Make a list of what's important

Budget
Disc or rim brake
UCI legal or not
Storage and hydration requirements
Local dealer support
.....

The list of contenders will get shortened pretty quickly

Personally I am looking at 2 bikes with the P5 disc being the current leader. Local dealer support and UCI are big drivers for me. I believe it is the current top performer. I am looking at disc to future proof it. I can handle storage if I need to.

I will only buy if I hit two other "metrics" after a winter of training.

If cost not a factor, I would decide between the Cervelo P5 and PX-Series. Those two are likely the fastest two bikes you can buy. I love the looks of the PX, but the P5 may be a touch faster.

If cost is a factor, then I would look an expanded list of bikes like the Felt IA, new Canyon Speedmax, and Trek Speed Concept. These are all considered fast, look good, and have good lower cost options.

Cervelo PX series bike for long course triathlon, p5d for short course/TTs if I needed UCI legal. Those are more than likely the 2 fastest bikes out there.

The advantage of the PX series is all your storage stuff is thought out. Spare kit, fluid, nutrition. Future resistant with disc brakes. Cervelo's retain their value pretty well for when I stop racing in 2-3 season.

We're in peak aero for bikes, it's going to be hard to design bikes much faster than what's out there unless there is a radical technology change.

Often when subtracting stuff from race set up older generation bikes get faster, but still not as fast as the PX with everything thought out for where to store it.

Now do a lot of people carry way too much junk in a race? F yeah they do. I've tested bikes with a 5 bottle set up for IM. If you're using race course nutrition you need 2. If there is any thing I'd change in the peak aero testing we did it would be to do it again with a more typical MOP/BOP fluid nutrition set up vs a FOP set up.

(in full disclosure I recently purchased a P3x to replace my Scott Plamsa 3 premium - which was already damn fast thanks to some mods. I know exactly how many watts of drag I dropped. Less than you think probably)

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Unlimited budget? Speedmax CFR

That bike has the best storage/nutrition/hydration integration that I've seen

As of right now I think my first choice would be the new argon18 e119 disc coming out in the new year.

Any thoughts/data on the new Plasma 6 Brian? Looks to have storage pretty well covered.

Thanks, Rich.

I looked through all my data and posted something on about how much faster it was than a P5-6. Twice in fact. One post was looking at data and one post was iirc.

It's also hard to do that sort of thing bc I know how the bikes I tested were set up, just not sure how the bikes canyon tested were set up. Set ups can make a difference by some watts.

I think if you ranked them fastest to slowest P5d, px series, canyon, p5-6.

I think if you ranked them in their fastest LC tri set up then I may change that to the PX series bikes, then P5d then Canyon (or maybe I'd swap these, maybe, but probably not) and P5-6.

What I really like about this current generation of bikes is the attempts to integrate storage into the design. With most previous gen bikes it's a bolt on. Since we're not out of the Covid woods yet, and imo probably really not out of the woods until Q1 2022, having a bike that can seamlessly carry everything you need for a 70.3 race is a big plus.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Nailed it! ^^^^^^ Integrated brakes, last kit, bento into the frame and lighter than most. P5 is nice, but IMO the Argon E-119 smokes it for looks weight and well thought out details. The blue/purple color is stunning!

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Kiwami Racing Team

I am looking at the 119disc, 118+ and P5D.

I have not seen the 119 weight. Do you have it ?

The P5Disc has an 0 aero cost bottle that can be converted to a removable flat kit.
Bento is maybe slightly smaller, if at all.

P5Disc probably a tad more aero than the 119.

P5Disc is UCI legal as is the 118+.

Hydration they are al par

Integrated disc is theoretically nice but by their own numbers it's 1watt

119 color is nicer color, IMO

Obviously we have not seen the new 119 disc to weight, but we did weight all the tri bike models we had last year. Surprisingly, the mechanical shifting E-119 in an EXTRA large frame was the lightest in the shop. As far as the frame bottle, I have always done that for a "legal" fairing (flat kit conversion) with a Torhans or other bottle and it works quite well. I'm receiving a new E-119 in a couple of days so am excited to have it. I'm not a fan of the matt finish on some of the P5 as it doesn't seem to stay clean at all. The new Chameleon color is cool, but some have said those color scheme get old with time ( a Specialized owner). I would be surprised if the P5 disc is faster than the new E119 in the tunnel as the disc bakes front and rear are integrated into the frame, thus being more hidden. That said, when they are both out, Desert Dude would have more input. As far as colors, no comparison......Argon.

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Kiwami Racing Team

By their own numbers, that is 1w improvement over disc brakes.

We don't have a direct 119 vs p5 data but there is enough A vs B, B vs C, C vs D to figure out A vs D

I want a bike that's well-spec'd for the price, looks appealing to my eye/style preferences, and has appropriate integration (or lack thereof) considering the races/riding I like to do. Honestly, I'm of the position that if you're comparing bikes at the same price point or product tier, aero differences are going to be pretty minimal. Minimal enough that each company's marketing "claims" about speed/watt savings vs the competition shouldn't be used as the end-all-be-all determining factor in what bike one should get. I'd argue more emphasis should be applied to whether the spec is thoughtful, and how hydration/storage would be accomplished based on your needs/preferences, and that it makes you happy and inspires you to ride when you look at it.

With no regards to budget....if my focus was Ironman racing, I'd go with a PX (lots of data on how fast it is, lots of storage and easy to pack and travel from what I hear), if it was 70.3 or shorter or needing a UTI approved time trial bike, I would pick the P5d. That said, they are all pretty expensive, so a used P5 or a Speed Concept is what I would go for if I was buying a bike and didn't want to break the bank.


I don't put a ton of stock in race results, but thought it was interesting to see the bike brands ridden by the podium finishers at Challenge Daytona PTO Championship

Men:
1. Giant
2. Quintana Roo
3. Ribble

Women
1. Trek
2. Cervelo
3. Canyon

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Matt

What, in particular, did you find interesting about these results?

That the top three men are riding bikes that are not particularly popular or talked about among age group athletes. Also, has QR or Ribble been on the men's podium at a World Championship before or at least in the last couple decades? I don't know that Giant has either. Just kind of neat to see something different.

The women on the other hand are riding what are probably the three most popular triathlon bike brands.

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Matt

I did not post that comment, but my take is that those brands for the men are not thought of in terms of being super popular brands for tri bikes. QR was 6th at Kona bike count 2019, Giant 9th. And there wasn't a single Ribble on the pier in 2019. Women on the other hand, brands were 1, 2, and 5 of that count. What it means, I don't know, but I agree it is an interesting observation.

Chemist did say, not much stock in race results, but I feel much stronger that there should be zero stock in pro race results. absolutely zero. even zero stock in pro fastest bike splits in a race. Barring a very select few who can solicit sponsorship offers from more than 2 or 3 brands, these guys and gals aren't picking their bikes to ride, it's the opposite. The bikes (brands) are picking the riders. If bike sponsorship was outlawed and they all had to buy their own, I'd bet the vast majority of them would have different bikes underneath them. it has no correlation to which bikes are "best" or "fastest", just which brands are using pros as marketing, and who they have chosen.

i'm the furthest thing from a pro - if the average pro can choose between at least 2, 3, or more bike sponsors someone please correct me, but as an interested observer, I get the sense this is not the case.

maybe that if you want to win you in daytona buy a no disc break bike ....
and scott does not make you run well off the bike

And the Trek is a rim brake bike.....say it isn't so.........

Money no object ?
REAP Vulcan

I'd look a total tool.on it at my speed.
But I'd not care !!

My take away is that the bike is probably much less important than we obsess over.

We’re at peak aero and stuff like terrible bike fits, or spending time not in aero are costing more time than whatever frame the rider is on.

Iden probably wins on any modern tri bike. Hell, he won 70.3 WC on a road bike with clip ons.

Time Trial bikes are like exotic sports cars. There may be logical reasons to choose a Ferrari vs a Lambo vs a McLaren and each camp will have vocal and adamant supporters. At the same time those logical reasons reasons don't have any impact on what 99% of end users get out their purchase. Brand loyalty, perception and aesthetics are massive as you can find a way to justify any purchase.

I come from a running background where seconds over a 10km matter. I also do road TTs where margins are similar. What is odd about triathlon is that it is not a time obsessed sport and the margins between winning and losing are often minutes. As a result we don't obsess about a few seconds on the swim or run and yet get totally out of wack about it on the bike. It blows my mind how much time and effort people will spend to save 1min over 121 miles on the bike and then turn around an run a 4 hour+ marathon.

Good question. Sucker for esthetics, so any bike from the past 3-4 years is out of the question. Had to stop running a few years back and can't race triathlons anymore meaning non-UCI legal bikes are a no go. Sitting firmly in the camp of disc brakes on roadbikes being unnecessary. Considering this I guess just upgrading my current SC 2.5 to carbon would be nice. That or the old Speedmax.

If you are into Canyon Speedmax CF or Cube Aerium C68 I have some cool attachments for your bike in my shop ➡️ https://3ddesignstender.com/collections/all

Buy a triathlon-specific bike you can afford. Differences between most tri bikes for mere mortals like most of us are immaterial, so get the highest quality bike within your budget. With that being said, what is your budget?

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