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Time to upgrade?
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Current 2017 105 p2 with pair of HED Jet 9s otherwise stock.

Options: New TT bike
or New cockpit and DI2 with some spare change.

Personal circumstances have changed and I could afford a superbike now (p5 di2 or equivalent) but how many watts would that actually save over my 2017 p2 with a decent cockpit?

What would you guys do? - I kind of just want a new bike but its very hard to justify dropping thousands for 10w
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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Well, to answer your leading "time to upgrade" question, the answer is always.

The Clark Howard answer would be replace the cockpit and brakes on the P2, and fix the dirty cable routing, and it will be very fast compared to most bikes on the market.

If I could afford one, I would get a PX Series. I love that bike. My #2 choice would be a P5 Disc. I believe those are the fastest bikes you can buy.
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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Of the "Super Bikes"........Try a few, pick which one fits the best, and that one will be the fastest for YOU. Ignore the "this is the fastest bike" blah blah blah. If that bike doesn't fit you will be slow.
Last edited by: Rideon77: Nov 10, 20 6:45
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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I went from a 2002 Cervelo P2k, totally stock except the saddle to a new Cervelo P3X with HED Jet 60/90 wheels. Yes, that is 18 years on a stock, entry level bike.

In the little neighborhood sprints that I'm doing at the moment, it did not change where I place. I used to consistently get 2nd-4th place on the old bike and I still consistently get 2nd-4th (remember, tiny little neighborhood sprints - these are not major races).

I love the electronic shifting, the storage and mostly just a new bike that doesn't have 18 years of sweat and corrosion. But, I can't say that I notice the speed difference. If you have the money and it sounds like fun then get the upgrades, but don't expect to notice a single watt of speed difference.
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Re: Time to upgrade? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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This is cool to hear. Early noughties cervelo clearly badass.

It already feels a rapid bike. I'm at the sharper end of things - 6th in 25-29 AG at my last 70.3 and Kona is the goal so marginal gains are now becoming a bit more important. I know you can win Kona on a p2 (wellington 08) but Id take any help i can get on the way.
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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You're likely talking about more than just "some spare change" from upgrading vs getting a new bike considering you also have to get disc brake race wheels (assuming you'd go with a disc brake option). Given, you could sell your rim brake HED's and p2 and make up some of the difference but I wouldn't expect to get much more than $2k for the whole set up, if that. Like others have said, the bulk of the speed can be achieved just by upgrading, but getting you more excited to ride your bike is the most important thing here. If it excites you, by all means go and snag a Plasma 6 for $15k and ride it like hell. Or you could spend $1300 on a full di2 kit (or way less if you buy used), and $1k on an Alpha One and Delta cover and and make you p2 look like this one:


That looks about as much like a superbike front end as anything, where is where the bulk of the watts will be found. There's a few more pictures of this bike for inspiration if that's what you're looking for.

Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors
Last edited by: realbdeal: Nov 10, 20 7:42
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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I suspect that when I get back to 70.3 then I'll notice the time gains, just too small to see during a sprint. I agree, if you are doing that well, then everything helps.
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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I'm only reluctantly offering advice to someone fast in my age group, but I would strongly second kitting out your P2 with TriRig bits (*edit: as mentioned above). If you can manage cables and a clean brake, I'd probably trade my integrated superbike Giant Trinity for a P2 like this:

https://www.tririg.com/...tom_Cervelo_P_Series

There's SO much adjustment range there, and it's easily as clean as mine if you can sort out hydration/nutrition cleanly. It may also be worth SRAM eTap rather than a new bike.

So if you do that, don't come to IMTX in 2021. ;) If I have a perfect day and lose a few kgs, I should have an outside shot for KQ... but we'll see.
Last edited by: mitchellgsides: Nov 10, 20 8:23
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Re: Time to upgrade? [realbdeal] [ In reply to ]
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That front end is stunning. Its kind of what I was thinking but didn't think you could get quite such a good result. Yeh it isn't spare change and its money that can always be used elsewhere.

I'm based in the UK so won't be doing Texas next year. Am hopefully going to be coming to St Georges in September (slot rolled from Taupo) obviously virus depending.
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Re: Time to upgrade? [realbdeal] [ In reply to ]
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Wow, that looks stunning. My wife has a 2018 P2 with Di2 and its messy cable routing, thick bars, etc. I’d love to upgrade hers like you did. Do you any pictures from the side of the cockpit? I’m curious about how the cables are routed to look so clean. Thanks.
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Re: Time to upgrade? [Lazydoc] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah it really makes a huge difference in at least aesthetics. Etap would definitely be an easier setup, but I have my di2 junction box hidden in the stem of the Alpha One no problem so it can be almost just as clean (just the wires running front the extension down the monopost).

Being in the UK does potentially make getting some parts like the Alpha One a bit more expensive unfortunately, but they should be available. Nick can probably chime in but I know Wattshop carries them and I also think Tririg ships internationally but there are import fees and all that. Would be worth reaching out to both to ask about the free Delta cover and extensions deal.

Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors
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Re: Time to upgrade? [dktxracer] [ In reply to ]
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That one is actually not my bike, it's from some pictures Tririg posted on their facebook page a little while back. But there are some more pictures! Here is an album of everything posted from that specific bike.

The brake cables stay inside the bars until they exit through the back of the stem. The would be visible running from the back of the stem into the top tube, but there they are hidden by the bento box. Running the Delta cover does rely on having an Omega X front brake as well (with a few exceptions maybe), but it really is crazy how clean it looks. The bars are also perfectly friendly to a mechanical shifting setup which I was running when I initially set up my bike (I cleaned up that cable after this initial setup but it still goes into stem just behind the monopost and comes out in the same spot as everything else).

Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors
Last edited by: realbdeal: Nov 10, 20 9:12
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Re: Time to upgrade? [mitchellgsides] [ In reply to ]
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I agree with mitchell and would also trade my Trinity for a P2 with a tririg front end plus AXS/di2. You just have so much adjustability and you already know the bike fits. Plus you don't have to get new wheels.
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