OK, so I'm more or less past the "lusting after pictures" phase of shopping for a new tri bike, and into the data analysis phase of shopping. In comparing geometry specs of all the major bike mfgrs that appeal to me (Cervelo, Felt, QR, Softride, Litespeed, Guru, Aegis) two bikes seem to be the best fit for me- the Cervelo P3 or the Felt DA 700. I've compiled geometry specs in Excel for all these bikes, and I want to make sure I'm interpreting the numbers correctly and understand the effects of geometry variations. The numbers for these two bikes are:
Cervelo P3 Felt Da700
Seat tube angle 78 deg 76 deg
Top tube 560 mm 575 mm
Head tube length 130 mm 140 mm
BB drop 60 mm 70 mm
Head tube angle 72.5 deg 73 deg
Fork rake 43 mm 40 mm
Front-center 637 mm 633 mm
Rear-center 380 mm 395 mm
Wheelbase 1017 mm 1028 mm
The way I read these is: 1) both have essentially the same top tube length if the Felt is set up at 78 degrees, 2) both have head tubes low enough for me to get as low as I could possibly need, 3) the P3 has the aero advantage due to the shorter rear-center and rear wheel cutout, 4) the DA 700 has the handling advantage due to the lower BB drop, longer rear-center, and longer wheelbase. Am I interpreting these numbers correctly? Other thoughts here?
The one part that puzzles me is Felt's use of a 40mm rake fork with a 73 degree head tube angle. It seems to me that you could put a 43mm rake fork on the bike and get a longer front-center and longer wheelbase for better handling (like the Cervelo). Is this a tweak I should consider if I opt for this bike, or should I not be messing with the spec'ed fork?
A fair amount of my training and racing is in hilly terrain. Should I opt for better handling at the expense of optimal aerodynamics? Are the differences in geometry between the two bikes significant enough that I would even notice a difference in handling?
Thanks,
John
PS- sorry for the terrible layout of the numbers above. I tried to edit to make them more "table-like" but can't get it to look more legible. Hope it's understandable.
Cervelo P3 Felt Da700
Seat tube angle 78 deg 76 deg
Top tube 560 mm 575 mm
Head tube length 130 mm 140 mm
BB drop 60 mm 70 mm
Head tube angle 72.5 deg 73 deg
Fork rake 43 mm 40 mm
Front-center 637 mm 633 mm
Rear-center 380 mm 395 mm
Wheelbase 1017 mm 1028 mm
The way I read these is: 1) both have essentially the same top tube length if the Felt is set up at 78 degrees, 2) both have head tubes low enough for me to get as low as I could possibly need, 3) the P3 has the aero advantage due to the shorter rear-center and rear wheel cutout, 4) the DA 700 has the handling advantage due to the lower BB drop, longer rear-center, and longer wheelbase. Am I interpreting these numbers correctly? Other thoughts here?
The one part that puzzles me is Felt's use of a 40mm rake fork with a 73 degree head tube angle. It seems to me that you could put a 43mm rake fork on the bike and get a longer front-center and longer wheelbase for better handling (like the Cervelo). Is this a tweak I should consider if I opt for this bike, or should I not be messing with the spec'ed fork?
A fair amount of my training and racing is in hilly terrain. Should I opt for better handling at the expense of optimal aerodynamics? Are the differences in geometry between the two bikes significant enough that I would even notice a difference in handling?
Thanks,
John
PS- sorry for the terrible layout of the numbers above. I tried to edit to make them more "table-like" but can't get it to look more legible. Hope it's understandable.
Last edited by:
jkatsoudas: Jul 1, 03 22:39