[Closed] Comfortable road bike?

Came on to recommend the domane but you’ve already found that one. The “suspension” on the frame is a small part of it, the relaxed riding position is the other. I’m quite sure I’m faster on my domane than on my madone because it’s so much more comfortable

Suspension seatpost?

I have a Mk1 Cane Creek Thudbuster sat in the garage. Slight play in it but nothing you notice on the road. 27.2. Yours for the cost of post.

I have a Spesh Diverge which is strictly speaking a gravel bike but its super comfy! Future shock really soaks up the bumps and 30 or 32mm slicks are fairly fast but can be run at 45 psi or lower.

 is there something else I should consider…

Tyre volume and pressure.

I'm "lucky" in that I'm comfy on 23mm tyres on long rides but I now prefer 28mm just for the added "cush". Some of the bikes above will take larger tyres too.

IME a high-volume, 40mm tyre like a Schwalbe G-One Speed tubeless at 40psi is only about 1-2kph slower in average speed over a skinny 'performance' tyre on my local chip'n'seal roads - but a huge improvement in terms of comfort and grip. Unless you're racing, there really isn't much point in riding smaller than 30mm. As said, position is also a factor - no point of riding a slammed stem and a 15cm bar to saddle drop if your back is killing you after an hour.

Ah diverge has forgotten about that, and can fit slicks, it’s a tad cheaper than the roubaix!

Currently have a canyon roadlite back to when it was a road bike, max tyre I think is 25mm which I have already, it came with 23mm will check to see if I can find specs from Canyon.

hip & back pain sounds more like position that bumps to me, backed up by "Monday was my first ride on my proper road bike"

try a bit shorter stem, or raise it if your steerer's long enough

Proper bike fitting.

My CUbe GTC Agree came with 23mm tyres but I was pleasantly surprised to find that 28mm fitted just fine. Might be worth borrowing a tyre/wheel off someone so see if it'll go.

Sorry should of said it’s my first ride on the road bike 🚴‍♀️ since hurting my back, I’ve had the bike for 8 years and until January rode 50-80 miles at least once a week, I had a bike fit a few years back so I know it was a perfect fit but being out on it this week while riding I felt fine but later that day just agony.

It depends on the type of riding you want to do. Do you need a race type bike or will something more relaxed do - like the Diverge?

You should change your position. There is nothing intrinsically uncomfortable about road bikes. But fashions for low bars and over-stretched pro positions will not help. My bet is that you have too much weight on your hands and your bars are too low forcing you to crick your neck to see ahead.

Some designs allow a more raise front end, but nothing that can’t be achieved by a few spacers. Tyres and bar tape can also help. But fundamentally position is what matters.

The main aim was to keep fit, I have Cannock but it’s miles away, and tucked away in Solihull I have some great country roads so the road bike meant I can get a good ride in at speed and distance, a good 40 mile ride takes on Warwick, Stratford and back home in a good time. I won’t race at any point but I’m at the point I could ride between 15-20 mph average speed, want to keep up those speeds and distance.

My 58cm Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc is quite upright, much to the delight of my lower back, which was a real issue in life from 2008 to 2017. 388mm reach and 610mm stack.

If your back problem allows it might be worth doing some core exercises. Hip pain sounds more like the position on the bike.Also,did you try a little bit too hard on your first ride out.After reading a review of bike fits I'm not entirely convinced.Tester had 5 different fits and all came back with different recommendations.A friend got a free bike fit with his new bike.Out on the road he got bad back pain so went back to his original set up.

I’ve had the bike for 8 years and until January rode 50-80 miles at least once a week, I had a bike fit a few years back so I know it was a perfect fit

Trouble is that you've gone back to being more like a newbie and you need to get used to that stretch again. A perfect bike fit includes looking at flexibility and core strength and yours will have dropped.

I'd always suggest to a beginner that they buy a bike cheaply and set up a bit "too short" initially and then sell/replace or change over some parts when they know they want to keep riding road, are more used to the position and have found out where they like to be stretch-wise by trying longer stem, saddle back etc.

It takes time to get used to road bike position. I had a period of not riding, then went back to road, and my back was very painful. It went after a number of months and lots of riding.

This was on a fully fitted bike. I unfortunately don't ride road bikes, other than on a turbo now following a broken spine..

If you are taking all week to recover from a 30 mile road ride, it sounds like you must have serious problems with your bike setup, especially if you say you can ride an MTB without problems. I would look at sorting out whatever the problem is with your position, rather than buying a new bike.
A 30 mile ride shouldn't be causing that level of discomfort on any road bike.

When you say "road bike", do you mean a road race bike, or a bike to ride on the road.

When it comes to comfort it's had to beat the position on a classic British touring bike. A decent saddle and the top of the dropbars level with it is a good start - take a look at what got ridden in the 1950/60/70 when people were still using bikes as their only transport and doing big mileage on them, and you'll rarely see a slammed stem. They also rode on reasonable size tyres 32 - 38mm.

You should change your position. There is nothing intrinsically uncomfortable about road bikes. But fashions for low bars and over-stretched pro positions will not help. My bet is that you have too much weight on your hands and your bars are too low forcing you to crick your neck to see ahead.

Exactly. I ride a very stiff track bike with narrow high pressure tyres on road and gravel and find it completely comfortable because it fits me perfectly. Dabbled with a mountain bike over last few weeks and now have neck pain from it - mainly arms being splayed out from wide bars, hand angle etc,. even though the bike has suspension fork and 2.4 tyres and the position is a lot more upright than on my track bike.

I’ve had the bike for 8 years and until January rode 50-80 miles at least once a week, I had a bike fit a few years back so I know it was a perfect fit

as others have said if you haven't ridden that position for a while you may need to get used to it again, but also if you've had a serious musculoskeletal injury then it's possible you won't have the same flexibility / geometry as before period. I had a major disc injury some years ago and as a result way less lower back flexibility than I previously had, and while over time it has improved to think I could attain the same position now as I did then is just crackers.

i have. genesis equlibrium built with flat bars , its really comfy can ride it all day, much comfier than my road bike, might be worth looking at converting you road bike ,

shouldn't you wait until you are 100% better.

Comfort isn't so much about widgets to slightly dampen vibration, it's about riding position. Get a bike that supports a position into which you can fit comfortably.

I’ve been fitted for my road bikes, but molgrips I’d have to disagree, maybe not widgets, but 32 or 35mm tyres at low pressure with latex tubes are like riding while sat on my sofa. My Domane is just ridiculously comfortable. It has the front and rear isospeed and currently 32mm tyres.

It’s hard to quantify the isospeed widgets, but overall it’s a comfortable bike to ride. My aero bike, less so and that has no widgets and only 25mm tyres.

Unlike petrieboy I’m a lot faster on my aero bike than the domane. I do think you sacrifice speed over comfort. But my aero bike isn’t uncomfortable, it’s just not as smooth as the domane.

Proper bike fitting.

Correct answer as position is the key. I've said before but I am most comfortable on my proper road bike with a head down, bum up position, that's because it fits me like a glove and my saddle is perfect.
You don't always need slack geometry and an upright position to be comfy, you need a position that works for your body.

I’ve been fitted for my road bikes, but molgrips I’d have to disagree, maybe not widgets, but 32 or 35mm tyres at low pressure with latex tubes are like riding while sat on my sofa.

Ok, obviously fat tyres will help, but not if your position is bad. If there's too much weight on your hands causing sore palms or wrists then changing tyres won't change that.