romulusmagnus wrote:
The Dimond is one of the most impractical bikes on the market. You can't ride it on a modern trainer. You have to cut the seat post to size, which limits your flexibility to change the fit, to lend it to a friend in a time of need, or to ever sell it. Only 2 bottles for training? Not practical. The head tube/steerer junction looks ridiculous, and the expensive super fork doesn't solve the aesthetic issues without this new piece. The Ventum One: well, the whole front end. At least Dimond figured out the front brake...Ventum didn't even get that far. Complete China carbon trash.
They are both SO expensive. I mean, way way more than a Speed Concept expensive.
Both companies have incredible aero data -- I say that literally. Ventum continues to go to a shit wind tunnel and refuse to release data; Dimond's release here stinks to high heaven...oh great, fantastic news, now it's much much faster than a P5-3!
Given all this, why would anyone buy one? Well, dentists need to show off their uniqueness. That's about the only reason I can think of. If you have that kind of money to spend on being unique, why not just custom paint a P5?
I saw this classifieds ad the other day for a Dimond. The guy said he not only bought the bike because of Jordan Rapp, he also bought the same size (dude was 6'3") and couldn't get the bike to fit. Perfect Dimond / Ventum customer: complete idiot sheep.
First, the Dimond is impractical in the sense that you can't use it on a trainer. I won't buy a bike I can't use on my Kickr. The Ventum can be used on any trainer. You can also change out the aerobars on the Ventum to anything you want.
Next, small companies have to charge more to recoup research and development costs. They don't have the large capital that Trek, Specialized, Cervelo, and Felt have. I bet when these companies first started their bikes were expensive as well. Costs are high at first but they will come down over time. Most companies start with high end and work their way down to middle and lower end models. Shimano Dura Ace to 105 is a great example of this.
All of the top of the line bikes with similar equipment to the Ventum and Dimond are close in price.
Next, Ventum has sent a bike to Jim@ERO for testing. We are all waiting on the data and analysis from Jim.
People want to stand out. There is nothing wrong with Ventum and Dimond bikes. People don't want to always have what everyone else has.
The next generation of tri bikes are going to be even more expensive.
Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/