Road bikes: normal Vs endurance

[mustang1]

I think the marketing guys tell me an endurance bike is as fast as a road bike but more upright rider position and more comfortable frame over bumps.

But no one has explained to me what the advantages of a normal road bike are over an endurance model. What would that be, except i guess, for snappier handling?

 

[MikeG]

I think the marketing guys tell me an endurance bike is as fast as a road bike but more upright rider position and more comfortable frame over bumps.

But no one has explained to me what the advantages of a normal road bike are over an endurance model. What would that be, except i guess, for snappier handling?

I've picked out the most relevant words in your post.

 

[mustang1]

I've picked out the most relevant words in your post.

Love it!

 

[pclay]

No difference really. If anything a road racing bike will have slightly different geometry which will allow you to be slightly more aero.

 

[Drago]

But isn't slightly relaxed geometry and mudgard eyelets the making of a Sportive bike?

Its all marketing pants, and half the terms either overlap with one another or contradict one another.

 

[Markymark]

I have an endurance bike and it's a little more upright than many road bikes. I'd not win a 10 or 20 mile TT on it but on longer rides I'd be able to maintain my speed for longer and with more comfort. I can ride for hours on it at a very respectable speed and get off perfectly fresh.

 

[vickster]

But isn't slightly relaxed geometry and mudgard eyelets the making of a Sportive bike?

Its all marketing pants, and half the terms either overlap with one another or contradict one another.

Aren't 'sportive' and 'endurance' bikes more or less the same depending on the manufacturer and which college the marketing bloke claims to have been to?

 

[MichaelW2]

I see the same issue with Gravel Bikes verses Adventure and CX. Salami slicing the market into sectors then producing one product for each sector. Most people just need a doitall bike that can be ridden on road and easy trails, in summer and winter, with sensible tyre clearance, capacity for mudguards and perhaps a luggage rack. A roadbike with lower gearing, more comfortable position, frame with less stiffness and more clearance is a good choice for people who don't podium (verb: To Podium).

 

[Drago]

Aren't 'sportive' and 'endurance' bikes more or less the same depending on the manufacturer and which college the marketing bloke claims to have been to?

Indeedy! The irony is, my Felt road bike has tighter geometry than my other road bikes, yet is the most comfortable and is the bike least likely to cripple me on a long haul.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

What's a normal road bike?
As far as I can see, 'performance' vs 'endurance' geometries in road bikes are equally normal.

 

[Alan O]

I see the same issue with Gravel Bikes verses Adventure and CX. Salami slicing the market into sectors then producing one product for each sector. Most people just need a doitall bike that can be ridden on road and easy trails, in summer and winter, with sensible tyre clearance, capacity for mudguards and perhaps a luggage rack. A roadbike with lower gearing, more comfortable position, frame with less stiffness and more clearance is a good choice for people who don't podium (verb: To Podium).

Do you know what I find does the "do it all" job pretty well?

My 80s 531 steel touring bike, with triple chainset, 32mm Marathon tyres*, luggage rack and mudguards - I did a 100m road ride on it recently, and I regularly ride on cycle paths, gravel paths, canal towpath, and some easier off-road trails. Back in my day, most cyclists would buy one bike like this and it would last for decades.

It would be no good for competition in any specific discipline, but the vast majority of us buying bikes for this kind of riding don't compete.

(*As for tyres, I'm amused that wisdom is now turning back to the use of wider tyres for better rolling resistance - it's nice to know we old fogeys with our 27 x 1 1/4 tyres got something right!)

 

[Andrew_P]

I have a Gravel bike (GT Grade) bought mainly for winter as it has disc brakes and mudguards and I have a SuperSix Evo. The Supersix is by far the most fun to ride and bizarrely the most comfortable. The only two downsides to the Six are no mudguards and it feels the bumps. The latter I cannot mitigate with tyres as it was the last model that could only really take 23mm tyres! The Grade might not fit me as snuggly I guess, but it just doesn't seem as fun to ride.

 

[Joffey]

Best thing to do is just try a few bikes and get the one which feels right to you.

 

[mustang1]

Best thing to do is just try a few bikes and get the one which feels right to you.

I go by looks and those endurance bikes have really long head tubes that make them look dorky. I already look enough of a dork without the bike adding to the facade.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I think the more relaxed geometry of the endurance, or, as we used to call it, sport touring bicycle, has the ability, all other things being equal, to be a bit more comfortable in the long haul. The tall head tube is just a function of the more upright ride . Having been an old ad man, I call it comfort enhanced design. CED is for the discriminating rider who enjoys the finer things in life, and wants to have his head up from the road, and experience the world around him. The well rounded and erudite cyclist appreciates the attributes of CED.