Specialized vs BMC vs Lauf vs Stinner vs Devinci. Things got weird.
Welcome to Velo’s first Field Test. We put some of the best and most interesting all-road bikes head to head to find our favorites, and we’re bringing you along for the ride with Alvin, Levy, Will, and Josh.
Fans of our mountain bike sister-site Pinkbike will recognize the Field Test format, and in this three-episode series, all-road bikes are in the hot seat.
So, before Big Bike™ gave them a rebrand, these bikes were known by another name: endurance. But the gist of the category, hasn’t changed: a more upright fit for all-day comfort; bigger tire clearance, in some cases approaching gravel territory of 40mm, to ride on more terrain; and more compliant frames to absorb road chatter.
An important test ride discussion. Or maybe it was about donuts? (Photo: Jason Lucas)
Velo editors Alvin Holbrook, Josh Ross, and Will Tracy met up with recovering mountain biker and current UFO expert Mike Levy, and headed to one of the most gorgeous riding spots in the world, Marin County, California.
We did a ton of back-to-back-to-back testing on each bike, as well as putting them through some questionable bro-scientific tests to vet them head-to-head. Finally, we chose our favorites and capped it all off with a 100-mile ride to Point Reyes to see just how comfortable they are on a big day.
Did we mention it’s really pretty out here? (Photo: Jason Lucas)
The Bikes
For this Field Test, we’ve lined up four top all-road bikes, plus two control bikes — one pure race road and one gravel — to provide a source of comparison for the all-road contenders.
We’ve left each bike built as it came to us, except for one crucial change.
Josh hard at work mounting some fresh tires. (Photo: Jason Lucas)
Given that tires impact so much of the way a bike feels and handles, each bike has been outfitted with a set of top-of-the-line control tires, Continental Grand Prix 5000 S, to minimize the factors influencing our opinions. And because these are all-road bikes, we’ve chosen size 32mm to put all that tire clearance to use and give us a little more leeway to depart from well-maintained roads.
Specialized Roubaix
(Photo: Stefan Licko )
Lauf Úthald
(Photo: Stefan Licko )
Stinner Carrizo Select
(Photo: Stefan Licko )
BMC Roadmachine
(Photo: Stefan Licko )
Devinci Hatchet — our gravel control bike
(Photo: Stefan Licko )
Specialized Aethos — our pure road control bike
(Photo: Stefan Licko )
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Back to episode 1 where the first up is the climbing challenge. Alvin earned the “honors” of doing this test by beating Will and Josh up all the test-loop climbs on our initial-impressions rides. To keep things standardized, he rode each bike up a 2.1-mile (3.4 km) long sector that averages just under 6 percent over the climb. To keep the tests as comparable as we could, Alvin held a constant power output of 250 watts, riding the same line, and running the same tire pressure on the exact same control tires.
Alvin prepping a bike for the climbing challenge. (Photo: Jason Lucas)
Are these tests scientific? Eh, mostly. Sort of. In the words of our fearless host, Mike Levy, “It’s not actual science, but we can pretend.” While you may poke a hole or three in our methodology, our tests do get at some basic truths about these bikes. And when performed back to back, they provided a direct comparison that helped us figure out which ones we like the most.
Our fearless host, Mike Levy. (Photo: Jason Lucas)
We’ll see you back here next week for episode 2 where we put the bikes through a descending test and an off-road vibration test to help us get closer to picking our favorites.
Scoping out test ride locations. (Photo: Jason Lucas)
Thank you to the crew that made Field Test come together!
Videographers: Max Barron, Jason Lucas, Stefon Licko
Editing: Max Barron
Emotional Support / Hand Holding / Logistics / Driving: Mike Kazimer
And a special thank you to Continental for providing control tires for this test.
