New road bike indecision has been narrowed down to these 2. I rode a Venge last year and found it harsh (and should be able to test ride one again soon), had a spin on a Supersix a while ago, it felt comfier.
Any thoughts?
If anyone can work out what the 25W power difference at 25mph would make the difference in speed for the 2 bikes for me riding at 20mph on the Supersix I'd be grateful!
I use [url= http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/powermodels.aspx ]Cycling Power Lab[/url] for this sort of thing.
If you are reasonably fit and trained then getting an 25 watts from your legs alone will be a lot of hard work! If I was to come out of this winter with an extra 25 watts I'd be very happy.
the only people i know with Venge’s are elites’1’s and 2’s
seems an odd choice of bike for a recreational rider, i do apologise in advance if indeed you are at least a 3rd cat looking to move up.
Edit: it’s maybe not the out and out race ready bike i though tit was, guess it depends on the spec level and how many stem spacers 🙂
The answer is 4. Unless it's red, or the Cvndsh edition, when it's 4.73
Of all the bikes in the world I thought you'd buy Al, I never thought it'd be something like this.
Never ridden a Venge, but have a SuperSix and of all the bikes I've owned it has to be the one I've loved the most. Feels great on really long rides in the mountains on rough roads, stiff and light enough for hill climb races, lively but stable and confidence inspiring on big descents. I just love it. In fact, I'm about to leave work early for a quick 120 km ride around the fjords and hills of Bergen.
But the Venge could be better, I just don't know 😉
Cheers MrB, looks like 1.2km/h = .75mph = 12minutes off an Ironman (WOW!)
I suspect I'd prefer the Supersix to ride, but the Venge could come in handy if/when I do the odd chain gang or tri, and as most of my rides are <2hrs, I could persuade myself to compromise on comfort.
If you're buying it for an ironman and worried about wattage/time you'd be better off with a dedicated TT bike, surely?
I'm buying it as my road bike, I may dabble in tris also, I may not.
Then why would you buy the harsh bike over the comfier bike?
Erm...because I want it to do both?
Go aero. So Venge, Propel, Aeroad, Foil.
Will be half a pound heavier, but will save you watts if you ride it as it should be ridden. The aero profile means that the tubes have to be thicker to retain rigidity. The extra stiffness of my Propel is not detrimental to the ride - I've ridden 100 miles on it without issue. But my Defy is a little more comfortable, but not as fast.
I have aero and non-aero. Aero is faster.
You'll need a skinsuit to maximize gains though 😉
I see the logic, but it would be £200 more to me, and I could use that £200 to get a fat frame and thus have a fat bike rather than a load of fat bike bits and a project frame...
I also want a Garmin and a power meter HRM thingy.
I also want a Garmin and a power meter HRM thingy.
Training to power will give you the best gains overall IME. Which i know doesn't help with bike choice 😀
it depends what you want, as they're two very different bikes.
long hilly rides or races, where you want uphill speed - buy the supersix
less hilly stuff, and best return with clip on tri bars - choose the venge
The Supersix will **** all faster on climbs!
Get the Cannondale, the venge was so bad they had to get mcclaren in to make a special edition to fix it!
I admire Cannondale for sticking with a flat top tube but that Venge looks special in the flesh.
Had a super six for several years now and love it, as been said above and i've mentioned in previous post its great for an hour blast and also comfy for long rides. But if I was going to get an aero bike i'd be looking at the Cervelo S range but thats me 🙂
Venge is an instant fail, an aero bike without a horizontal TT is just silly on a basic level, that and it's ugly. Buy a Propel. I don't own either...
Buy a Propel
This. The Cervelo has a nicer paint job, but the Propel is a fantastic bike. Fact, comfortable and not too heavy 7.5 kilos for a modest build.
(I do own one - the stock brakes aren't great, but I have upgraded mine. I'll not be racing on disks, that's for certain!)
I happened to test ride a Propel yesterday (at a Giant Dealer demo day), it was pretty good.
However the cable routing is gopping, if not quite as shite functionally as the Venge's.
Supersix still the leader...
What's it 25W better than? Not doubting it's better than some other frames, but 25W is surely the difference between a good rider and a podium contender, in which case surely we'd see specialized team domestiques kicking arse in the time trials etc?
Have you tried a Tarmac out of interest?
I have a supersix evo hi-mod with a red Groupset on it. It's the best bike I've ever ridden (but I would say that). Lots of people say why wouldn't I buy a comfier bike but it's also the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden too.
If you get the one with the sisl crankset you can swap out the chain rings for compact/standard double spiderings and stick a stages power meter on without having to change the entire crank.
The bottom brackets tend to click quite a lot and require fairly regular maintenance and you've got to fork out ~£50 for some tools to do it which is painful.
He bike is super light (not that it matters that much) but really confidence inspiring.
Do it!
Dare I mention a Madone? or Domane for comfort?
I picked up my Super Six yesterday and had big plans on taking it out this morning but twins with Chicken Pox but the brakes on that.
If I was looking at a venge, I'd be wondering why the majority of riders on specialized sponsored teams ride tarmacs...
thisisnotaspoon - MemberWhat's it 25W better than? Not doubting it's better than some other frames, but 25W is surely the difference between a good rider and a podium contender, in which case surely we'd see specialized team domestiques kicking arse in the time trials etc?
25W better than the Tarmac, which I have tried, from memory I prefer the Cannondale, I also hate Di2 cable routing with a vengeance.
Don't all pro team riders ride TTS on aero bikes?
EDIT Moar calcs suggest a Venge would save me 4m on an Ironman.
* that!
EIDT 2 * me at the cost of the SiSL crankset equipped bikes!
They ride team trials on time trial bikes, not aero road bikes...
I guess if your main objective is fast solo riding, or you're a sprinter, then maybe a venge would be the way to go. But I'd take the 25W with a pinch of salt - that is a lot, even as a percentage of pro wattage, and if that was the advantage under general conditions then surely all the specialized riders would be on one (Nibali, Contador, Kwiatkowski, Boonen, Roche, Terpstra etc.etc.). Most people on astana/OPQS/saxo-tinkoff (Cav excepted) seem to prefer the Tarmac, which always struck me as odd given the negligible weight difference and the purported advantage of the aero frame.
Nothing against aero bikes, I used to have an cervelo S2 and loved it, but I think the 25W thing must be at 42 kmh with a perfect headwind of 23 kmh only, or some other lab outlier, or everyone would be on the venge, surely?
Anyway, I'd get the supersix as it looks better.
I ordered the Supersix.
SRAM Rival 22 groupset for sale shortly...
so you can put your triple on?
😉
😎
I have a supersix evo hi-mod with a red Groupset on it. It's the best bike I've ever ridden (but I would say that). Lots of people say why wouldn't I buy a comfier bike but it's also the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden too.If you get the one with the sisl crankset you can swap out the chain rings for compact/standard double spiderings and stick a stages power meter on without having to change the entire crank.
The bottom brackets tend to click quite a lot and require fairly regular maintenance and you've got to fork out ~£50 for some tools to do it which is painful.
He bike is super light (not that it matters that much) but really confidence inspiring.
Do it!
could have written that myself, although i went for a powertap over stages (have stages on the MTB)
Mostly because I can't test ride it, also I wouldn't get trade price on it.
fair points,
Jezzo!! Its like floating on air riding a Super Six. My arse loves me!
Well I got the Supersix. The ride is really really good, no regrets!
What tyres does it come with? Try some 25c Schwalbe Ones.
23 Lugano's.
I ride 25mm UST.