Hi Everyone!
Glad I found this group 🙂 I am a new road cyclist looking for help determining which bike to buy. I’ve done a fair bit of research and ranked them in order of preference, but I’m looking for opinions from seasoned cyclists. I’ve listed them below in order of my personal preference, price tag locally, and brief input.
Here they all are compared on 99spokes – [https://99spokes.com/en-CA/compare?bikes=giant-contend-ar-1-2024%2Ctrek-domane-al-5-disc-2023%2Ccanyon-endurace-cf-6-2024%2Ccannondale-synapse-105-2023](https://99spokes.com/en-CA/compare?bikes=giant-contend-ar-1-2024%2Ctrek-domane-al-5-disc-2023%2Ccanyon-endurace-cf-6-2024%2Ccannondale-synapse-105-2023)
**Giant Contend AR 1 (2024) – $2,599 CAD** \- seems like the best fit and cheapest, 105 groupset, best clearance
**Trek Domane AL 5 (Gen 4) – $2,629 CAD** \- almost identical to the AR 1, few $ more, clearance a bit less
**Canyon Endurance CF 6 – $2,749 CAD** \- very light, but not a complete 105, most $
**Cannondale Synapse 105 – $2,635 CAD** \- specs are rated lowest on 99spokes but is that due to the mechanical disk brakes not being hydraulic?
I ride my Peloton a few times a week and the position is upright. I don’t have major back issues but sometimes my lower back can get sore, so I am trying to avoid an overly aggressive, race geometry on the bike. It would be nice to have a bike that can rip around for outdoor workouts, but I can ride leisurely or even take on gravel or unpaved roads if I needed to.
Please let me know what you think. I am leaning toward the Giant or Trek in general, but if you think the weight reduction on the Canyon is worth it even though its not a complete 105 groupset, I’d love to hear those opinions. I don’t generally know about release cycles for different manufactures but most of the ones I’ve picked out are 2024 so I assume these are the latest versions and I wouldn’t be missing out if I had just waited another month or 2.
Thank you 🙂
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by RicoCactus