Which road bike?

[drkash]

This.
You can have just much fun and speed on an older tidied up bike as you can on a more expensive carbon racer.
I bought an old 2007 Trek here from amongst a pile of abandoned bikes for little money. I put new rims on it and derailleurs, saddle

View attachment 689967 and tyres. Just upgraded to 9 speed. It's a dream to ride although it's covered in scratches.
You'll learn so much about bikes in the process.

If I was good at DIY / fixing bikes and also I had more time then buying an older one sounds like a good idea. However I will need to pay someone to do any repairs / servicing etc and therefore buying one in good condition is ideal for me. But thank you for looking for a bike to suggest to me, I appreciate it. I also appreciate all of the helpful replies from anyone.

I am leaning towards the red Cannondale synapse carbon 105 given the comments on here. Happy to go over my initial budget if the bike is worth it and will be a decent upgrade.

 

[Jameshow]

If I was good at DIY / fixing bikes and also I had more time then buying an older one sounds like a good idea. However I will need to pay someone to do any repairs / servicing etc and therefore buying one in good condition is ideal for me. But thank you for looking for a bike to suggest to me, I appreciate it. I also appreciate all of the helpful replies from anyone.

I am leaning towards the red Cannondale synapse carbon 105 given the comments on here. Happy to go over my initial budget if the bike is worth it and will be a decent upgrade.

Happy to help look over it if required.
I'm only over in Baildon?
Several others are local to leeds too.

 

[lazybloke]

Maybe I'm wrong but I can't imagine that a 'road' bike will be appreciably, if anything, quicker than what you have.

It's the motor that really matters, and that will be the same in both instances.

Hmm. If I'm on a relaxed social ride at 12mph, then any bike is much like the next.
But if I'm in a hurry I prefer the optimisations of a road bike.

My old commute was 13-14 miles.
Best time by mountain bike was circa 65 mins, but on my road bike I shaved 20 minutes off that time!

And I'm talking about a 14 year old aluminium road bike, not carbon fibre.

 

[kingrollo]

Lower spec but you can get a new road bike for £350 decathlon stuff is always decent

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-triban-rc-120-grey/_/R-p-308062?mc=8554264

 

[I like Skol]

Hmm. If I'm on a relaxed social ride at 12mph, then any bike is much like the next.
But if I'm in a hurry I prefer the optimisations of a road bike.

My old commute was 13-14 miles.
Best time by mountain bike was circa 65 mins, but on my road bike I shaved 20 minutes off that time!

And I'm talking about a 14 year old aluminium road bike, not carbon fibre.

That's incredible. You went from 13mph to almost 19mph just by changing bike, unless of course you were riding a full suss MTB on soggy knobbly tyres and swapped to a full-on light road bike?

I started commuting on my old hardtail MTB with just a change of tyres to some slick 26x2.0 continentals running at 60 psi. After about a year I got a rigid hybrid because I wanted to fit panniers and mudguards which would have prevented me from using the MTB for mtb'ing. Several years later the hybrid frame cracked so I got a road bike (purely because I preferred the spec of the road bike compared to hybrids that were available at the time). I also have a 'proper' road bike without the commute paraphernalia attached and this also gets used for the commute on nice days.

In over 10 years of commuting the 10 miles each way I can honestly say no one bike is significantly faster. It's at most a couple of minutes either way and the difference is lost in the day to day variation in traffic conditions, red lights, weather, tiredness etc. Commute times are similar, day to day, bike to bike and typical AVE speed is pretty consistent at around 16mph (it's an urban trip so lots of stop/start).

Obviously a set of soft off-road tyres on an MTB are going to be slow compared to a slick tyres road bike but the OP has a road biased hybrid so changing to a road bike is going to give only marginal differences if any. He may be sorely disappointed if he thinks he will suddenly be 2-3mph faster with a new bike!

 

[T4tomo]

That's incredible. You went from 13mph to almost 19mph just by changing bike, unless of course you were riding a full suss MTB on soggy knobbly tyres and swapped to a full-on light road bike?

I started commuting on my old hardtail MTB with just a change of tyres to some slick 26x2.0 continentals running at 60 psi. After about a year I got a rigid hybrid because I wanted to fit panniers and mudguards which would have prevented me from using the MTB for mtb'ing. Several years later the hybrid frame cracked so I got a road bike (purely because I preferred the spec of the road bike compared to hybrids that were available at the time). I also have a 'proper' road bike without the commute paraphernalia attached and this also gets used for the commute on nice days.

In over 10 years of commuting the 10 miles each way I can honestly say no one bike is significantly faster. It's at most a couple of minutes either way and the difference is lost in the day to day variation in traffic conditions, red lights, weather, tiredness etc. Commute times are similar, day to day, bike to bike and typical AVE speed is pretty consistent at around 16mph (it's an urban trip so lots of stop/start).

Obviously a set of soft off-road tyres on an MTB are going to be slow compared to a slick tyres road bike but the OP has a road biased hybrid so changing to a road bike is going to give only marginal differences if any. He may be sorely disappointed if he thinks he will suddenly be 2-3mph faster with a new bike!

there is some truth and some bollocks in both you're arguments.

one thing neither has mentioned is Weight of a bike makes the biggest difference on a hilly route (and accelerating) . On the flat you can probably barrel along a hardtail on slicks at similar-ish steady speed to a road bike for similar effort. as soon as there are significant altitude gains, then lighter weight wins every time.

There is also the completely unprovable by fact feeling of unbridled joy that riding a nice bike brings. for that reason the OP should by a shiny red road bike.

 

[Venod]

I've had a look at the local market and these are the current ones I've liked so far, which would be recommended has a better bang for their buck

Without a doubt the red Cannondale Synapse, assuming its in good condition, an ideal bike for longer comfortable rides.

 

[fossyant]

Tyres make the biggest difference and weight etc. You can make a hybrid quite quick by sticking on 25-28c road tyres.

PS, back on subject, the bikes linked are all good - buy on condition for that price. You can't have too few bikes anyway.

 

[I like Skol]

There is also the completely unprovable by fact feeling of unbridled joy that riding a nice bike brings. for that reason the OP should by a shiny red road bike.

Absolutely. It's why I sometimes take my 'best' bike for the commute on a sunny day. It feels great, lighter, flicks easily in and out of the corners, hums along the tarmac like it's on a mission..... Then the ride stats show it was no faster than the previous days ride on the other bike in the rain!

 

[I like Skol]

I will concede one point about bike weight making a difference, especially on hilly rides.
I don't weigh 9st, I weigh 14st, but still climb as fast or faster than most people I ride with. I don't pay much attention to bike weight because, as part of the overall package it doesn't make much difference to me and my performance.

This may not be the same for a lighter, less powerful rider who may gain more from a lighter bike?

 

[Alex321]

That's incredible. You went from 13mph to almost 19mph just by changing bike, unless of course you were riding a full suss MTB on soggy knobbly tyres and swapped to a full-on light road bike?

I started commuting on my old hardtail MTB with just a change of tyres to some slick 26x2.0 continentals running at 60 psi. After about a year I got a rigid hybrid because I wanted to fit panniers and mudguards which would have prevented me from using the MTB for mtb'ing. Several years later the hybrid frame cracked so I got a road bike (purely because I preferred the spec of the road bike compared to hybrids that were available at the time). I also have a 'proper' road bike without the commute paraphernalia attached and this also gets used for the commute on nice days.

In over 10 years of commuting the 10 miles each way I can honestly say no one bike is significantly faster. It's at most a couple of minutes either way and the difference is lost in the day to day variation in traffic conditions, red lights, weather, tiredness etc. Commute times are similar, day to day, bike to bike and typical AVE speed is pretty consistent at around 16mph (it's an urban trip so lots of stop/start).

Obviously a set of soft off-road tyres on an MTB are going to be slow compared to a slick tyres road bike but the OP has a road biased hybrid so changing to a road bike is going to give only marginal differences if any. He may be sorely disappointed if he thinks he will suddenly be 2-3mph faster with a new bike!

The "urban trip so lots of stop/start" probably makes more difference tio the time than any bike could.

If you commute contained a large part of non-urban roads, you would find the bike would make much more difference. Though I will admit, the 20 minutes claimed by the poster you responded to seems excessive unless his mountain bike weighed a huge amount and had big knobbly tyres.

I have a hybrid and a road bike - normally I use the road bike, but if I have to use the hybrid, I tend to be about 5 minutes slower over my hour long commute - which is about 8 miles of non-urban (with some hills) and 7 of urban. The hybrid is a heavy beast though, at 14.5 KG, as opposed to te 9.4 of my road bike.

 

[Jon in Sweden]

Another thing to consider is riding position.

A road bike naturally lends itself to an aero position, which in and of itself speeds you up. But judging by what you see for sale on Marketplace sometimes, some people ride their road bikes like MTB/hybrids, with an upright and relaxed position. In that instance, all you're really getting then is the reduced rolling resistance of the tyres.

I honestly don't accept that there isn't a large difference between bikes. I've got 6 that I ride regularly (hybrid for dotting around the village, MTB, gravel bike, Canyon Endurace, Mercian Audax and Cannondale Caadx set up as a commuter) and the difference between them all is massive. I am certain that to maintain 25kph on the MTB on road takes the same effort as 35kph on the Endurace.

 

[I like Skol]

The "urban trip so lots of stop/start" probably makes more difference tio the time than any bike could.

My annec-data suggests the stop/start thing isn't all that is at play. I've done plenty of longer rides using the various bikes and still don't seem to get the difference between bikes that is being discussed.

I'm not going to say there is NO difference, but the unscientific comparisons we are all making just do not seem to be backed up by reality when comparing the different bikes being used efficiently (i.e sensible gearing, tyres and position on the bike).

The bikes are not the chalk and cheese difference that many people claim, once you rule out the external influences that change ride to ride and the silly comparisons like fat bike v carbon race exotica.

 

[vickster]

Get yourself an inexpensive used road bike and see if it offers you personally benefits over your hybrid

 

[Jon in Sweden]

My annec-data suggests the stop/start thing isn't all that is at play. I've done plenty of longer rides using the various bikes and still don't seem to get the difference between bikes that is being discussed.

I'm not going to say there is NO difference, but the unscientific comparisons we are all making just do not seem to be backed up by reality when comparing the different bikes being used efficiently (i.e sensible gearing, tyres and position on the bike).

The bikes are not the chalk and cheese difference that many people claim, once you rule out the external influences that change ride to ride and the silly comparisons like fat bike v carbon race exotica.

I understand and respect that you draw your opinion from your own experiences, but I cannot agree.

I am in the fortunate position here in Sweden to have very well surfaced, very low traffic roads to cycle on. It allows me the opportunity to play around with little variables to see what is faster or slower.

There are a number of things in play here, and I'll break them down:

1. Aerodynamics. A road bike (especially a more modern, aero-optimised road bike) is in and of itself more aerodynamic. This saves you watts, which makes you faster.
2. Weight. A road bike is lighter. Not so important on the flat, but almost any ride involves some hills, so it comes into play. Again, saved watts means you go faster.
3. Rigidity. A modern road bike has good lateral stiffness, which allows for better power transfer, saves watts and you go faster.
4. Aerodynamic riding position. A road bike puts the rider into an automatically more aerodynamic position, which is probably the largest saving of watts of anything listed here.
5. Rolling resistance. Road bikes are usually equipped with narrower, lower rolling resistance tyres that save you watts too.

If you use one of the online calculators for cycling watts, 30kph on a road bike on slicks and on the drops requires 155w for me (at 104kg - I'm 2.03m tall). To do the same on an MTB is 281w. Nearly twice the effort for the same speed. For further context, that same 155w on the MTB would only give me 22.2kph.

There is a full spectrum of bikes inbetween modern road bike and MTB, but you see my point.