I am trying to decide between aero bikes from two different brands. What are some of the things I should think about when comparing these two (or any other) aero bikes?
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2Specific buying advice is off topic here as it's only useful to the asker and tends to become obsolete quickly. You may be able to re-word your question to ask what should be considered when buying an aero bike.– Argenti ApparatusMar 13, 2019 at 0:10
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Changed it to comply– OmarMar 13, 2019 at 0:18
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1Pick the that fits best, the get riding and try and forget all the comparison you just made. They are both great bikes, and unless you plan to do a lot of riding in the rain the braking performance will be similar.– Rider_XMar 13, 2019 at 3:01
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2Get on both and ride them. Even if you have to hire the bike for a day for a hundred bucks, its worth doing.– Criggie ♦Mar 13, 2019 at 6:14
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2voted to re-open after edit by @DeletedUser– Andy PMar 13, 2019 at 14:39
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1 Answer
There are several things (such as fit) to consider when buying any bike. However aero bikes have some special considerations to be made.
Comfort
Has the design compromised the comfort by making the ride overly harsh.
Weight
Are you going to be doing a lot of climbing on the bike? Aero bikes are heavier than normal bikes due to the tube shapes, however some aero bikes are particularly heavy.
Maintenance
Are you going to be looking after the bike yourself? If so, maybe you don't want the nifty hidden brake calipers integrated into the fork.
Travel
Are you going to be travelling with the bike? Is any integrated bar/stem and magical cable routing going to cause problems?
Wheels
Do you already have your own deep section wheels? If not, does the bike have a good set? Wheels will give bigger aero gains than the frame itself
Tyre Clearance
Given the increasing popularity of larger tyres and wider rims, does the frame have clearance for larger (28c) tyres?
Aero Bars
Are you potentially going to want to use the bike for triathlon or time trials? If so can the shape of the handle bars accommodate clip on aero bars, or does the manufacturer produce their own special version?
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On the maintenance point, some of the aero bikes like the cervelo s5 have fully internal cables which I am told make it a pain to work on. As well as aero bikes seeming to have entirely non standard parts and odd shapes so getting replacement parts would be very expensive and hard for older bikes.– QwertieMar 18, 2019 at 3:09