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Advice on New Tri bike
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eviandrinker21
Sep 15, 14 11:12
Post #1 of 8 (1704 views)
Hi all,

I am contemplating upgrading my tri bike and had 2 bikes in mind: the Specialized Shiv or BMC TimeMachine. I wanted to know if anyone on Slowtwitch had the chance to ride both and had any recommendation? I'm more comfortable on climbs than on flat terrain, so I choose my half IM and IM distances based on the elevation chart. I don't know if that makes any difference, but I'm 5'08 and weight about 150-152. I've only seen big (read tall) athletes on the Shiv, so I was wondering if there was a correlation size/bike that I should take into account.
Also, should I be widening my options and consider another brand?
Curious to read from this forum.
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [eviandrinker21] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott
Sep 15, 14 11:26
Post #2 of 8 (1681 views)
Shiv - will the integrated water bladder be useful?

BMC - rear brake is a pain in the ass to deal with


Aero wise they are similar, both good bikes. Lots of others you could look at, Cervelo P2/3/5, Trek Speed Concept 7/9, Fuji Norcom Straight, Dimond, felt, and on and on!

Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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eviandrinker21
Sep 15, 14 11:35
Post #3 of 8 (1667 views)
Thanks for the feedback!

Not sure if I'd have the need of the bladder, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have one. Specialized has their UCI TT bike (without bladder) that aesthetically looks great, but is appropriate for half and full IM distances?
P3/P5 look like great options too. The P3 is definitely a more affordable option that makes it appealing. What do you mean by "rear brakes are pain to deal with"?
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [eviandrinker21] [ In reply to ]
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GreenPlease
Sep 15, 14 11:41
Post #4 of 8 (1647 views)
My $0.02: the Shiv is a very practical bike for long course triathlon. Run the fuel cell for your flat kit and then the fuelsage (bladder) and a bta for hydration and that should be everything you need for a 70.3. Olympic/Sprint you could probably get away with just the bladder depending on your hydration needs.

It's not THE most aero bike out there but, if set up properly, it doesn't give up much.

Edit: and it sure doesn't slow down Gomez or Frodeno.
Last edited by: GreenPlease: Sep 15, 14 11:42
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [eviandrinker21] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott
Sep 15, 14 11:51
Post #5 of 8 (1630 views)
The BMC rear brake setup makes it hard/impossible to change brake pads without removing the crank, also generally a brake under the BB is a little bit of a maintenance hassle compared to the usual location.

The P2 is even MORE affordable and probably exactly as fast as the p3, once you put a good aerobar on it. Something to consider.

The UCI Shiv is absolutely fine for half and full IM distances, only thing to look for is whether you can get the seat forward enough for your preferred position or not. Geometry is a bit weird on it too so make sure you can make it fit.



eviandrinker21 wrote:
Thanks for the feedback!

Not sure if I'd have the need of the bladder, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have one. Specialized has their UCI TT bike (without bladder) that aesthetically looks great, but is appropriate for half and full IM distances?
P3/P5 look like great options too. The P3 is definitely a more affordable option that makes it appealing. What do you mean by "rear brakes are pain to deal with"?

Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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Rlinden
Sep 15, 14 12:00
Post #6 of 8 (1620 views)
I ride a size small shiv and am almost your same size. 5ft 9 and 145. Love the bike and wouldnt ride another bike the fuelcell and fuselage are awesome and make racing 70.3 and fulls that much easier. Bike is simple to travel with and work on. I know like stated about the bmc is awful to work on, also know on the bmc you lose turning radius because of the front end design you are not able to turn the handlebars as much as you can on any other bike out there. Just my 2 cents but the shiv is what I would do, and you can get the comp put racing wheels on you are good to go for pretty cheap and also do upgrades later.
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [eviandrinker21] [ In reply to ]
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PushThePace
Sep 15, 14 13:41
Post #7 of 8 (1550 views)
I've been in the market and I'm the same size as you also. I've got a very aggressive position according to my fitter (or maybe it was aggressive potential lol) and in his words he said only get the BMC if I am doing Oly or shorter and not traveling with the bike. They are a pain to deconstruct and reconstruct apparently as another poster said. I gave him a chart of every bike I could possible send him geometry for (28 in total) and we both agreed that there are some clear winners. For me the Felt IA is the best of both worlds and with their lineup expanding this year I'm on board. I've posted the numbers for a bunch of bikes below and if you want to use it with your fitter feel free to PM me and I can send it in spreadsheet format.


Green = Good
Yellow = Some Compromises
Red = No good
Black = Uncategorized (he didn't get to these before I selected the FELT)





------
"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"
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Re: Advice on New Tri bike [cshowe80] [ In reply to ]
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eviandrinker21
Sep 15, 14 13:52
Post #8 of 8 (1522 views)
Wow!

Really appreciate everyone's feedback on this and everyone's experience with their bikes (Shiv). Looks like Shiv seems more practical than BMC. I'll take a look at the other bikes from that chart and will PM you if I have any questions about it.

Again, thanks a ton!
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