Have been happily riding 2005 BMC Pro Machine for last several years. Upgraded fork to Enve 2.0 and enjoy both climbing and longer day rides on this very comfortable and responsive frame. It's a tad high strung down hill and requires your attention but is a true sports car. Now with the TdF underway, I'm hot to get a new bike but not wanting to spend $$$. Prefer to look for a great frameset and do a custom build. Seriously considering Specialized S-Work SL4, Cannondale Supersix EVO, BMC Team Machine, Pinarello Dogma 2 or other great frame. Looking for climbing ability, comfort for the longer days and, okay I admit, a bit of prestige. Who is head and shoulders above the rest? Any suggestions?

Soooo... you watch some of The Tour, and now you feel inclined to purchased a new several thousand dollar frameset, narrowed down to pretty much the highest end model from each of the biggest bike brands sponsoring the TDF and that you see the pro's riding. I guess their marketing and advertising is doing EXACTLY what they want it to do on viewers like you! Haha.

I mean... Cannondale, Specialized, BMC, Pinarello, Trek, etc etc etc... they are all fantastic bikes, but before you go blindly dropping a few thousand dollars on a frame just because you saw it on TDF and some random people from the internet told you which one to buy... How about you do a little investigation into some of bikes and also into the unique and custom carbon bikes being made today which are just as nice, if not nicer, for the same price.

And just to throw another bike into your list... I'd personally consider a Parlee Z5 over any of those listed bikes.

That's an easy one there is a commercial on during the tour that says the Cannondale SuperSix Evo Ultimate is the best bike in the world.
They're giving you the answer and it's only $12,000

spend it on a coach/personal trainer, thats going to get you the best climbing ability and you'll be less tired on longer days

Don't buy upgrades, ride grades

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Apparently my bikes were talking the other day & are undecided whether to upgrade the current rider or get a new one...

one of the schemers...

Well, it is true that marketing definitely does work. Did have a great test ride on the Cannondale EVO this afternoon. Light (700g frame), stiff and tracks extremely well. Great climbing and descending. I'll add a Storck, Canyon and Calfee to the list so the boutique builders are well represented. Hiring a trainer, losing 5-10 kg of weight and saving thousands of dollars is great advice. But not nearly as much fun as shopping for a new bike!

A new bike every 7-8 yrs...

Why not treat yourself to something special - custom / unique?

As far as high flootin custom builders go, Crumptons and Alchemys are pretty amazing carbon frames. Calfees are very nice, their warranty is great, but the ones I've ridden have had a different feel than the superbikes you're aiming at.

Ride all the bikes on your list and pick the one you feel most excited about. If you have a set of wheels and a saddle you'd be riding to swap onto the bikes to equalize the feel, you're even better off.

As far as the big brands go, I really like the SL4. Just sayin'.

Amen. Out of that list, I'd get the Teammachine. Love the way the 2012 white ones look.

Personally though, I'm interested in learning more about the new Wilier Cento1 SR.

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2013 Wilier Cento1 SR || 2009 Ridley Crossbow || 2011 Yeti AS-R 5 Carbon

True...

I have a feeling this is going to be a great build, you need to post pics when ur done

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Apparently my bikes were talking the other day & are undecided whether to upgrade the current rider or get a new one...

one of the schemers...

I dumped a Specialized for a Cannondale. Cervelo before. For me personally, the Spec just felt dead and uninspiring. And I've been a Specialized man for nearly twenty years.

I've met many a guest out here who has an expensive personal trainer coach and who is embarrassingly slow. By all means get a really GOOD coach but sadly they are few and far between.

Most of them are no better than spending a few hours on the internet, downloading and absorbing the information that's available. Many simply give off the confidence that they know what they are doing when the reality is somewhat different.

Do lose weight though. That's the biggest boon for any cyclist that has to go up hill IME.

Calfee dragonfly semi compact custom
Internal 2013 dura ace
Cannondale sisl bb30 cranks one piece
ENVE 3.4 on Chris king hubs

Easy....

I had the exact same thought process recently. Custom build, was tossing up between SL4, EVO, Z5, BH ultralight and SLR01. I almost pulled the trigger on a BH ultralight, but the BB386EVO really limited crank choices and so i went with an evo so i could run a quarq + SI SL setup, currently in process of building it up. I think any of those frames would be great to build up. I don't understand the logic of getting something just because it is boutique and "different", that doesn't make it a better bike. Let us know how your build goes.

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Evo 5.63kg SL3 7.045kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I find my climbing ability is limited by my me not my bike.

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www.thecycleclinic.co.uk

Almost universally. That is why the unfit 50 year old weighing 100kg with the lightweights and di2 still gets dropped by the 50kg malnourished arts student with the homemade bike. But a nice bike is still nice.

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Evo 5.63kg SL3 7.045kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hahahaaa!!:podium: So true!