Bear with me—I’ve read so many comparisons between AL and CF. I’ve got a spreadsheet and everything.
There’s about a $1,000 different between these two bikes, but with that upgrade you get a carbon fiber frame, SRAM Rival electronic shifting (from the 105 12-speed) and a few other improvements.
I am not a beginner when it comes to riding. I’d routinely go out and do 30–60mi rides, but I’m coming from a more traditional hybrid bike that was never meant for efficiency.
My question is: will I quickly outgrow the AL version? My fear is that I’ll get the AL 7 and then in a year be super frustrated. Or will the improvement between what I have now and anything else be so great that I’ll weep tears of joy regardless?
by callison93