I know that this is an older bike and it seems strange to write a review but there are still plenty of these around and the bike is relatively new to me so....
I purchased a medium QR PicanTi from Preownedbikes.com for 1200 bucks. Full Ultegra. CPX 33 rims with Ultegra hubs, syntace aerobars, everything else Ultegra. Top tube is 53.5. The bike looks brand new. I tried for over a year to get my Kestrel Talon to work as a tri bike. It was OK but I was never really satisfied. I could not get very low and handling was not great in a forward position (not bad, but not great). Whenever I took the aerobars off of my Talon it was like a breath of fresh air. I loved riding it as a road bike; didn't like it nearly as much as a tri bike. My first spin on the QR was like coming back home. I felt instantly at ease in the aerobars. I immediately removed spacers and dropped the bars way down. Lower than I have ever been able to achieve. It was still very comfortable. I can probably still go an inch or so lower when my neck gets conditioned to riding in that position. The QR has a 78 degree seat tube angle and I am riding it steeper than that (with a Thomson seat post and seat forward). It feels good. What really surprises me is the handling. Even riding that steep, I can ride the thing with no hands. I can reach for a water bottle with no issues at all. It is amazing the difference that it makes when you ride a bike that was designed to ride steep. I can easily achieve 100 mile comfort with my aerobars significantly lower than my saddle. It is no Bjorn like position but I have not been able to get this low in the front previously.
The bottom bracket is very stiff. Stiffer than my Talon, which I though was very stiff. Not sure if this is due to the 650 c wheels. The ride is as smooth as my Talon as well. I can see myself owning this bike for a long time. At 1200 bucks, this bike was a steal. There is a large PicanTi frame on Preownedbikes.com right now if anybody is interested.
Mike P.
P.S. Dan, did you design this one?
I purchased a medium QR PicanTi from Preownedbikes.com for 1200 bucks. Full Ultegra. CPX 33 rims with Ultegra hubs, syntace aerobars, everything else Ultegra. Top tube is 53.5. The bike looks brand new. I tried for over a year to get my Kestrel Talon to work as a tri bike. It was OK but I was never really satisfied. I could not get very low and handling was not great in a forward position (not bad, but not great). Whenever I took the aerobars off of my Talon it was like a breath of fresh air. I loved riding it as a road bike; didn't like it nearly as much as a tri bike. My first spin on the QR was like coming back home. I felt instantly at ease in the aerobars. I immediately removed spacers and dropped the bars way down. Lower than I have ever been able to achieve. It was still very comfortable. I can probably still go an inch or so lower when my neck gets conditioned to riding in that position. The QR has a 78 degree seat tube angle and I am riding it steeper than that (with a Thomson seat post and seat forward). It feels good. What really surprises me is the handling. Even riding that steep, I can ride the thing with no hands. I can reach for a water bottle with no issues at all. It is amazing the difference that it makes when you ride a bike that was designed to ride steep. I can easily achieve 100 mile comfort with my aerobars significantly lower than my saddle. It is no Bjorn like position but I have not been able to get this low in the front previously.
The bottom bracket is very stiff. Stiffer than my Talon, which I though was very stiff. Not sure if this is due to the 650 c wheels. The ride is as smooth as my Talon as well. I can see myself owning this bike for a long time. At 1200 bucks, this bike was a steal. There is a large PicanTi frame on Preownedbikes.com right now if anybody is interested.
Mike P.
P.S. Dan, did you design this one?