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Carbon 5800 vs aluminium 6800

by Dazad
Sun, Feb 08, 2015 20:57
4

Hi,
So I've narrowed new bike down to two models. I was ready to order Canyon Al 7 but just been looking at the carbon version. Similar price but means dropping to 105 groupset instead of Ultegra. Both bikes will be better than my current bike which is aluminium with microshift. Which would I benefit the most from?
Thanks in advance for advice.

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4 comments

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therevokid | 10 years ago
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get what you think you prefer ... i shunned Ali and carbon in favour of Ti.
now i ride pretty much whenever and wherever i feel like, which is completely
the opposite of before when I'd have to check the weather, the road state, my
mind before picking which bike to ride ... then ending up not riding anyway !

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hampstead_bandit | 10 years ago
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Get the carbon framed option

Frame is heart of the bike, and makes the most difference (wheels next). Expensive and time consuming to swap out an aluminium alloy frame for a carbon fibre frame! Always get the bike with the best frame.

There is little difference between 5800 and 6800, and you can easily swap out things like rear derailleur if you damage the 5800 in a crash.

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Mombee | 10 years ago
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A good modern aluminium frame will give levels of outright performance that come pretty close to a 'stiffer' carbon frame, but may well do so more comfortably... just check out some of the comparisons between carbon and aluminium Cannondales for more opinion on the matter. The Cannondale CAAD10 is a decent race bike and for many people would be a better bike than one of their carbon frames.
There was a review a few years back of two Yeti frames with identical geometries (sorry, they're mountain bikes, but the principles are similar) - while there was a marginal improvement in performance with the carbon bike, the jury leant in favour of the aluminium frame on the basis that it would last longer (less risk of damage to the carbon). I appreciate that mountain bikes are open to more abuse, but if you're looking for one bike for all-year use, then I would definitely lean towards the AL7 - you're certainly going to be less concerned about it facing the worst that winter can through at you... BTW the Ultegra 6800 is a fantastic groupset.

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2 Wheeled Idiot | 10 years ago
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Well the carbon will have more potential to upgrade without feeling like everything's mismatched...and probably ride slightly more smoothly, however the canyon ultimate al are well renowned as exceptionally riding bikes (but so is the carbon frame).
5800vs6800, there's very little in it apart from bling factor and weight...brakes are similar, same BCD, same shape hoods etc (bear in mind replacement costs, if its going to be ridden through crap, 105 is cheaper to replace)
At the end of the day its more about what would make you look forward to riding and enjoying more miles...that's the bike to choose

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