'endurance' / 'comfort geometry' road bikes

They're going to make next to bugger all difference on bad road surfaces. Get bigger tyres and pump them up less if you want to make some sort of difference. The geometry will make a difference to positional comfort but very little to how the bike deal with the road.

do you guys mind explaining to a noob what different geometries do to change things like speed, comfort, control, etc (and how they do this). or at least point me to somewhere to read about it? i'm beginning to already think i want to upgrade from my 3speed hybrid to a road bike in the next year or so. i've been going on longer and longer rides and want something best suited for what i need.

no worries, i have this thing called google
http://www.bikecyclingreviews.com/Frame_Geometry.html

ha sorry jax, i woulda helped but i started this thread last night and then went straight out. most of these bikes are making the head tube a bit longer, which puts the handlebars up higher (so you don't have to stretch down and out as much). wheelbase tends to be a bit longer to lessen the twitchy feel that you get with some race bikes, and some of them have more flex built into the rear end to soak up the bumps. (specialized put jelly inserts into theirs to dampen the vibrations.)

compare and contrast: giant TCR vs defy