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Help me pick a new road bike
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My old road bike is getting long in the tooth. I want to upgrade to something with electronic shifting, better components and disc brakes.

What I will use it for: hard effort 30-50 mile training rides; hilly roads with tight shoulders; early mornings (low light); group rides; mostly done on fairly busy suburban roads where you don’t want to be in the TT position a lot of the time.

What I won’t use it for: long rides (which I do on the tri bike), racing (although I wonder if a course like the Nice 70.3 WC this year would be better suited to an aero bike); true climbing rides (for which you would want a super lightweight bike—I won’t be climbing the Alps with this thing).

I’m going back and forth debating between aero, race, and endurance options. It seems like most of the road bike references people make on ST are to their aero bikes.

I’m not really hung up on brands. This is more about bike type. Any guidance to share?
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Re: Help me pick a new road bike [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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I went through the same criteria and process when I updated my road bike in 2017. I chose a very light true race bike.

What drove my decision was riding for the sake of riding. And, the lightest and quickest feeling bike gives me the most riding pleasure.

Intellectually, I know that an aero road bike with deep rims is much faster than my bike. And, I do think they look freakin' awesome-- I have a serious man crush on the Venge. But, after a few thousand miles, I am very glad I made the decisions I made. There is nothing like the feel of <1,400g wheels on a crazy stiff and light racing frame. Cornering agility, the feeling of pulling away stops, and going up hills is immensely satisfying.

Oh yeah, and I upgraded it to eTap after my initial build, and I freakin' love that setup on a road bike. The shifting design of eTap smokes DI2, IMHO. It is natural and intuitive and I never miss a shift.
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