Road Bikes

The Crux 5 launched today, and most of the coverage is focused on what it means for gravel racing. Fair enough — that’s what Specialized built it for. But I keep staring at the spec sheet thinking about a different question: at what point does a bike like this make a dedicated road bike redundant for most riders? I think we’re getting close. The Weight Argument Is Real The S-Works Crux 5 frame weighs 789 grams. The Tarmac SL8 frame — one of the lightest road frames ever made — weighs 685 grams. That’s a 104-gram difference. For context, that’s roughly the weight of a CO2 inflator and a folded tire. It’s real, but it’s not the kind of gap that changes your life on a Saturday morning ride. ...

The new Canyon Endurace CFR has Aeroad geometry, Aeroad aerodynamics, an identical fork, and the same cockpit. The only thing that separates it from the Paris-Roubaix-winning race bike is 3mm of extra tire clearance. Canyon still calls it an endurance bike. Make of that what you will. What it actually means for you as a buyer is that this bike is not what the name implies — and depending on what you’re looking for, that’s either exactly right or completely wrong. ...

The Factor Ostro VAM V2 is designed to be both lightweight and aerodynamic — a combination most bikes used to compromise on. I found this frame in almost new condition and built it up exactly the way I wanted. The build runs a mixed Shimano Ultegra/Dura-Ace Di2 12-speed groupset, a Quarq DFour power meter crankset, and BTLos Aerix Pro 52mm wheels with DT 350 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes — coming in at around 1290 grams for the set. One detail I’m particularly happy with: a custom ASA 3D printed headset spacer I designed to match the Tavelo Avro integrated bar and stem setup. ...