Specialized Secteur Comp Review - BikeRadar

Seems like a lot of money for a bike of that weight. You can get an ultegra equipped carbon planet-x for £200 less and they're also a very comfy ride but considerably less on the scales

This is a joke. I got a full carbon Focus Izalco Expert with Chorus gruppo, FSA bars, Mavic Ksyrium Elites and Truvativ Rouler carbon crankset for £850.

It fits like a dream, weighs 7.2 kilos (even lighter now with Zipp 303's) and is stiff yet comfortable. I got this through Wiggle at a 50% discount so it's not exactly a like-for-like price comparison.

The point still holds, and I agree with blinddrew. You can get much for bang for your buck. Also, if you're genuinely tempted to get first-timers off that couch, then you need to offer

A) something cheaper

B) if you insist on a price of £1299, then something lighter that won't kill Jane or John

If you've not ridden this bike, how can you compare it to a bike you've ridden?? On paper a mondeo will be better equipped than a BMW for the same price, but the BMW will be a lot nicer to drive.

Occasionally you can pick up a bargain, but generally you get what you pay for, stop focusing on price the whole time. You can always go and buy a £70 bike from ASDA.

This bike on paper seems like a good idea for those with money who want to try or re'try cycling as a way of getting fit and losing a few pounds. It's a bit of a niche, and not at all comparable to a Focus Izalco.

A mate of mine has a roubaix bike. I was very impressed with it , near tourer comfort but raceing speed. I think the concept is great. I'm looking at going from a 5+train +2 mile commute to a 17 mile commute and i reckon a tough comfortable racing bike is what i want. This might be it, but i am looking for a cheaper option.

I do a 30 mile round trip commute on the bottom end Secteur which I bought through Cycle Scheme and its fast, reliable, solid and comfortable - more than enough for my needs but definitely will not be good enough for most of the weight/money/brand neurotics on this site.

After a certain price its becomes an inverse law. For most of cyclists the gains become more and more marginal the more you spend but its in the interest of the manufacturers to sell you the dream that if only you spend that bit more you will have a totally amazing and better riding experience. The bike magazines are full of it and some of the reviews on BR are part and parcel of this marketing schadenfreude.

If you want to shed a few gms don't spend another £500 go and take a dump.

+10 devbrix . thats why i went to halfords.

how can people defend this bike .its over priced for an aluminium/carbon frame and the spec can be found on bikes costing under a grand. you can buy a full carbon frame with ultegra for that money. specialized do make good bikes but you pay for their advertising and race team too. my mate just bought a 2010 specialized tarmac pro sl from evans for £4000 and it is lovely but when you look closely theres an ultegra cassette and brakes, front mech and chain which is all good stuff but at this money it should be full dura-ace. focus do a bike with full super record and cosmic carbone wheels that can be had for less. . my boardman pro carbon with all the improvements ive made to it stands me at £2000 ish and its lighter and is just as good a ride as the specialized as i have ridden both. i cant see how you can say your getting what you pay for when is so abundantly clear you dont

I also just got the elite model through the cyclescheme. Unfortunately due to the weather I've only managed two c25 mile rides on it. I love it. Having said that I'm coming from a Scott Hybrid so it's very light, responsive and fast by comparison. The carbon fork w/zertz is better on rough roads than the suspension fork on the hybrid, and I'm about 30% faster so far.

I agree it's possibly overpriced. Given the choice I'd probably have gone for the Boardman Carbon - but that means going to Halfords. Similarly to get a good deal on one of last year's bikes would have meant buying from Evans (I like the look of the Bianci bikes, too.) As it is I end up spending in the region of £600 on this and supporting a local independent shop. This is quite important to me, for the same reasons as I'll pay an extra couple of quid to buy a record from a local independent than HMV or Tescos or some other soulless outlet. I tested the Secteur against the Trek 2.3 and decided I like the riding position more, and the spesh was £150 cheaper. I did upgrade the brakes to Tiagra though; those stock ones that came on the bike inspired no confidence at all.

Other than the speed, the main thing I've noticed is how much more difficult/uncomfortable it is to get up big hills. You can't just sit back and pedal as I can on the hybrid. Any tips gratefully received. I will happily defend this bike...

I have just had a test ride on this bike, back to back with the Allez comp. It is a good bike and if I hadn't ridden the allez, I would have ordered the secteur. The allez seems to fit me just that bit better, and is £100 cheaper for essentially the same running gear. On the whole I agree with the pro comments. stop comparing on price/weight and look at the individual bike, and you will see that this is a very competant bike.

I purchased a Secteur Elite (triple) back in October from my LBS. I had considered a Boardman Carbon, Focus and Trek but my LBS offered a good discount and support.

I have ridden 25-45miles a day since purchase in all weathers (incl. snow), it has gone through one bottom bracket, one set of brake pads (front and back), a chain, one cassette and a seat post clamp. It has been used, abused and it still makes me smile each morning.

It is relatively heavy and yes, the brakes do not inspire confidence but this is not a full out racer more a fast cruiser. It is comfortable on all surfaces and above all it is smooth and reliable.

Thinking of buying a secteur elite in the near future. Reading these comments has been helpful. Already have a tricross which has served me well for two years but want something closer to a fast road bike as well, without sacrificing comfort.

I agree that too many people are obsessed by weight. If bike A is 1kg heavier than bike B but a more comfortable ride why would you prefer the lighter bike? Remember it's the total weight that really counts, rider and bike combined, and if you weigh, say 75kg, then saving 1 kg with a lighter bike for the majority of people isn't going to make much difference, and if the heavier bike is more comfortable to ride you're going to get more enjoyment from using it.

It's also true what devbix says about price, with gains becoming ever more marginal. Besides a tricross I also have a very cheap (£80) bike which I use solely for going to work from the bus stop, about a 5 mile round trip each day. It's pretty horrible but it does the job, and if it get's stolen while chained to the railings near the bus stop (this is Cambridge I'm talking about) it will be no big loss. The tricross cost about ten times as much and in my opinion is worth the money in comfort, speed and enjoyment of riding it, even on day rides of up to 160 miles. But I doubt very much whether a bike costing ten times as much again will be that much better than the tricrosss is to the cheapo bike.

Does anyone have any advice on frame sizes for the secteur? My tricross is 54cm, and feels pretty good, but I'm 5' 11" and Specialized's sizing chart suggests 56cm would be better. I know these things are often down to personal preference, but as I haven't ridden a seceur yet I'd like to know what someone who has thinks.

Recently sold Tricross Sport and moved onto Secteur Elite. What a difference? I do a 15 mile commute to work along the Cynon Trail and Taff Trail in South Wales. Both these trails are tarmac and the Secteur flies them. I checked my speed on one section the other day and I felt that I was putting in the same effort as on the Tricross. The difference was five miles per hour. I'm a sixteen stone lump and 6' 1'' and I went from a 56cm Tricross to a 56cm Secteur.

52 years old. started cycling 4-6 days a week on a trek 7500 (really liked the bike). got to around 10 miles per day riding and decided i wanted a road bike for increased speed, ect. I bought a trek 2.1 and loved the speed of that bike, bur really felt "beat up" after any type of rougher road. After a week, went back to the dealer, and he had just gotten in a brand spanking new 2011 Specialized Secteur Comp. They put it together for me and i took it for a spin. That was 3 weeks ago now. I took the bike home (along with a little cash from the trade), and fell in Love with the bike. I now have 450 miles on it ( 15-40 miles at a time), and haven't been back on my trek 7500 (the so-called comfort bike). Dealer swapped out the stem for a taller one (to put my aging body more upright), replaced the white handlebar tape with black (awesome look), and swapped out the 23m tires for 25m. This bike is a GREAT fit for me. I was ready to give up on road biking, but now that's all I do. My speed increased by about 8 mph, and after 40 mile rides in the saddle, I'm still ready to go. Give this bike a try (especially if you want a really comfortable ride)

I'm 51 years old and bought the top-end Secteur Comp last March for $1400 (nice sale at my LBS). Wow, what an incredibly smooth and fast bike!

The BG Avatar saddle is unbelievably comfortable (I downsized to the 143mm). Bike weighs just under 20lbs (I got the 58cm frame).

I did try out extensive riding on all Secteur models and found that although each was a great ride, there was quite an improvement when you moved to the Secteur Comp. I think it was money well spent, and what you get is a bike equivalent in geometry and components to the Roubaix Elite (which would have cost me $550 more). The Secteur Comp's carbon fiber fork, seat stays, and seat post really do provide a Roubaix-like ride.

I ride about 125 miles each week and couldn't be happier with the Secteur Comp!

I started on roadies on an Allez about six years ago and was completely smitten. After MTBs, I found it agile, easy to handle, fairly quick - and with the triple chainring it climbed effortlessly and was speedy enough on flats and descents. I upgraded last year to the Roubaix Expert and found the bike's handling to be very familiar.... in fact almost identical, apart, perhaps from the speed. The Roubaix is obviously lighter and with the compact, much quicker. Considering the Allez was about £400 and the Roubaix more than £2k, I must agree with many of the comments here, which confirm what I've always believed: it really is a case of Emperor's New Clothes. -If you dare to question it then you are surely an idiot who doesn't know what you're on about. The bike industry is self promoting. If you love cycling, you buy the magazines but must pay more realistic attention to real cyclist's views and disregard an awful lot of the Media's subjective diatribe. The vast majority of riders would not be able to 'feel the twitchiness in the frame on long descents' (for example.)

Luckily for me however, a kind old lady obligingly knocked me off my Roubaix and cracked the carbon frame. Since I'm not made of money and the insurance company is reluctant to give me a new bike, I am buying a Secteur Sport frame next week. I will by then have sampled three of Specialized's offerings, bottom, top and now middle and will report back, truthfully. I can do this because I have never been a pro; I don't work for IPC and despite over thirty years of every kind of cycling, I too, cannot for the life of me 'feel the twitchiness in a frame on long descents.'

The Secteur was built up yesterday with my Ultegra kit and I rode it this morning. It helps that it was a perfect cycling day: sunny, bright, crisp and a bit nippy as we rolled around the edge of the NY Moors round Hutton Rudby, Appleton Whisk and back through Yarm. It was a great ride and was made by the bike. Mine has the Alu front triangle, carbon rear end and fork. It's a 58cm. The geometry is the same as the Roubaix so it felt similar in the saddle but.. (dare I say it after my moan on the last page?) it feels stiffer. Climbing is made easier and rolling along at pace is quick and satisfying.. I was even dabbing at the brakes to avoid the peddling rider in front! We were out for three hours-odd and after recent miles on the MTB, with aching wrists from (frankly the wrong) stretched out position, it was a most comfy treck out!

I'm chuffed to bits with the Secteur. It looks fabulous in a shiny candy red and white and I couldn't be happier with the ride: fast, comfy and stiff enough to throw up hills and to sprint on. All I can say is, certainly George Ramelkamp knows his onions but from a thirty eight year old, fairly experienced cyclist: take my advice and don't waste thousands on a Roubaix. Get a Secteur!

I've had a Secteur Comp for over a year now with over 4,000 miles on it on a 20 mile a day commute over crap roads. Only mods have been Conti 4 season tyres, KMC gold chain (easy to cleasn with split link) and crud racer mud guards.

Over the 4,000 miles only mishap has been a broken gear cable in the right shifter (£4 to repair). The carbon seat post and seat stays really soak up the rough stuff and it is comfortable & responsive - a great bike!

100% that this is a superbe bike, I have been riding it for almost a year, almost 4000 miles and still no problem, a couple of punctures....

Very handy, comfy to ride, definitely worth the money, very fast and agressive when required (very handy when riding in London), I couldn't be happier, I think I love the fact that the handlebar is quite high and give me a very good position since I am quite tall, I dont get back pain.

I v been reading the above comments, and would suggest to anyone to give it a try before giving a bad critic, it will suit most Johns and Janes and even more, I was skeptical buying a that brand but was actually very surprised, I wouldnt change it. Second thing I am not convince by the full carbon frame hysteria, especially when you look at the lifespan of them, I guess a aluminium frame is more appropriate since I don't paln to change the bike any soon.

Great bike