I would echo some of the above. For long ride comfort, this is my order of importance:

1. Bike fit, position of controls etc
2. Bike fit, position of controls etc
3. Bike fit, position of controls etc
4. Bike fit, position of controls etc
5. Bike fit, position of controls etc
6. Good shorts and road specific gloves – NOT ones that have loads of padding, in fact my favourite gloves are just double leather palms
7. Good shoes
8. Triple chainset (or appropriate gearing). One decent climb spent heaving on the pedals can wreck you for the next 90 miles, and you could’ve got up just as fast spinning comfortably in the little ring. Don’t listen to the wannabe hard men.
9. The right saddle, at the right angle. I’d definitely go with Specialized and their arse-measuring thing. Brilliant idea.
10. Shallow-section rims. Mavic open Pro/Sport etc – much more comfortable than v sections ime and seemed to make more difference to road vibration than anything else I tried.

Road bike fit is pretty complex. There’s bar drop shape, drop depth, front-to-back sizing, and then there’s where you put the hoods AND the angle at which you have the bars set, on top of stem length and height etc.

Oh and make sure your saddle’s not too high. I thought I had it bang on and I overtook an old codger who stayed with me for a short while. He said ‘your saddle’s too high, your pelvis is rocking from side to side’. So I tried it lower, and it felt really wierd at first but he was right on the money. A slightly lower saddle also helps your neck…

FWIW my bike is a ‘racy’ carbon job but I can happily do long rides on it. I have a Spesh Allez carbon post with the inserts, no idea if it helps or not really, and 23mm tyres.

Meh… I’d replace 1-6 with riding a bike you’re used to. I’ve various bikes of various shapes and wildly differing setups and the one that’s most comfortable on a long ride is almost always the one I’ve put most miles in on recently.

Meh… I’d replace 1-6 with riding a bike you’re used to. I’ve various bikes of various shapes and wildly differing setups and the one that’s most comfortable on a long ride is almost always the one I’ve put most miles in on recently.

Why not set them up so they’re all comfy?

I agree with Molgrips except for the triple chainset thing. A compact is what real sportive riders use!

Been thinking about this question too as I’d like to join the dark side sometime soon. The Vitus stuff through CRC looks gorgeous and superb value for money too.

Love my SPA CYCLES Ti audax bike. They fit it to you (if you can get to the shop) with stem, bar with, control position, crank length etc, all for just £1500.

I picked it up one week and rode lejog on it the next week 🙂

I’m not sure you can find the ‘right’ control position in one session. Took me 18 months of learning how I wanted the bike to be.

I was looking at a Scott CR1 3 years ago and took the brave descision to go with an Addict.

I can do 80 miles + a day and its comfy so on that basis try a Scott Foil and leave the CR1 till you are a bit older 🙂

i don’t know, my 28mm continental four-seasons are only 30grams (or so) heavier than the 25mm versions.

(i’ll weigh them when i can be bothered – but they’re not ‘heavy lumps’)

and at 10psi less than the 25’s they replaced they’re very comfy on sheffield’s completely-bolloxed roads.

i suppose there may be some negligable aero disadvantage…

Might just of been the 28mm tyres on the bike in question, but the difference between the 25mm Krylion and what ever was on it at the time (I think Gatorskins?) is about 100g a tyre and it felt really sluggish. If I’m doing 100 miles I want to make things as easy as possible and really the roads aren’t anywhere near bad enough anywhere I’ve ridden to justify 28mm tyres for the road.

Sounds pretty much like my Condor Fratrello. That was spec’d / built for day rides – compact gearing, shallow rims, 700×28’s, full length guards.

I know it’s not something that makes a lot of appearances … 🙄 but have a rummage about in my flickr-stream for pictures. The only real criticism is that I occasionally catch myself out on the toe-overlap when turning the bars at slow speeds, but that’s down to me, rather than the bike.

I’d have a Singular Osprey on my list too – actually I’m almost certain I’ve have gone that way if the timing had worked out differently.

I quite like the Salsa Casseroll too, but I think they are ‘retired’ now – might be a bit indifferent feeling, but maybe consider a Surly Pacer (and/or if you can find one, a Soma Smoothie (or an ES) too?

… and yeah, ok, I’ll admit to a materials bias in my list. 😉

Sportive geometry, comfy tyres and triples/compacts? *shudders*

Men fought wars so you could be free to ride proper bicycles and this how you repay them?!

😉

Two of my mates have the Spa Ti Audax bike.

Bastards.

right, I really don’t want steel, I’ve had 2 before and want a change, love to try carbon but does good quality alu v entry level carbon? as budget is only upto £1500 would it be better to go for metal?

For goodness sake man – just get your Credit Card out!

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Agree-GTC-Pro-Compact-2013-Road-Bike_58150.htm

It’s it just about head tube length?

Trouble is though a high head tube may feel good on a test ride but when you want to get out of a north easterly it’s not such a good idea.

Trouble is though a high head tube may feel good on a test ride but when you want to get out of a north easterly it’s not such a good idea.

A high head tube means you’re sat up a bit higher, which stops your thighs from bouncing off your belly when you’re in the drops.

love to try carbon

Get some test rides then 😀

Personally I’d rather have something made from carbon, but I hear very good things about the Cannondale CAAD series.

Would recommend the eddy Merckx emx range

Anything Ti, with the correct dimensions.

All my bikes have different geometries so it is a case of matching your expectations to the type of ride. My winter Ti hack is the heaviest of my road bikes but probably the most comfortable.

Interestingly I’ve just spunked for a Giant TCR Advanced SL frame and it plisses all over the Felt F4 its ‘replacing’. It’s much tighter and stiffer yet surprisingly comfortable.

Giant’s Defy range are a bit slacker / have taller head tubes if you want to add them in to the choice?

That Ritchey is stunning.

Can it be had as a complete bike?

Don’t approach it from “I want a tall headtube”. Work out what height drop you want between the saddle and the bars and then find a frame* that will allow you to replicate this position.

Saddle height
position of saddle tip relative to bottom bracket axis
reach from tip of saddle
height difference between saddle and bars

Lots of good advice as always.

But I do echo going to a shop and getting measured and set up for the kind of riding you will do. It will save you making an expensive mistake or spending months fiddling. I have done this for a touring bike (steel) and a sportive bike (carbon) and don’t regret it at all.

I have a Bianchi C2C and it’s very comfortable. The equivalent now is the Infinito.

And sportive geometry is a lot about the head tube (I am 6’2″ ad would need so many spacers it would look ridiculous on a pure race bike) but ALSO about the frame comfort. A bike built Mark Cavendish to sprint on is not going to ride very well over cobbles.

I got a cycle fit done by cyclefit 6 years ago (by the same bloke that fitted Cancellera this year none the less!) after lots of knee problems when I was faced with the chance of needing an operation.

They deduced that simply put I needed a 60cm frame height wise but a 56cm frame reachwise.

So I really echo the voices saying get a proper good fit done, get your ‘numbers’ for the measurements I list above and then find* a frame to fit.

* this is the difficult part and I opted for custom…

get fitted properly by an experienced bike fitter.

many riders using old information end up on a frame 1 size too large for their ideal setup.

get the smallest frame which fits properly, will allow fitting in “both directions” (shrinking or expanding) by adjusting stem, seatpost, saddle, pedal cleats, crank length, bars, bar taping, control setup, etc.

look carefully at your drop and reach. saddle height is critical, many run it too high..

personally? I ride a 54cm race bike (Specialized Tarmac) but with less drop and less reach than would be normal, it fits me perfectly now!

had a fitting session which made fundamental differences to my setup; something that came out of that session was difference in my leg lengths which is very common for many riders, and causes instability / pain / injury unless compensated for during the fit.

the fit also addressed the right shoulder pain I can get from repeated dislocations during years of freeride mountain biking and other extreme sports

“good fit” is one of those things that I would not suffer from doing 20-30 miles locally on a Saturday morning ride

but yesterday doing 104 mile ride solo in strong winds from Milton Keynes back to London through Bucks/Northants/Herts; good fit makes a massive difference between completing the ride and baling out to take a train home, 1/2 way through the ride

wheels and tires very important, I run handbuilts (Hope hubs on Mavic Open Pro rims with d/b spokes and Specialized Roubaix tires), quick light but also comfortable and shrug off potholes impacts!

quality clothing like comfortable bib shorts (with chamois cream), fitted shoes with proper footbeds and shims, merino wool socks, overshoes if cold, knee warmers, good gloves, upper layers, correct hydration, energy foods, some nice coffee whilst taking the train before the ride, all make a big difference for the long miles

Buy my cervelo S2 in the classifieds – it got me round the Tour of Wessex (three 100 mile sportives back to back) without any problems at the quicker end of those that were there. As everyone says, if it fits, it’s comfy!

Mind you, if I ever get back on the bike one of those ritcheys would be lovely. Heavy and slow, but lovely 😉

its 8cm too small

Time First? Can build it with Ultegra for a smidge over 3k – based on the Fluidity which Cycling Plus called the best sportive frame on the market. Proper RTM carbon frame, much better build quality than anything pre-preg

its 8cm too small

well, esher up there thinks that a lot of people are riding bikes too big for them… (that’s not going to work, is it? 🙂 )

Nickc

Charlie, selective maybe, misquote? Don’t think so, unless I got it wrong and you weren’t trying to suggest that frames made out of a material other than steel can be comfortable?

Yep you misunderstood.

The frames listed sound like alloy or carbon.
Personally I would look at ti or steel.
Didn’t comment on carbon what so ever.
Alloy frames tend to be stiff.
I am knackered after 70 miles, that is a fact, no matter what material I ride.