. Just like a MTB is not on my list. No I will stay with my leisure bike, staying away from that low lean position and away from the abuse of Mountain biking.
The seatpost sucks
My next bike won’t be a Disc brake one.
I bet your current one isn’t either;)
@@TheSteinbitt current 3 😉
TCR is better/cheaper than Emonda in all ways in all segments pound for pound.
Agree I hired an emonda in Majorca not a patch on my rim and disc TCR's
How so?
@@glennoc8585 for me different geometry, better handling and as Ronit said way better value for money
Nope.. hate drops. I wish they did flat bar versions of all these road bikes
All the wannabe pros voting for a Race bike......Entirely predictable. Obviously don't watch Bikefit Tuesday....
I don't trust peole that ride 25mm tyres 🤪
Gravel bikes are fine but really who has easy access to gravel in their area to ride? So much more practical to have a road bike because everybody has roads everywhere leading right up to your front door.
You dont have badly maintained roads, sidewalks, fire roads, fields, forest roads etc. next to you? its pretty astonishing how many new routes open up if you have been a die hard roadie all your life and know every stretch of nice tarmac, yet never took the detour to explore the road and path networks that connect them. a gravel bike is perfect for that.