First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

marou89
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First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby marou89 » Fri Nov 16, 2018 6:28 pm

Hi,

Seeking some advice for purchasing my first road bike with a budget of under $2000.

Am i better off opting for a carbon frame, 105 groupset and rim brakes or an alloy framce, 105 groupset and disc brakes.

From looking around at local shops and online, the price point of these bikes is around the same.

I live in the country where it is all flat roads and will mainly be riding on weekends in good weather.

Any examples of good value bikes would be appreciated.

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AUbicycles
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Nov 16, 2018 7:23 pm

Carbon frame!

Experienced riders will more quickly spot the differences between aluminium and carbon - but essentially they provide more comfort.

Disc brakes are nice and they have some good braking qualities and while regular rim brakes are currently not as trendy, they are reliable, a little easier to maintain and are not inferior to discs in most circumstances for road cycling.
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby nickobec » Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:09 pm

What ever will get you out riding the most
AUbicycles wrote:Carbon frame!
Experienced riders will more quickly spot the differences between aluminium and carbon - but essentially they provide more comfort.
I disagree, there are differences in ride and handling characteristics between alloy and carbon frames. But there are other factors in the design, type of materials used in the frame and other components that also impacts on the ride quality. Then there is personal preference, I have ridden high end carbon endurance bikes, I can not cope with the softness of the ride and imprecise handling. I have alloy, carbon and steel bikes in my stable. The carbon is stiff and sharp race geometry, but I still ride the alloy bike more because it is more fun to ride.

Here is a review of two very similar bikes, one carbon and one alloy
https://granfondo-cycling.com/carbon-or-aluminium/

Can't comment on disc brakes as I still ride rim brakes on everything, though my next bike will probably have discs.

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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:22 pm

This is right... but faced with a choice, disc brakes or carbon, how can you analyse and compare braking or material selection accurately enough to make the perfect decision?

At a glance and for new riders, Carbon. But the more experienced you are and the more you notice and can differentiate the differences, within carbon and alloys I agree that there can be big differences.
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby g-boaf » Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:38 pm

nickobec wrote:The carbon is stiff and sharp race geometry, but I still ride the alloy bike more because it is more fun to ride.
But a bike can have both a stiff frame and sharp race geometry, yet still be very comfortable to ride 100+km day after day. It's not impossible, my own bike does that.

I had this very bike for a couple of days, and it was not better than my four year old Giant TCR SL1:
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-ShD ... vQL-X2.jpg
(It's a Canyon Aeroad CF-SLX with Ultegra 11 speed and Mavic carbon wheels)

It wasn't any more precise or sharp, but my goodness it was harsh. And the braking performance was much worse (difference between Ultegra/carbon wheels and SRAM Red/alloy wheels). I was glad they let me have it for a few days and thankful to those awesome Mavic people, but also glad to have my own bike back. The difference in comfort between the two was huge.

So for the OP, I'd suggest go the carbon bike with the best frameset you can get for the price - and don't be concerned with going for something from say 2015 or so, especially if it means getting a better bike for the same money.

A bike with a good frame and average components can be upgraded down the track with better components if you wish.

Also for the OP, forget about disc brakes - you don't need them for the situation you are riding in. I've done a lot of riding in the mountains in both cold/heavy rain and hot/dry conditions with bikes on rim brakes and they are fine. It's only when you get into carbon wheels and rim brakes that you need to be mindful of overheating them (if you ride the brakes, which you shouldn't) and if it rains the stopping power will be diminished initially until the water clears from the braking surface and also when the wheel heats up a bit.

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Mububban
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby Mububban » Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:27 pm

Consensus from two ex pros doing a back to back test - only a small difference in road feel. Tyre width and pressure will make more of a difference:




Given your description, I'd go for carbon frame and rim brakes :)

What bikes have you found so far in your price range? I found these under $2000:

Cannondale CAAD12 - alloy, 105, rim brakes
Giant TCR Advanced 3 - carbon, Tiagra 10 speed, rim brakes
Giant Contend SL1 Disc - alloy, 105, discs
Merida Scultura 5000 - carbon, Ultegra, rim brakes
Cube Attain GTC SL - carbon, Ultegra, rim brakes
Trek Emonda ALR5 - alloy, 105, rim brakes - and it's sparkly purple!!!
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby marou89 » Sat Nov 17, 2018 12:01 am

Thanks for the replies!

I was initially leaning toward getting the carbon frame rather than the disc brakes given the type of riding i plan to do.

The bikes I've narrowed it down to were the Merida Scultura 4000/5000 and the Cube Attain.
I was on the lookout for 2nd hand options but i decided to opt for a new one for peace of mind.

I was also considering other brand with their equivalent models in that price range however i think the two above seem to be the best value for money. Between those two, the Merida looks a bit better in my opinion given most of the other components are very similar. I was hoping to test ride the 2 to make a final decision.

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RonK
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby RonK » Sat Nov 17, 2018 12:28 pm

Usually the recommended path would-be to choose the frame, and if necessary update running gear when finances permit.
However, brake mounting points are specific to the frame. There is no upgrade path.
To me there is no doubt - you need both, and ultimately you are likely regret it if you don't increase your budget and enough to buy both.
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cyclotaur
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby cyclotaur » Sat Nov 17, 2018 1:30 pm

First road bike?
Under $2000?

Maybe start here....https://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/2019- ... speed-road

My own experience is I’ve owned and ridden (hired) both alu and carbon bikes and the best ones have been and still are good aluminium. Carbon at the low end is too ‘noodle-y’ ie. too much flex through the drivetrain and imprecise handling. The best riding bike I’ve had is still my CAADX (Aluminium) with 28/32 tyres on road wheels.

Have recently acquired a bargain Giant TCR Adv 1 Disc, which is light, stiff and fast, but not so comfortable over a long day as the old CAADX.
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby g-boaf » Sat Nov 17, 2018 2:06 pm

marou89 wrote:Thanks for the replies!

I was initially leaning toward getting the carbon frame rather than the disc brakes given the type of riding i plan to do.

The bikes I've narrowed it down to were the Merida Scultura 4000/5000 and the Cube Attain.
I was on the lookout for 2nd hand options but i decided to opt for a new one for peace of mind.

I was also considering other brand with their equivalent models in that price range however i think the two above seem to be the best value for money. Between those two, the Merida looks a bit better in my opinion given most of the other components are very similar. I was hoping to test ride the 2 to make a final decision.
https://www.99bikes.com.au/2018-merida- ... att-petrol
https://www.99bikes.com.au/merida-scult ... ack-2019-1

Seems okay for the dollars, and not so bespoke that it isn't possible to upgrade components later on. This has Ultegra derailleurs - but not the crank, using RS-510 instead. Easy upgrade there if you wanted to down the track, brakes too.

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Paddles
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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby Paddles » Sat Nov 17, 2018 5:42 pm

Something to consider if you "live in the country" is how close/convenient is your local bike shop. Caliper/rim brakes will be easy for you to service or repair but if you have hydraulic discs and don't have the right gear, you will need a bike shop to service and bleed them. Another thing to consider with frame material is durability, again if you live in the country and there's a chance that your frame might cop a few knocks it may affect aluminium less than carbon. I can recommend 28mm tyres or even 32 if your roads are ordinary, so frame clearances are also something to consider.

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Re: First road bike purchase - carbon or disc brakes?

Postby CaffeineAU » Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:04 pm

Image

A mate of mine recently picked up a new 2018 Giant Defy Advanced 2 for $2k.

105, carbon and discs (and tubeless!). Absolute bargain

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