Very true. I wasn't really in the market for a bike but the price point made it a very easy decision to pass on this.

.they made a bike for the average age grouper and priced it out of the average age grouper's price range.//

As I recall the average AG'er makes something like $165k a year? So if that is average, that means a lot make more than that, and those folks are the potential market. But even if you are just average and make the measly $165k, you could probably squeeze it in your budget if you were single, or married without kids. And if you live off the coasts and make that much, you are in clover!!

https://www.teamusa.org/...tisport/demographics

Most triathletes are married, and most make less then $150K a year (as of 2014; see the link). I don't think the market for a bike that expensive is all that large. I know that every single age grouper I know doesn't ride anything near that expensive, and the few who have talked about the P5X choked on the price.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

They are not trying to sell to most triathletes, not yet anyway. Looks like 26+% make over $150k, and a lot over 300k even. And almost 40% are single, so that leaves a lot of people in the target group for the bike. I don't think they plan to sell tens of thousands of these, so the bar for success is probably quite low.

Next generation will be targeted at the middle masses I bet, but the early adopters will be the ones to show the way it should go. In the end it is just another super bike of the dozens out there in a pretty high price range. Not looking for new converts, just trying to gain a market share of the folks that shop in that zipcode.

For you and I, we will have to wait I guess...)-;

I dunno about the P3X to follow so shortly, but it's clear that the P5X is not intended at all to be a mass market bike. Obviously based on price alone, and the fact that the frames are being built by HED in the USA means they are expecting it to be a niche product in this generation.

Of course we'll see elements of the P5X trickle down into other bikes that will be made in asia and come with cheaper price tags, it's just a matter of when.

Yup. I like some of the features, although I'd like an internal hydration system like the Shiv. And, no disc brakes for me. Too much money tied up in decent wheels to justify the switch.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

So happy I didn't have a mouth full of coffee when I read this. LOL.

What continues to confuse me is why make such an expensive bike that doesn't provide much benefit to anyone who knows how to properly set up their bike for a race. The fastest guys and gals tend to make pretty good choices and there is a lot of data out there about what to do and not to do, a lot of which comes from Cervelo.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

You're right, it is pretty dumb to capture the entire market.

Cervelo has the newbies, the slightly wealthier newbs, the welathy newbs, the wealthy smarties, the new smarties, the middle class smarties, and ultra rich smarties, and now the ultra rich newbs.

sooooooooooo much this...

I use an xlab aero bento for my gels and stuff and aero bottle on the frame for flat kid; one bottle between the arms and one bottle behind the seat and I didn't have to spend 15k to get the same benefit!

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

This bike isn't for "the fastest guys and gals." (though they may ride it because it's probably still pretty fast, probably). It isn't for people who know how to property set up their bike for a race. It's for the affluent Ironman demographic. It's for people who go into a shop and say, "I signed up for an Ironman, give me the best bike." And it will be the best bike for them. Everything about the bike is "easy." Fitting. Shipping. Storage. It's comfy (I assume). It brakes really well (I assume). It's decently fast. It's distinctive.

To us, here, that shift in corporate strategy is Cervelo's version of Dylan going electric at Newport. Or Porsche introducing the Cayenne. We're conditioned to looking at new Cervelo TT bikes through a soda straw, where the only thing on the other end is CdA. Those days are gone. But fortunately, all is not lost except for die-hard fanbois. There are others who aren't going electric. TriRig, Cube, etc.

Yeah, that's a good point. I suppose I'm accustomed to new bike designs to push the performance envelope first and foremost and perhaps those gains are becoming to impossibly incremental this is a more sustainable model.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

This reminds me of the semiconductor world. Everyone thought Moore's Law would continue yet it is getting harder and harder to make smaller and faster chips.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

>And then lets talk about this case. So $800 for a case that makes this bike easy to travel with. But said case is also the size of a twin bed and will always get >you dinged by the airlines for as much as $500 for a round trip flight. Many of the bikes mentioned above can travel within a Hen House and avoid airline >fees entirely.


Are you sure you'll get dinged for this case by the airlines based on size alone? I saw one at my LBS and it's _considerably_ smaller than the Scicon Tribike bag (nb: except for the oversize and/or bike fee, it's a fantastic travel bag for a P5).

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"America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed." -Eleanor Roosevelt, 1936

Bro, it IS pushing the performance envelope. Just that this time it's a "pivot"

I never thought in a million years that I'd say this, but having seen both the P5X and the (black) Andean in person, I prefer the Diamondback from a purely aesthetic perspective.

Slowtwitch is having a hard time dealing with the pivoting from aero everything.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Slowtwitch has a hard time with Fred bikes.

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"One Line Robert"

Ouch, now you're bashing Pinarello??

YES!

Which was previously the ultimate fred bike.

Cervelo has taken the crown. Plus you get a branded case. For an additional fee of course. Pinarello hasn't even done that. Such a peasant bike, Pinarello.

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"One Line Robert"

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Internet User

A little hard to get over the pompousness of you posting a screenshot of your own tweet, but I did laugh a little.

"Slowtwitch has a hard time with Fred bikes."

why is it that people who can't afford a product get mad at the company that produces the product? look, it's clear that you don't need this bike to win a race. so don't buy it! buy something else! it'll be okay for you! the existence of this bike isn't going to ruin your riding experience. i hope!

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

It's an important tweet and I needed Pubes to know it exists.

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Internet User

I find it quite hilarious that you have no idea what I do or what I earn, but appear to be claiming I can't afford that bike. As if thats why I hate it.

The direction you've taken in this thread is quite questionable as of late. We get it - your friends made this bike so you also feel invested. But commmmme onnnnnn.

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"One Line Robert"