I’ve been rocking a Trek 7.3. FX hybrid bike for the past 15 years and am finally in the market to upgrade to my first road bike. Hoping to keep it under $2K and seems like I will be forced to make some tradeoffs to do so. I know looking at the used market would be a smart option, but my wife want to buy this for me for an upcoming milestone birthday so we’re really just looking at new bikes atm.
I’m in the US. My criteria are:
* Endurance geometry since I’d like to optimize for the possibility of going on longer rides and don’t expect to do any racing.
* Want to buy something that will be nice enough to last me for the foreseeable future (10+ years) without feeling the itch to upgrade if I get a bit more serious about the hobby. At the same time, don’t want to overcommit to specs I will probably never get much value out of.
* I think it’s unlikely that I’d go through the future trouble and expense of upgrading the groupset.
* Willing to wait a few weeks but probably not a few months for inventory.
The choices I’ve narrowed down to are:
[Canyon Endurace 8 Disc](https://www.canyon.com/en-us/road-bikes/endurance-bikes/endurace/al/endurace-8-disc/2854.html?dwvar_2854_pv_rahmenfarbe=BK%2FBK) ($1800) – Aluminum frame, 105 groupset (11s), 9.22 kg. Gotchas: Out of stock in the color/size I’d want and I also wonder if I’ll regret the choice of aluminum. Originally my top choice. Good deal now but not expecting it to last by the time they restock.
[Van Rysel EDR CF Shimano 105](https://www.decathlon.com/products/van-rysel-edr-cf-shimano-105-carbon-road-bike-with-disc-brakes-324411?) ($2000) – Carbon frame, 105 groupset (11s), 8.21 kg, appears to be a great deal, and currently available in my size. Gotchas: limited max clearance to run a more comfortable tire setup (stock 25mm, max 28mm) and the fact that it’s non-returnable.
[Vitus Zenium Tiagra](https://us.vitusbikes.com/collections/zenium/products/vitus-zenium-road-bike-tiagra-2022) ($1600) – Carbon frame for a great price, Tiagra groupset (10s), 9.3 kg. Gotchas: mechanical brakes and lower-spec groupset.
[Trek Domane AL 5 Gen 4](https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/domane/domane-al/domane-al-5-gen-4/p/41395/) ($2000) – Aluminum frame, latest 105 groupset (12s), 9.85 kg. Cleanest cable routing I’ve seen! Gotcha: Heaviest bike of the group while being on the upper end of the price range.
I had considered some options from Ribble as well, but factoring in overseas shipping and customs blows up the price pretty considerably. Also open to any other options that might be available for the US market!
by dekaliber