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Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000
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If you were looking for the fastest tri bike for $4000 or under and wanted ultegra mechanical components what bikes would you consider? Assume you are about 6' foot tall and can achieve your desired position on a medium 2011 Shiv Expert utilizing 170 cranks. So far the possibilities I have:

Trek Speed Concept 7.5
Felt IA 14
Quintana Roo PRSix
Fuji Norcom Straight 2.1
Ceepo Viper
Specialized Shiv Expert

Other consideration include the ability to substitute 170 cranks and 50/34 chainrings without a big price bump, ability to pack it in a trico ironcase for travel and finally a cool paint job could be the tie breaker. Be interested to hear from others who own any of the above bikes or who are riding something similar that fits this bill.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Cervelo P2 or P3 should be on that list.

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Last edited by: BryanD: Jul 26, 16 13:07
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Cervelo p3

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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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What brand/model wheels do you want on it?
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Used bike. I picked up a 7k 1 yr old bike on the classifieds forum for just over 3k w/race wheels ( which I sold). Could go new, but lots of folks want latest and greatest and frequently dump 'young' bikes in great condition.

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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Off this list and e3ven if you added the Cervelo P2/P3 I'd personally go

Trek SC or the Felt IA.

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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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jsmith wrote:
Trek Speed Concept 7.5
Felt IA 14

The others do not even belong in the same conversation. I think the edge goes to the IA for ease of travel / maintenance, substitution potential for components, and paint job. Of course, I can't understand why you would go with mechanical if you had $4k to spend on a new bike. Just by the IAx frameset ($2500), add Ultegra di2 w/ base bar shifters ($1000), a fast after market front end ($200), and an Omega X brakeset ($300). Done.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [romulusmagnus] [ In reply to ]
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romulusmagnus wrote:
jsmith wrote:

Trek Speed Concept 7.5
Felt IA 14


The others do not even belong in the same conversation. I think the edge goes to the IA for ease of travel / maintenance, substitution potential for components, and paint job. Of course, I can't understand why you would go with mechanical if you had $4k to spend on a new bike. Just by the IAx frameset ($2500), add Ultegra di2 w/ base bar shifters ($1000), a fast after market front end ($200), and an Omega X brakeset ($300). Done.

I did exactly that. VERY happy.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Speed Concept or IA. Personally I like the vertical dropouts and the cockpit of the Speed Concept.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Cannondale Slice5, Ultegra Di2
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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I'd probably go IA16 and buy a PM and wheels.

I'm still on a POS 2010 B14 and don't feel like I'm giving up anything to the superbikes.

Fit trumps frame.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Among that class, you are probably not going to find objective information to make a data-driven decision about speed. They are all very fast bikes.

So, in my humble opinion, it comes down to mostly lust-- the intangible desire for one over the others. Personally, I chose the IA, and I would make the same choice every time. My favorite lookers are the IA, Trek SC, and Shiv in that order. But, what makes the IA look best to me is the wide seat tube that continues in the wide seat post. All the rest go skinny on the seat post.

And, I think that the IA is the fastest of that bunch.

I am not a fan of the looks of the QR, Ceepo, and Fuji. I could live with them, but not love them.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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I believe someone already mentioned a Cervelo... just thought I would toss the P2 out there for consideration along with a link to this article from TriRig where he makes a P2 pretty dang close to a P5 in terms of speed.

http://www.tririg.com/...ervelo_New_P2_Review
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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Take off the Fuji and add Cervelo P2/P3. Then choose the one that you think looks the coolest, is the most affordable, and fits the best.
Last edited by: crujones#33: Jul 27, 16 5:02
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [Toefuzz] [ In reply to ]
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This is begging for a quick soap box... I love Tririg. I have a pair of their brakes, and I plan to put the Alpha X on my bike. But that study is so bad and so misleading, that it is junk. I wish they would either rewrite it or pull it down from their site.

Tririg took the P2 with about $8K of upgrades (Dash wheels, Dash seat post, Dash Seat, Alpha X, and Omega X) and compared it to a P5 with about $6,500 in upgrades. Neither of the two test bikes were functional, because the drive trains were removed, brake levers were removed, and the brakes were removed from the P5. Oh yeah, and the P5 was a larger frame with a larger head tube-- a significant impact on drag alone.

After all this, Tririg concludes in that article that and entry level P2 with an Alpha X will save $5K and be just as fast or faster than a P5. That is misleading to the point that it is pretty much a lie. The P5 comes with a crapton of higher performing components out of the box that add to both its cost and performance-- Tririg ignores these in its conclusion. The conclusion truly fails when you consider the all of the economics in the comparison: the modified P2 costs more than the P5 it supposedly beats.

Just looking at their study and the protocol, Tririg can really only draw from a couple possible conclusions:
  1. The bars made no difference, because the 56cm P5's taller head tube gives it a worse profile than the 54cm P2, so all the difference is in the larger P5 frame, or
  2. The Tririg bar is so much better than the Aduro bar that it overcomes any potential aerodynamic advantage that the P5 frame may have over a P2 (between two normalized, non-functional bikes)

I lean toward #2, and that is why I want the Alpha X on my bike. I think it is significantly better than other aero bars. But it will not make a P2 faster than a P5. If it is lucky, an Alpha X alone may make a P2 faster than a P3. Maybe.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]
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exxxviii wrote:
If it is lucky, an Alpha X alone may make a P2 faster than a P3. Maybe.
The P2 and P3 are the same frames. The only difference is the P2 has a slightly wider fork. Adding the Alpha X to either of these bikes makes them equal.

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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [romulusmagnus] [ In reply to ]
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What is a front end? I know what base bars are and I know what aerobar extensions are. Edit: strike that. I missed that your list listed 'frame only' and needed a full cockpit.

Also, I'm not sure why people would worry about upgrading a rear brake. I'd guess that air is pretty darned turbulent by the time it gets to that area. Could there possibly be time savings there? That's one part I've never considered upgrading.

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Last edited by: Timtek: Jul 27, 16 8:39
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [Timtek] [ In reply to ]
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Timtek wrote:
I'm not sure why people would worry about upgrading a rear brake. I'd guess that air is pretty darned turbulent by the time it gets to that area. Could there possibly be time savings there? That's one part I've never considered upgrading.
I upgraded mine, because the rear brake on my IA 16 was a total piece of crap. It had a noodle because the cable entered from the side (really stupid selection for a bottom bracket brake). And the brake stopped very poorly probably due to flex in the brake calipers and friction in the system (part from the noodle). I could have bought a direct mount Ultegra or Dura Ace brake, but I loved the design and mechanical advantage of the Omega X. So, I upgraded mine for braking performance and maintenance, not aero speed.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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P2, and then down the road start putting Tri-rig parts on the front end.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [Timtek] [ In reply to ]
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Timtek wrote:
What is a front end? I know what base bars are and I know what aerobar extensions are.

Also, I'm not sure why people would worry about upgrading a rear brake. I'd guess that air is pretty darned turbulent by the time it gets to that area. Could there possibly be time savings there? That's one part I've never considered upgrading.

I have 2 Omega X's on my P2 because I wanted to my brakes to match.

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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Used bike. I picked up a 7k 1 yr old bike on the classifieds forum for just over 3k w/race wheels ( which I sold). Could go new, but lots of folks want latest and greatest and frequently dump 'young' bikes in great condition.


Indeed. I occasionally go onto eBay and have a skim through various higher profile bike brands, and styles, both road and tri and see what's available. I'm often taken aback by the quality of rigs and the deals that are out there in the used market. Good grief, how often do people turn-over their bikes over.


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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [jsmith] [ In reply to ]
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How about the Giant Trinity?
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
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Fleck wrote:
Used bike. I picked up a 7k 1 yr old bike on the classifieds forum for just over 3k w/race wheels ( which I sold). Could go new, but lots of folks want latest and greatest and frequently dump 'young' bikes in great condition.
Indeed. I occasionally go onto eBay and have a skim through various higher profile bike brands, and styles, both road and tri and see what's available. I'm often taken aback by the quality of rigs and the deals that are out there in the used market. Good grief, how often do people turn-over their bikes over.


I've never bought a used Tri frame - reason being good enough deals on NOS (new old stock) and then I cherry pick components to build-up what I want for that project. I've done 3 bikes like this.

Most frames are good, but you never know, and certainly the older carbon frames seem to get more flexy over time.

Buying used is interesting, lot's of broken "IM" dreams on craigslist.

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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [srev] [ In reply to ]
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srev wrote:
romulusmagnus wrote:
jsmith wrote:

Trek Speed Concept 7.5
Felt IA 14


The others do not even belong in the same conversation. I think the edge goes to the IA for ease of travel / maintenance, substitution potential for components, and paint job. Of course, I can't understand why you would go with mechanical if you had $4k to spend on a new bike. Just by the IAx frameset ($2500), add Ultegra di2 w/ base bar shifters ($1000), a fast after market front end ($200), and an Omega X brakeset ($300). Done.


I did exactly that. VERY happy.

In a similar position looking at getting my first TT bike. Any tips on finding the Ultegra di2 TT groupset? Seem to only come up with road setup and then would have to pull the base + aero shifters.
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Re: Best Triathlon Bike Under $4000 [SharkFM] [ In reply to ]
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If you're not going used then I'd go for something like a new superseded P2 and with the spare $$ spend it on wheels. Very little difference in performance between a 2013, 2014 P2 and the new model as well as the P3.
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