Most manufacturers generally have 2 separate line of road bikes - one is what they call their racing line, and the other is their endurance or sportive line. In the Specialized world, the Venge and Tarmac are their race models, and the Roubaix their endurance model. Trek has the Madone and Emonda as their race models, and the Domane as their endurance model. Giant has the TCR and Defy. And so on.
The differences between these models can be huge and it is worth learning a little bit about them before making a purchase decision.
Before you , continue with this article, I strongly recommend reading my article on Stack and Reach - Road Bike Sizing For Beginners Part 2
ENDURANCE vs RACE GEOMETRY FIT
Race bikes are the classic road bikes - designed to put the rider in a low, aero position for going fast, and with a geometry that favors quick handling and responsiveness. Endurance bikes try to find a balance between comfort and speed - so they adopt a more upright riding position that more amateurs will find comfortable, especially for longer rides. They typically also allow the use of thicker tires, for more comfort.
These were just generalizations, of course. Depending on one's body type, a particular rider might be comfortable on a race geometry for long rides, and another rider might need an endurance geometry to get an aggressive fit. So while many exceptions existed, broadly speaking, the bikes were designed accordingly.
The endurance bikes would have the carbon tubes laid up with a greater emphasis on comfort, perhaps at the cost of a little weight, whereas race bikes would be designed to be as stiff and light as possible, with comfort a distant third in the priority list.
Let's take a look at the geometries of 2 bikes that are the same size - the Tarmac 54 and the Roubaix 54:
If you were to go from a Tarmac to a Roubaix, the handlebars of the same sized bike would be a whopping 40mm taller (that's equivalent to 4 spacers under the bar) and 10mm closer to you (one stem size smaller). That is an enormous difference! In fact, this is a bigger difference compared to when you go from a size 54 Tarmac to a size 56 (comparable change in reach, but a smaller difference in stack).
So if you get the two bikes to agree on the reach, the stack will be massively different. If you get them to a comparable stack, the reach will be massively different. In other words, these two bikes fit VERY differently - even for the same size.
And that is just the fit.
HANDLING
Look at the rest of the geometry - a slacker head tube angle on the Roubaix means that it is going to be slightly less responsive to steering input compared to the Tarmac. For someone looking to get an agile bike for racing, this may not be optimal. But for a beginner or someone looking for a more leisurely riding experience, the slightly greater stability of the Roubaix may indeed be preferable. Or they may prefer a head tube angle that is as slack as 72 degrees, for even more stability.
Along with the stability, the Roubaix has a greater BB drop - this increases the feeling of sitting "between the wheels" as opposed to "on top of the bike", which also increases overall stability. Lastly, the longer wheelbase and chainstay on the Roubaix also make the bike more planted on cornering. Whether you prefer that or not is up to you.
To be honest, for a beginner, these geometry differences are not going to make a huge difference. A Pro Tour cyclist rides the bike at the extreme edge of its capabilities, when it comes to cornering, sprinting or descending. For someone like that, a few mm of BB drop, a small difference in head tube angle or chainstay/wheelbase length can make a huge difference.
For amateurs like you and me? Very unlikely. You are going to be riding well within the capabilities of these bikes, so to a large extent, these differences are mainly academic when it comes to performance. But they do affect how the bike "feels" and that could be a difference maker.
COMFORT
This is the part that is hard to quantify, but which is certainly very noticeable when you get on the bike. Comfort comes from 2 things - riding position (which is dependent on fit) and bike characteristics.
Race bikes are designed to go as fast as possible - so they emphasize stiffness and light weight. Comfort is what it is. Endurance bikes, on the other hand, make small tradeoffs in stiffness and weight in order to improve comfort drastically.
This is especially true in the carbon shaping - by building in compliance in areas like seatstays and seatpost, endurance bikes are better able to absorb the impact of potholes and road imperfections, without transmitting them up your arms or spine. The result - you are fresher after longer rides.
Admittedly, this is a bit of a generalization - of late, comfort is becoming a factor for race bikes as well, as manufacturers realize that a rider who is not battered by the roads at the end of the race is going to be able to pedal faster. You can also mitigate comfort to a fair bit by using wider tires at lower pressures - and also by using carbon seatposts and carbon handlebars, which also soak up road buzz. But obviously, having a bike whose characteristics suit your requirements to begin with is better than trying to fix things by changing other components.
SUMMARY
Dont focus on just a single number - size - when buying a road bike. There is a lot more to road bike purchases, especially once you get to mid-end models or higher. There is no single "correct" answer, either - it all depends on your fit, your preferred ride quality and also how sensitive you are to small differences.
Do your research first, try to do a test ride if you can and buy from a reputable seller who will give you honest advice.
PS - I havent even touched on gravel bikes yet - in fact, unless you are going to be racing, you should probably be looking at a gravel bike as your first (or only) road bike.
Questions? Feel free to ask on BikesZone Reborn.
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