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Update: Time for a new bike; Canyon Ultimate vs Endurace vs BMC...

Time to upgrade my bike and requirements are:

- Carbon

- Disc brakes (huge debate but decided that additional weight and extra maintenance is worth it with the UK weather)

- Ultegra is preferable though keep hearing that no big difference to 105 (DI2 not yet sold on it especially that bike lives in a garage with no power outlet)

- Endurance Geo but not as relaxed as the roubaix as still flexible enough to adopt racing position (old bike is agressive) - but i aim to race less and ride longer

From above the short list is:

1- BMC RM01-04 (+geo is perfect -worried about weight )

2- Canyon Endurace CF SL 8.0 (+great value -scary customer service -can't try it)

3- Trek domane SLR6 (bike on sale +looks comfy -doesnt have disc brakesv -isospeed adjsuter a gimmick??)

4- BMC RM02-02 ( +cheaper than RM01 -worried about weight - not an ics cockpit )

5- Cervelo C3 (???)

6- Bianchhi Infinito CV (???)

The list can go one... so happy to consider other bikes as well.

Thanks for the help.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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24 comments

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pnm | 5 years ago
0 likes

Thanks so much for the comments.

Yes I hope to ride a Canyon at the show, if possible. 

The Ultimate CF SL 8.0 Disc is probably all the bike I need and well within budget. 

I just can't stop myself thinking about that Mason though. 

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EddyBerckx replied to pnm | 5 years ago
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pnm wrote:

Thanks so much for the comments.

Yes I hope to ride a Canyon at the show, if possible. 

The Ultimate CF SL 8.0 Disc is probably all the bike I need and well within budget. 

I just can't stop myself thinking about that Mason though. 

 

That's the bike I got, I love it...loads of fun!!

 

The Mason will be heavier but also as good from what I've read (might be aiming for slightly different things). Anyway you'll be able to test ride them both to get a feel. Good luck!

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BobbyG | 5 years ago
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The Canyons are very different bikes to something like a Mason, but if I were looking at the Mason I'd also be looking at the Fairlight Strael.

I have a Canyon Endurace SL Disc 8.0.  It's a nice bike, but I'm already looking for a wheel upgrade after only 3 months of ownership!  It's quick and compliant but not a whole lot of "fun".  It also feels a bit heavy on the climbs (even though the stated weight is around 7.5kg).

All things considered, if I wanted a year-round do-it-all bike, and wasn't too bothered about weight, I'd be going for a Fairlight (and in some respects, wish I had!)

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pnm | 5 years ago
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Hi, my first post here and I'm in a similar position.

I'm looking for a bike upgrade. A similar spec to the OP - Ultegra, discs etc.

I'm not going to race it so weight isn't of major importance to me. I mainly do fitness rides and sportives.  I want something comfortable and built to last.  

The Canyon Ultimate/Endurace and Mason Resolution/Definition are curently the models I'm most  interested in. I'm attending the bike show at NEC this month for a look at whats on offer. 

I'm wary of ordering a Canyon without having a proper look first. I've only seen older spec models to date.  The Mason can be ridden first, so  a bit less of a risk. I haven't seen the Mason in the flesh, but I'm feeling it could be a good multi-purpose bike for my needs. I also really like the look of it.

Any thoughts on the above bikes and anything else I should consider please?

Budget up to £3.5k. 

Thanks. 

Avatar
EddyBerckx replied to pnm | 5 years ago
0 likes

pnm wrote:

Hi, my first post here and I'm in a similar position.

I'm looking for a bike upgrade. A similar spec to the OP - Ultegra, discs etc.

I'm not going to race it so weight isn't of major importance to me. I mainly do fitness rides and sportives.  I want something comfortable and built to last.  

The Canyon Ultimate/Endurace and Mason Resolution/Definition are curently the models I'm most  interested in. I'm attending the bike show at NEC this month for a look at whats on offer. 

I'm wary of ordering a Canyon without having a proper look first. I've only seen older spec models to date.  The Mason can be ridden first, so  a bit less of a risk. I haven't seen the Mason in the flesh, but I'm feeling it could be a good multi-purpose bike for my needs. I also really like the look of it.

Any thoughts on the above bikes and anything else I should consider please?

Budget up to £3.5k. 

Thanks. 

 

I've got a canyon ultimate and I cant praise it highly enough!!

 

Having said that the Mason will also be great when built up to a decent spec, but will be heavier I believe (though that doesn't matter so much to you)

 

You cant go wrong either way. Look out for Canyon test ride days - I tested mine on one of those, their website should have details of upcoming ones

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EddyBerckx replied to EddyBerckx | 5 years ago
0 likes

StoopidUserName wrote:

pnm wrote:

Hi, my first post here and I'm in a similar position.

I'm looking for a bike upgrade. A similar spec to the OP - Ultegra, discs etc.

I'm not going to race it so weight isn't of major importance to me. I mainly do fitness rides and sportives.  I want something comfortable and built to last.  

The Canyon Ultimate/Endurace and Mason Resolution/Definition are curently the models I'm most  interested in. I'm attending the bike show at NEC this month for a look at whats on offer. 

I'm wary of ordering a Canyon without having a proper look first. I've only seen older spec models to date.  The Mason can be ridden first, so  a bit less of a risk. I haven't seen the Mason in the flesh, but I'm feeling it could be a good multi-purpose bike for my needs. I also really like the look of it.

Any thoughts on the above bikes and anything else I should consider please?

Budget up to £3.5k. 

Thanks. 

 

I've got a canyon ultimate and I cant praise it highly enough!!

 

Having said that the Mason will also be great when built up to a decent spec, but will be heavier I believe (though that doesn't matter so much to you)

 

You cant go wrong either way. Look out for Canyon test ride days - I tested mine on one of those, their website should have details of upcoming ones

 

Just read you can test ride canyons at the birmingham cycle show (assuming the same one you're going to) so you'll be able to compare

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huntswheelers | 5 years ago
0 likes

one word...... Bianchi

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OttoS | 5 years ago
0 likes

I recently had the same dilemma. Argon18 Krypton was high on my list (apologies for adding to your list...) But I couldn't try it. I did try a BMC and wasn't wowed either, but probably great bikes of they suit your style. Ended up with a Synapse SE ultegra  and love it...

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rar2505 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for all the replies. So I took the BMC RM02 for a test ride. Clearly the disc brakes are a must. I can't fault this bike though few points in general:

- the feel looked more stretched that my current bike. Mine has a 1.45 stack/reach ratio but the BMC is closer to 1.51 (longer reach for sure) - not sure if that is the main issue. 

- Ultegra vs my 105 not sure worth the upgrade.

- BMC lacked the "oomph" factor - ride is good but i might prefer smthg more agile. Wheelbase - Going from 983 to 1008 is surely a factor.

Waiting now to test the RM01 and see if that frame has a better feel, but i am now rethinking hard about Canyon. For the money the question is BMC will give a frame made by a longstanding and renowed company versus Canyon who is newish to cycling (albeit having bikes on major tours). But for the money Canyon will have better wheelset (which forms 20% of how a ride feels IMO) and Di2 as well. So what is left in stock is Endurace SLX8.0 vs Ultimate SLX8.0 (both with disc for sure but tempted to dip into DI2). Might wait for the SL model to be back in stock as seems SLX is not worth the extra cash.

Very hard question to answer without a test ride, which is impossible... so have to rely on your answers to pick a favorite. 

Endurace : More suited to my type of riding - Worried about the long run if the right decision - endurace won't be able to turn it into a racer. Opinions and advice here are welcome if endurace is racy enough.

Ultimate: Weight wise it is heavier than endurace (due to worse wheelset) but racier position which mimicks current bike - going to carbon from my current alloy should be enough in terms of comfort for 100M rides. Ultimate seems better for the long run as can make it comfier with some tweeks.

So Endurace or Ultimate is the answer?

 

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Chris Hayes replied to rar2505 | 5 years ago
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Just remember: the internet won't fix your bike....

Avatar
srchar replied to Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
1 like

Chris Hayes wrote:

Just remember: the internet won't fix your bike....

But it will tell you how to fix it yourself.

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Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
0 likes

Of the ones you listed, the Bianchi: bikes should be celeste.  And there's heritage.    I was browsing in a pretty high end bike shop today and what struck me was the number of blancmange bikes they had... lots of bikes, but somehow so little choice. Their most interesting piece was a single Factor.... almost celeste.

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Stratman | 5 years ago
0 likes

Another one for Giant Defy. Mine is fast and comfortable, but has rim brakes as I bought it before discs were a thing on road bikes.  My other road bikes are newer and have discs;  I’d always choose hydro discs now.

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
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Di2 If you get the correct derailleurs, you can have a wide range of gearing options with very little adjustment.  The ancillaries allow visual displays to show gear indicator battery life etc.

Disc brakes, I personally dont know of anyone who once tried out discs for a little while would then want to go back to rim brakes

Bike, unless you're a lightweight a few grams here and there arent going to make huge difference

Personally I'd want one bike with 2/3 sets of wheels/tyre combinations, so that can be ridden on most surfaces. Wide tyre capability- 40mm and eyelets for mudguards, racks etc.

 

 

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Mungecrundle | 5 years ago
3 likes

I use Di2 and love it. Luxury, not at all necessary, not even remotely and if you are worried about weight then why drag a battery around?

Hydraulic disk brakes. I use them and love them. Rim brakes are perfectly adequate, but I like my carbon wheels unadorned with a braking surface and I prefer the look of disks on a carbon frame.

After that, and only you know how important such things are to you, it's what physically fits, what you can actually find to buy, budget, brand image, aesthetics of frame design and whether you like the colour. Personally I wouldn't be fussed by ~1Kg weight penalty for the bike I liked over one that maybe technically superior but didn't float my boat as it were.

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
2 likes

Yep, that's certainly worth repeating.

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes

You don't need a power outlet near your bike to charge up Di2 - you can use a battery/power pack to do that (it's much easier as you can just leave it charging overnight).

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kil0ran replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
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hawkinspeter wrote:

You don't need a power outlet near your bike to charge up Di2 - you can use a battery/power pack to do that (it's much easier as you can just leave it charging overnight).

And you'll easily get way over 1000 miles on a single charge, at least in my experience.

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kil0ran replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

You don't need a power outlet near your bike to charge up Di2 - you can use a battery/power pack to do that (it's much easier as you can just leave it charging overnight).

And you'll easily get way over 1000 miles on a single charge, at least in my experience.

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Woldsman | 5 years ago
0 likes

I don't think that the height of the head tube makes this a bike with particularly aggressive geometry.  How about something like this Giant TCR Advanced 1 Disc 2018?

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-1-disc

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alansmurphy replied to Woldsman | 5 years ago
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Quote:

 

 

- Disc brakes (huge debate but decided that additional weight and extra maintenance is worth it with the UK weather)

 

 

 

 

Quote:

 

3- Trek domane SLR6 (bike on sale +looks comfy -doesnt have disc brakes

 

 

Erm...

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pdata | 5 years ago
0 likes

Except for the carbon frame requirement, your list is similar to what I'm looking for as well. I've also heard that the R7000 groupset is good enough although the cassette is heavy, so replace with an R8000 cassette instead to get within grams of the R8000 weight with similar feel but cheaper. Comments on this piece of hearsay is welcome  1

You don't give a budget or size, but there are sizes 51 and 54 of a di2 cervelo C5 at Sigma Sports for a big old discount

Otherwise, my list looks like this:

  • Rose Bikes Team GF Four Disc
  • Mason Bokeh 105
  • BMC Road Machine 02 Two
  • Canyon CF SL disc

  • Cube Attain GTC SLT Disc
  • Cannondale Synapse Ultegra

 

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Gasman Jim | 5 years ago
0 likes

Cannondale Synapse 2018/19?

Discs

Light

Eyelets

Looks ok for an endurance bike

Mechanical or Di2 options

 

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peted76 | 5 years ago
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New Giant Defy? Typically a lot of bike for the money and I can't remember the last time they weren't right up there with the best review wise.

Personally, I'd go Di2 with hydraalic brakes.. becuase the hoods are so much nicer (and lighter). But I get the simplicity of not having to worry about messing about with sockets.

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