Would these new bikes be a nice upgrade?

I am thinking of getting either a Specialized Allez Sport or a Via Nirone Sora Compact, And I was wondering if it would be a nice upgrade from my current bike. I currently own a 2013 Specialized Sirrus Elite. I know it will be more aerodynamic, and I sometimes feel like I surpass the ability of the bike. I average about 17MPH on the Sirrus Elite. Would those bikes be faster with their road oriented gearing? Btw I have some "road like" upgrades on my bike, like the drop bars. You can check my profile to see the pictures of them.

 

Gears are gears. According to the specs, your top gear on the Elite is 48/11. Top gear on the Allez, with the stock cassette, is 50/12. 4.37 compared to 4.5 gear ratio, won't make a difference you'll be able to see. Neither will 28 vs 23 mm tires. The frames seem similar in material and weight. The only thing I could see is that the Allez will have slightly lighter wheels. If you're spinning out on 48/11, then you'll get some more top end speed by swapping out the stock cassette on the Allez for one with an 11t small cog, but I doubt that you're at that stage yet. My two cents is that you won't see any meaningful performance gains from a new bike. What you have already, in essence, is an Allez for all intents and purposes. Even the Bianchi is a lateral move, but, then again, it's a Bianchi. More style points.

 

Thank you! I was also really concerned with comfort, though. My current drop bar ends are WAYYY too far out. This makes my arms go outward and it's not that far of a drop. I also don't have easy access to brakes then. Do You think the narrower handlebars would give me more comfort? And yeah, I can't resist the pure sexiness of the Bianchi . And maybe it would also be a good idea to get a dedicated roadbike because I plan on going into racing eventually..

 

Bump

 

Handlebar width should ideally correspond to shoulder width. Wide shoulders need wide bars and visa versa. Wide on narrow or narrow on wide probably won't be that comfortable. But either way your brake levers will certainly be easier to reach from the drops on a road setup.

 

Yup, a narrower handlebar set will help. As far as the brakes go, two other options. Keep your flat bar shifters in place and get a pair of cheap drop bar brake-only levers (you may need a longer brake cable). Or, you can look for a set of Microshift brifters for the number of speeds to match the read derailleur. Microshift is compatible with Shimano rear mechs.

 

Presuming that your bike initially had FLAT handlebars ...

When you changed to Drop handlebars, did you match it with a shorter stem OR did you keep the same stem which the bike had when it had Flat handlebars?

Because, if you kept the same stem, then THAT is possibly a reason why you aren't as comfortable as you might otherwise be ...

I am going to make a sweeping generalization (and, supposition that you are using the original stem which came on the bike) ...

A Flat Bar bike for the SAME rider will typically have a virtual top tube which is between 4cm & 5.5cm ...

THAT's basically 2" .... and, that's a lot of additional forward reach!

SO, if your bike's current stem is 110cm (for example), then you want to find a short, DH (as in Downhill) Stem which is only about 5cm long -- presumably (without looking), <$30 on eBay/elsewhere.

REGARDLESS, you should probably try to figure out the proper forward reach which is comfortable for YOU before you get that BIANCHI ... and, a $30 (?) investment, now, will be well spent since you will have a better idea what frame size & stem length/height & handlebar bend you want.

 

To add to all the recommendations above, and to save some $$, instead of purchasing new handlebars (assuming the bars are alloy), a competent shop mechanic should be able to trim the ends of the existing bars with a hacksaw so that the 'drops' are positioned more like a real drop bar.

Flat bars don't assume we'll be riding in extension drops on the ends and I imagine your setup would be wider than a typically spec'd normal drop handlebar on a road bike of corresponding size.

Depending on your shoulder width, the ends of the extensions (measured center to center) would fall anywhere between 38-44cm, with 40cm or 42cm being more typical for an "average" rider. Just don't remove too much as while more can always be taken off to suit comfort, the process is not reversible.

 

If you're after comfort then save some more money and look into getting a Specialized Roubaix SL4 Sora with the zertz inserts in the stays and forks, those bikes have been raved about in the comfort department for a road race geometry bike and start at around $1,800 retail but should be able find them for a bit less. If you swing another $300 you can get the Roubaix SL4 105 which of course has the Shimano 105 components which is superior to the Sora. Also look into bikes with a longer wheelbase geometry like touring bikes or cross bikes. But to spend $800 or so now for another bike is only going to get you a lateral bike, nothing gained in the bike department but money lost doing it as MPRE53 so well pointed out. So save up another $1,000 or so over the next year or two and go shopping, you'll be much happier in the long run.

By the way, the above is just an opinion.

 

I'm not extremely concerned about comfort, I am more interested about speed. I was talking about comfort with the sirrus drop bar ends because they are nearly unbearable. I also heard that a sirrus couldn't compete in many races because of restrictions