Bike Fitter RANKS Endurance Bikes Worst to Best 

00:01 Intro 00:26 Ribble Endurance SL 01:07 Scott Addict 01:48 Specialized Roubaix 02:46 Trek Domane 03:54 Boardman SLR 04:39 Cannondale Synapse 05:11 Triban RC520 05:49 Giant Defy 06:51 Pinarello X 08:15 Canyon Endurace

Love my Canyon Endurace. Grabbed the AL model back in 2020. Best value imho, mine came with Shimano 105 and it’s done everything I need it to do. Highly recommend 15,000 miles later

I will watch anything with James ranting. I can't quite describe why I enjoy him being an enjoyable curmudgeon.

I have a Specialized Roubaix and I actually think the future shock 2.0 is a real plus in terms of comfort. Haven’t had any issues with it and really glad I have it every time I hit the Belgian cobble stones. It’s also easy to lock whenever I don’t need it and since I’m not looking to shave off every gram on the bike, the whatever extra weight is fine with me.

I have a future shock 2.0 on my 21 Diverge and have had zero complaints with it. I also work in a shop where we sell a decent amount of bikes with Future Shocks, and the only thing I have had to replace is the boot occasionally. I have never had one break. Not saying they can't, but I have never seen a failure.

In trek’s defense they took out the front iso speed, while keeping the only one that matters which is the rear one.

The Trek Domane was dinged because they said it has a suspension in the front. Fact check: that was removed in Gen4. The Domane pictured does not have a front shock/damper.

Was hoping to see the BMC Road Machine and Look 765 Optimum+ in this list (mostly because they seem to match my fit well).

I've had the Triban RC520 for the last 3 years or so. Absolute great ALU-bike. I've done a 200 miles/320 km trip in one go but also a bunch of centurians on it (162 km or so). Smack a bunch of wide tyres on it and it is really comfortable. The saddle is a bit so so out of the box, but for the price easy to replace with bills still in the wallet! 😁

LOVE my Endurace. Had it 7 years and it's the one bike I can ride all day.

I bought my Canyon Endurace CF 7 disc back in late 2021. It was my first real road bike and my first carbon framed bike. It's still looking like new except for the worn bar tape and tires, but it's done a lot of +12hr rides. Everything I read at the time I purchased this bike pointed at those new to road cycling (or older like me) should get an endurance geometry. Obviously my heart wanted something flashy and fast but I'm really happy with the bike. Waiting for the weather to improve to take on some 300-400km rides 😊

Thank you for continuing to beat the drum for shorter riders! 5'3" is in fact the AVERAGE height for women in both the UK and the US. As a 5'3" rider I am in fact very normal, but the bike industry largely treats me as a distant outlier. With cycling jerseys I can kind of get used to my pockets dragging down below my butt and letting overlong bibs just bunch up a little on my thighs so they don't cover my knees (though I won't ever love it!!), but finding a frame that fits is a much more serious and limited story. And it shouldn't have to be! Because my height is, again, completely average. There are a lot of us out here and we all have a damn shoulder ache.

Love my Domane Gen 4, ride is amazing. Very smooth on gravel as well. No sore issues after a 5 hour ride.

I purchased a Cervelo Caledonia w/105 as my road bike last year and I absolutely love it. Hydraulic discs, 105 w/ bigger cassette stock and 52/36 front, non integrated headset to help my mechanic. It was between that and the defy and really came down to the deal i got!

It’s good to hear James talk about shorter riders. My wife is 160cm and most bikes “in her size” are seriously compromised. Toe overlap for days, 2 cm of seat post sticking out etc etc etc. It’s crazy to me how many bikes get made that suit riders that are 190cm+ and how few suit 160cm or less. There are so many more people that are that shirt rather than that tall. Huge market just left with very few options.

Purchased the Ribble endurance sl rim 2022 for £560 on ebay, thought it was an endurance bike. Did feel stretched to start with so I pushed my saddle forward slightly. Now it feels more comfortable. No aggressive position. Can easily ride for 3-4 hours no back/neck pain. Slam the stem if I want more aero/racing. Best of both worlds!

I'm 67, have a 2016 Defy Advanced 2, a 2020 Madone SL6 and 2023 Domane SLR and I can't honestly say that one is more or less comfortable than the others. I'm fine on all of them as long as I have the right saddle.

Merida Scultura Endurance? These seem right on the money to whats being discussed, and well good value. I ride the more aggressive Scultura, which I love.

Trek Domane AL 5. The 105 aluminum version. No suspension to mess with. Very comfortable and very affordable. Great value.

Glad to see the Defy was near the top of the list - it helps to validate my purchase 😊

James, the canyon comes in at your no1. The SLX range all come with the 1 piece integrated cockpit which granted has width adjustment but what does a rider do if the stem is too short or too long when they don’t even sell this cockpit as an aftermarket item?

After quite a few years, the Canyon Endurace AL7 is still the best bang-for-the-buck for the average weekend warrior. Considering the parts and component specs (full 105 mechanical groupset and hydraulic brakes, DT Swiss wheels, carbon fork and seatpost, Selle Italia saddle, Conti Grand Prix tires), even better value than the Triban RC 520.

I have the Triban rc520 and love it. Had it fitted by Denver at Bicycle Richmond last year, and its super comfortable. Thinking about upgrading the wheels on it and keeping it as my regular commuter and getting something gravel based for my long rides.

Sooooo, the Ribble Endurance gets absolutely slated for not having an endurance geometry, quoting a stack of 582 and a reach of 400. And yet, the top bike in the list, the Canyon Endurace has a stack of 637 (admittedly a lot more) but a reach of 405 (so it's longer). And again the Scott Addict got slated, but its stack is 613 and it reach is 398. So actually a better geometry for endurance than the Canyon Endurace?

Interesting that the Endurace which is so highly praised has lower stack and longer reach in a given size than both the Roubaix and Domane - which come in for heavy criticism. I agree the Canyon is more of a bargain and simpler to maintain, but I'd have thought a video titled "Bike Fitter Ranks Endurance Bikes" might have based those ranks based on, I dunno, bike fit?

Cervelo Caledonia-5 didn’t make top ten? Oversight or you really hate it. Got a fit prior to purchase. Replaced my 2015 Synapse. Love this bike.

Good video, but I figured I'd let you know the newest Domane gen 4 got rid of the front decouple and changed the adjustable rear decoupler to a fixed setting one to reduce weight (still not ultralight) and help eliminate creak. I got my gen 4 SL6 last year, no issues so far. I do like that Canyon, I just couldn't bring myself to buy one without a test ride and no shops near me had one.

I have the newer Domane SL5. I will say they removed the front suspension, so there has been weight savings from previous years.

I've ridden a ROSE Pro SL endurance bike for the last couple of years. I absolutely love it. Sounds like James would approve of the geometry of it as well.

I have the Cannondale. Awsome bike, wasnt sure about having the lighting system fitted permanently. But now like it. Only issue with the lights is the battery from garmin is terrible.

I LOVED by Boardman SLR disc. It was beautiful and the most comfortable bike I’ve ridden so far. I’m in the US and only got a boardman because it was carbon, disc, and had good components for a great price from Merlin cycles. Never saw another Boardman but got lots of compliments. Sadly, it was stolen. God I loved that bike.

I have an RC520 that I bought 2nd hand about 3 years ago as a 'temp' bike. Still have it, and it's going fine. Use it for winter and bike packing and up to recently was my most comfortable bike.

In 2023 I had a bike fit session with James. He advised me to buy Canyon Endurace. Now I ride it and can assure that the bike is really great in terms of geometry. Once again, thanks to James:)

The Giant Defy numbers don’t seem to check out. I’m 5’9” and have been comfortably on a medium for years. There are also two sizes below it, and the female oriented Liv range goes even smaller.

I have a 9 year old trek domaine disk with dura ace di2, cost a fortune 9 years ago but so comfortable and responsive when you want to go fast, can’t see me ever buying another road bike, buy well, buy once has worked out for me and probably cheaper than chopping and changing,

I picked up an Endurace this year and cannot be happier! Made sure to pick up some spare parts just in case when I ordered it so that if little things fail I have the spares ready to go. As an FYI, I chatted with my LBS before buying to see they could find a similar specced bike at a similar cost, they could not unfortunately. I do love my LBS so while I didn’t buy this bike with them they have all my other N + 1 business 😅

I am a huge fan of the Giant Defy 🎉

I have the Ribble, and while it may not be a pure endurance bike, I can go for so much longer (and thus farther) than my old cannondale six racer. So much more comfortable. Good enough for me!

Orbea Orca is another great endurance bike. Definitely deserves to be up there with the Canyon

Interesting. I have the Ribble Endurance SL Disc. Great bike. Only ever seen it reviewed as an endurance bike. It works fine for me, but then I am a very below average cyclist.

I Just bought the Scott addict 10 because my old storck grix was too aggressive for me. And i gotta say, that this small differences was all it took for me. But ye i get your Point

I confess I am a Cannondale fanboy, but I have no idea what they were thinking with the new Synapse. I have both of the previous two generations, and they are both really nice bikes, comfortable and without any fancy dampening or electronic gadgets. From what I hear, the current Supersix Evo is more comfy than the current Synapse.

He is always saying how every bike is too big and I have seen a few for videos, do you guys have a breakdown of how we should look at geometry and where the recommended size on company websites go wrong?

I’ve just picked up a Synapse 105 this past summer and it’s fantastic. Group set of the people and it’s comfy as heck with factory standard 30mm tires.

Great video overall. I’m curious to know how neither the BMC Roadmachine nor the Cervelo Caledonia made the list over bikes like the Ribble

Have a pre-battery 2021 Cannondale Synapse. Really nice bike leaning heavily towards racing but with a bit more comfort. But I fully agree: What is that integrated light and battery doing on the new version? They took a classic and ruined it - I guess, yes, to position it somewhere else in the spectrum, but it makes no sense to me either. It's too racey and expensive to be a commuter, but now it's not a proper endurance-racer either.

Hey guys, any opinion on Cervelo Caledonia / Caledonia 5?

A table showing stack and reach measurements for all of the frames would be good to show.

I am still not sold on the idea that short bikes are more comfortable for everyone unless the bars exceedingly high. You end up arching your back rather than stretching it out and your weight isn't so well distributed. I have some disc buldges and struggle more on short reach bikes. I find even modern 'race' bikes are pretty short if your arm angles are in the correct position, but that might just be my body sizing.

Cervelo Caledonia?

I was surprised how tall and short the new Cannondale Supersix Evo is, at least in larger sizes. It also supports 55mm of headset spacers and the low to mid range models have a separate handlebar and stem which increases fit options. It's almost the opposite of the Ribble. A race bike with endurance geometry. BTW, I always feel it's mad putting an integrated bar and stem on an endurance bike. It just limits fit options. Not pointing at you Canyon, with your one piece bar and stem on the "End-your-race"!

I ride a Ribble I’m 82 yrs old and I love it

I totally agree about the Ribble Endurance SL, i own the Endurance SL e ( amazing injury recovery tool btw) & i had to flip the stem & ride a size smaller than i would usually & now i can ride on it all day with no issues what so ever.

I can tell you about the Synapse as I have one. Smartsense makes sense on lower spec bikes where I want to worry about only one battery and use only one app to manage the system. In this regard it works very well and I like it. Where this use case falls apart is when applied to Synapse models with more expensive group sets. It doesn't make much sense on di2 ultegra or dura ace. Riders on these most expensive group sets probably have their favorite gear (i.e. dedicated computer and better lights). I hate the front light on my Synapse. Easily the worst component in Smartsense.

Only 3 bikes have almost the same geometry if we focus on stack/reach. It's Trek Doane/Pinarello X/ Canyon. I suppose that Trek Domane is the most comfortable or Canyon, Pinarello offers the largest number of sizes. I totally don't understand why Giant Defy is so high on the list. Price?/quality ride? The geometry does not make it a comfortable bike. If your budget is unlimited, get Pinarello X. If you want good quality and service, take Trek Domane, and if the price works wonders, take Canyon Endurace, at the expense of poor service.

I own a Canyon Endurace (RB). It replaced a Specialized Allez. The Canyon is night and day better. Feels great, much faster, just fits really nicely.

A bit surprised that you call the Domane and Roubaix ‘really expensive’ and subsequently promote the Pinarello X that is over € 1000 more expensive for a comparable model. The Defy is no longer an endurance bike after the recent update.

4:50 -- This has been the very same sentence that went through my head every time I have looked at new bike in the past year... *_"How did we get to £1700 bikes with Tiagra on them??"_* Not that im against Tiagra at all. Its a very reliable groupset. But I think the groupset itself is long overdue a refresh since 105 has been bumped up even higher up the hierarchy with the wireless shifting malarky.

I didn't really understand the critique on the Synapse. It's a good bike if you don't go for the high spec? He didn't mention anything about the geometry

Confused by the geometry remarks, My 2023 Defy in M is basically the same geometry as my 2021 Endurace in S. Just the stem is 10mm longer. New ones aren't vastly different. The 2024 Defy got more aggressive in theory, but then in practice there's a new spacer for semi internal cable routing offsetting that. And the Endurace is known as blending endurance with more aggresive position so making it sound like the 2nd most relaxed bike after the Pinarello is weird.

Can confirm the endurace is really good. Have the AL rim brake version and it has been phenomenal from the first ride, from bike-packing to trying to get PRs on climbs. Really does seem to be the best deal you can get on a new bike with 105 and less than 8.5kg ❤

Thoughts on the Cervelo Caledonia?

my favorite endurance bike is a gravel bike !

I don't own a Synapse, but if I was in the market for an endurance bike, the integration of battery and lights would a benefit. Every ride that I do generally is in shared space with cars (including trail rides when riding from home). I always use lights and radar on my rides.

Regarding Canyon's crank length: at 9:35 James states that 3XS size Canyon bikes still come with a 170 mm crank length. On their website, under "Geomety & dimensions", they show the "Component geometry" for each bike size. According to that, 2XS and 3XS bikes have a 165 mm crank length. I can confirm this for their road bike Canyon Ultimate, since I got a 2XS size, which comes with a 165 mm crank length.

I've owned my 2020 Endurace CF 7.0 since 2021 when I returned to cycling and its the best bike I've ever had. It makes me a better rider, have a few centuries under my belt now, and I've gotten even more comfortable on it after a bike fit done last year.

The CAAD Optimo 1 is another endurance option from Cannondale. It’s cheaper than the Synapse from what it sounds like and comes with 105. It’s also pretty upright with full spacers.

Excellent video, having sat in on my son having his bike fit done by James a couple of years ago I can say it was so insightful and even as a ‘spectator’ I learned so much

I have the Triban RC520 and, as stated in the video, It's a budget bike that it's really a gem because of the components it have. Yes, the wheels might be a little bit heavy but even so the bike is 11kg so it's a really nice starting point with its heavy components In my case it's an all around bike, I use it as commuter, fitness an a little bit of racing and goes really well. Also, has a clearance for up to 700x40 so you might do a light gravel with it

I have the older Triban 540, similar frame to the Triban RC520 with rim brakes. Brought it in 2000, barely ridden for £300 with Shimano 105. There are often barely used ones on ebay and one with 50 miles on is showing as being £395. These are a great budget buy and easy to maintain.

I have canyon endurace and love it. Great bike, great specs and a wonderful ride after I switched to Carbon Wheels.

I own a Canyon Endurace 2015 (carbon - rimbrake), best thing I ever bought. Bought the frame and fork (headset) at HQ Koblenz. It was on sale (because of a little scratch). Built up by myself (Shimano Ultegra).

Thanks. Regarding aesthetics which is important to me, the Pinarello has the awkwardly-bent top and down tubes. Not my choice at all for its profile appearance.

I went back and forward between the Ribble Endurance and their R872, before i knew much about cycling at all or what endurance really meant. Went for the r872 as the geometry was more relaxed and I was new to cycling. Change the names and they have a great range.

I'm on a 2017 Endurace 105 2XL that I've owned for about 16 months. I mostly ride gravel, but when I'm on road, the Endurace is excellent. It's incredibly stiff in terms of power transfer and handling, but with a buttery smooth ride. At 203cm tall, it's one of the few road bikes that fits me without any difficulty. Highly, highly recommended.

Good review and pretty fair take. A note about the Specialized Roubaix and commentary about their business model. When Cancellara won the Paris Roubaix in 2011, I went ahead and ordered a Roubaix SL3 frameset with 10r carbon from my local bike shop. In part due to all the rave reviews. I have owned a lot of bikes and am also a mechanical engineer. I have owned two Roubaix SL3''s in fact and many other more modern bikes. This bike was and is the best bike I have ever ridden. Specialized ruined the Roubaix. Make no mistake. The future shock exists for company profit.. Future shocks over time fail. The company expects the consumer to purchase the future shock twice or three times over the life of bike ownership. Many don't want disc brakes. I live in flat Florida in the US and almost never touch my brakes or think about them. If I lived in the mountains, I would be on disc but I don't. I can lock up both wheels with rim brakes and of course Eddie Merckx did just fine on inferior rim brakes compared to rim brakes of today racing in the Alps. You are so right about many of your observations from Ribble and others not even having an endurance geometry and calling them endurance bikes. Also, a shame Cannondale ruined the Synapse with the integrated light kit. The Synapse is an overall great bike in Aluminum and carbon. Idiots. Much of all the non-value gingerbread added to modern bikes appealing to ignorant consumers is for marketing niche and for part replacement as bike companies try to sell their proprietary bikes 'twice' in terms of proprietary part replacement. This is a calculated business model which btw dramatically affects the car industry as well. Bikes are more complex now and complex machines fail more and the consumer ends up paying for them twice all for more profit for manufacturers. Keep up the good work and thanks for your video. PS. Probably a jump ball between the updated Defy and Cannon as you note. Love the Defy, wish it had a threaded BB.

Love my Endurace too. Rode LEJOG in 2022, a few thousand more miles since and never even a hint of discomfort or injury. Can’t fault it. Canyons online size calculator was spot on too.

I have a Domane sl5. I is carbon fiber, with 105 mechanicals. It does have issues with its iso shock system, but the main part was replaced/upgraded and now is fine. It rides like a dream, the fitting revealed a slightly larger than usual size, I would be careful about upsizing.

Adding Merida Scultura Endurance and Orbea Avant to the list. Note that the Orbea (my bike) is aluminium only.

Defy was my first decent road bike back in 2012. I’ve bought racier, more pricey bikes since then but whenever I hop back on the Defy I’m amazed by how comfortable it is, yet still incredibly responsive.

I have a Ribble Endurance, love it, but I race, and bought it for the racey geometry!

Glad to new my new Defy is high on the list. I've only had it a few weeks but so far so good. It feels light and fast without being stretched out.

.. and Canyon takes round seat post 27.2mm. With Redshift suspension seat post... OMG very comfortable for anyone with lower back or bum issues. All endurance bikes must take round seat posts

I always run a shorter stem on my road bikes because I dont race and I like the handling to feel more like a MTB and less like a boat tiller. Because of this, should I consider the lower ranked bikes? Since I'm m going to run a MTB stem anyway? Or a marida because it has better spec and is cheaper? What does the comment section think?

The Giant Defy is uncomfortable as hell for me. I tried the lower spec (meaning: affordable) variant: No flex at the handlebar because they are made from alloy and not carbon in that price category. So no flex at all. The higher spec bikes have hookless rims. Thanks - but no thanks.

I love my Canyon Endurace CF SLX di2 I can ride all day everyday. I live in San Diego so I rode all three Toad bikes they have to offer and thought I was getting a ultimate but left so happy knowing what bike to order and got fitted there 😊

I have a 2020 Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 Di2. It's a bit upgraded - crankset (SRAM red), bars, wheels (Token 52mm), saddle (Flite), power pedals (Assioma Shi) - and am about to buy another 2 of them - one (Carbon 1 RLE) for purely road with D-A; one (Carbon LTD RLE) for gravel/light touring with GRX Di2. Yes, the light/radar will be removed. Pity the video didn't discuss the pros & cons of the Synapse frame (the only con has been fixed BTW).

Disappointed you didn't look at Merida Scultura endurance. Great bike at a great price.

I had the Gen 3 Domane and while it was a nice bike, I ended up hating the front IsoSpeed. Got the Gen 4 SLR model and they ditched the front IsoSpeed and did away the adjustable in the rear, so much better imo. The Gen 4 is a much nicer riding bike

Have a 2018 Canyon Endurace CFX with 11 speed SRAM ETAP with hydraulic disc brakes. Over 13,000 miles ridden without any issues. Reynolds Assault wheels. Fantastic bike. Taken apart and put in bike box over a dozen times. I would highly recommend Canyon.

If you are too short for the Giant Defy, the Liv Avail kicks in as long as you don't mind the branding. And you don't have to struggle with 650b wheel size too.

I live in Buffalo, NY and the roubiax having a dampener is awesome for all the bumps in the road here

My favourite bike is my Canyon Endurace 8.0 bought in 2019. My second favourite is my Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2. Both are excellent bikes at good price points 👍🏻

I know an Endurance bike would fit me slightly better than my race bike, but I just wish they didn't have to look so dull, with the notable exception of the Pinarello X and possibly the Cube Agree (which I see described as endurance and race, depending on who's talking). Where does that rank on James' list?

I’ve been debating between an Endurace and Domane. This was helpful. Just wish the Cervelo Caledonia had made it onto the list, though I think it would have been towards the bottom.

I´ve been riding my Endurace CF SLX 7 di2 for 7 months now and really enjoy it. Yes, the fully integrated handle bar and stem are a head scratcher at times, however being able to experiment with the width somewhat makes it not so bad - the rest is great....although...on an indoor trainer sweat tends to get into the "tool-cavity" on the top tube, since it all drops right on it...but hey, I wrapped a towel around it ^^

Scott Addict is not marketed as a "endurance" bike. It's marketed as a "racing" bike and "climing" bike. Insofar as descending goes, is there anything more stable at speed? I doubt it.

Just picked up my giant defy advance pro 0 … beast of a bike 😮 Was going to go endurace but stock issues in Canada are weak still sadly

I have a 2020 Ribble Endurance SLr (same as LC used to ride) and I love it but I agree it's not the most 'endurance' of bikes - I can still happily do 150-200km rides on it but probably not back to back days :) Thank for the great content as always

I’m a shorter rider (162cm) and ride an XS (48cm) TCR. Giant changed the crank length and handlebar width free of charge to suit my fit needs. I agree with James that it pays to get a fit and buy from a bike shop rather than online! The biggest issue I had was saddle width as everything Giant makes these days seems to be wide so I had to swap for something else (Selle Italia SLR Boost).