Odd Dream Road Bike

[regularguy]

Hi everyone. This is my first post, but I'm a long-time lurker.

I got into road bikes about 10 years ago. I looked at what was out there at the time, and I started to (mentally) piece together a bike that I thought offered the best balance of everything. Now, clearly all of this (and this whole website!) is just for fun. I'm probably a more casual weekend rider than many of you and I'm not going up and down mountains. But, I like riding fast, I like advanced tech that actually improves the ride, I dislike any extra parts/complexity that I don't use, and I'm happy to pay for innovation but not for branding. So, I put together a list of variables back then that I thought made sense for an ideal build.

Alloy disc frame, with road geometry
At least some aero consideration
1X groupset with ~350% cassette range, 44T chainring
Wireless electronic shifting
Cable/hose integration (for style, duh)
Minimalist paint scheme
Costs less than a decent motorcycle
~7.5 KG

As I continue to follow the trends today, a lot of these things have come into existance that either didn't exist or weren't commonplace back then. Why not just get a gravel bike? Those tend to have really wide range gearing, are probably more 'robust' and have more mounts than I want, and come with gravel-esque tires.

Am I wasting my time trying to find this perfect alloy frame? Or is carbon basically what's out there? Seems like the capability is there to make great alloy frames, but carbon brings the profit margins, so alloy is neglected.

Why don't bike companies make it easier to convert frames to 1X? The FD mount is usually fixed/brazed on. Isn't removing parts the ultimate in being a weight weenie?

[Broady]

Wait for the new Allez Sprint? No details yet but I'd imagine it will tick all of those boxes.

[tjvirden]

OP, rather than it being "a waste of time" searching for your perfect frame, I think it's easier to accept that it will probably never be made. Just get the frame that, taking all your wants into consideration, gets to the top of your list. Regardless of material (please ignore bamboo and wood!).

Making simple alloy frames (round tubes, minimal shaping and butting, "ordinary" alloys [think 6061/66 or 7005]) is fairly inexpensive - though prices are only going one way. However, getting the best from alloy is very difficult and expensive - so carbon has taken over that segment of the market, but carbon is getting more expensive too!

In my opinion 1x for "road bikes" is going to remain a niche for the indefinite future. How about something along the lines of a "Rides of Japan" bike?

[NotYou]

If you don't need fully internal cable routing, you could take a look at a Caad13 frame. Put in an aftermarket BB and you can build it up with any crank- and groupset you like (on 1x you'd have to live with the redundant FD hanger though).
Everything else should fit the requirements quite well, and if it's anything like it's predecessor, it's a well made race bike easily buildable to less then 7,5kg

[CampagYOLO]

If you don't need fully internal cable routing, you could take a look at a Caad13 frame. Put in an aftermarket BB and you can build it up with any crank- and groupset you like (on 1x you'd have to live with the redundant FD hanger though).
Everything else should fit the requirements quite well, and if it's anything like it's predecessor, it's a well made race bike easily buildable to less then 7,5kg

Yep, I built an Ultegra one, size 56 and it was pretty easy to get it to 7.5kg all in.

If you're US based, Low bicycles could be worth a look at for something more bespoke.

[soulxpower]

Have you considered a Low MK disc? (https://www.lowbicycles.com/mk-disc-road).

It's a bit pricey and the wait times a tad long, but it does tick a bunch of your boxes. The only thing it lacks is the full intergration of cables.

[AJS914]

At least some aero consideration
1X groupset with ~350% cassette range, 44T chainring
Wireless electronic shifting
Cable/hose integration (for style, duh)
Minimalist paint scheme
Costs less than a decent motorcycle
~7.5 KG

Sounds like the 1x Tarmac SL7 Pro with eTap. It probably costs as much as some motorcycles but a lot less than a new Ducati.