What do you hope to gain?

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Life is too short to ride old.......buy a new bike.

What do you gain?

• 1 extra gear moving to 11spd, a bit smoother shifting
• Maybe 10w in aero "marginal gain" type improvements
• Better integrated hydration on most new super bikes
• Possibly wider tire clearance to ride more comfortable 25c tires
• Disc brakes if you care about that
• More instagram followers for your sexy new bike

Performance wise, not a ton. Lots of cheaper upgrades (better fitting aero helmet, tri suit with sleeves, bike fit, disc wheel, etc.) to be had generally than upgrading to a new bike

Sort of depends where you're stacking up in the Top 10 of your AG & how much time you're leaving on the bike course. And what you're willing to spend to pull back seconds/minutes

If you have the disposable income to spend on the bike...buy the bike. Keep it simple!! :)

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"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"

I have that same bike . There are <10 bikes in production that I would get rid of that bike for. Assuming it's this bike. You also sound like me when it comes to 70.3 and the regional racing scene.

Here's what I did to mine to make it fast. call it <5 watts behind a P5-6 fast on the yaw sweep.

Upgrade it to 11spd. buy some super slick aerobars ( originally I went with the profile aeria ultimate then switched to the tririg alpha one w/gamma extensions) there is no aero advantage of one bar over the other on a 0 to -10 yaw sweep fwiw

Then I moved the rear brake cable, rear & front derailleur housing internal, routed through the frame just behind the stem. I placed the junction box behind the stem. It is hidden from view by the BTA & bike computer.

Then I added a tri rig front brake. You can also go with the Vision Tri max. That brake is <1w slower across the yaw sweep vs the tri rig. It may actually be faster since I tested that with a cable and the tririg without cables. But I'm lazy and left the tririg on since it was the last brake I tested that day.

I dropped the battery for the electronic shifting into the seat tube. I run a single behind the seat bottle for my flat kit. For racing I go w/a BTA and downtube bottle since on my medium there is not enough of an aero penalty to worry about, if any.....ask me how I know haha!

(FWIW the plasma 3 in size SM takes no aero hit for a downtube bottle in numerous tests with numerous people and is usually neutral or 1-2w slower in size Med, again I've tested this on multiple scotts with multiple people. Going to a large though....don't put a bottle on the frame for racing.)

I run a rear hed disc with a PT hub and Hed jet 90 on the front for racing. Use to use a zipp 808 fc but I need every watt I can get now that I'm getting older and this change got me more than 1w haha.

It's faster than a stock Plasma 5 even although that has better integrated storage.

Basically I can walk into any 70.3 and in my AG & know there are < 10 bikes faster than mine in the AG and probably less than that after you examine how they place their bottles, flat kit & nutrition.

The bikes I know are faster than it off the top of my head include the Cervelo P5-6, P5x, P3x, Trek SC. It is 1w slower or faster than a premier tactical at -5, -7.5 & -10 yaw (a bike I would take a hard look at if I was upgrading, best bang for the buck imo).

I've heard rumors that the Cube Aerium is between a SC and P5X. When I try to get data it's person A sending me to person B then to person C back to A. Then there is probably the new Merida Warp TT, maybe.

Unless you're bike is damaged you could make it extremely fast, faster than a bunch of other, most other bikes currently out there for <$2k


If you have the same bike PM your email address and I'll shoot off some pics in case you want to undertake this project.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I asked what “he” hopes to gain. He may or may not care about any of that stuff.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Yup.

Same bike.

Was looking at a Trek SC. But everyone goes on about disc brakes and they don't have that, so I don't know....

I'm still racing an Argon E-114. So decade old tech.

Reasons I would change:-

• to get integrated storage for my favoured ironman distance
• to allow wider tyres than the 23 I can fit (rough chipseal in NZ)
• Allow me to share wheels with my disk road bike
• Parts are non-existent so if I break something a month before a race I'm screwed.

Reasons I've not:-

• Until last year there wasn't a bike that met my needs
• I'm the limiter, not the bike.
• I'm still FOP on bike
• Whilst I could afford to buy PX or equiv, getting weekly physio and massage and still being guilt free on money I spend on hobby is a huge plus

It took my 4 years to replace what ended up being a 12 year old mountain bike as I couldn't 'feel' the benefit cf cost. Same with Road bike, years to finally pull the trigger, and even then I bought mid range and then added the quarq, wheels, saddle, etc that literally trippled the cost. I tend to buy very rarely, tend to be just slightly below 'top', but then get a lot of life out of my gear.

I just did the math for a consult with someone on the plasma vs the SC. Had to extrapolate different sets of data since the SC is one of the few current bikes I don't have bike only data in my data base


To a SC you're looking at a gain of ~ :50 or so over 90k vs the plasma.

IDK if that's worth it to you. Here's my though process on it for me. IDK if this will help you in your process.

Based on my results, in the last 3 seasons that doesn't change any of my race results except for my first race back to LC racing. I would have moved up 1 spot, IDK if 6th to 5th or 7th to 6th, can't remember would be worth it. Probably not. The rest of the time I still would have been ahead or behind and in the same spot. It just would have been closer/further. Now could I have dug down and closed that :30-:40 gap instead of 1:20 or 1:30? IDK, :20 -:30 over the half marathon doesn't sound like much yet that is still a BIG ask.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Unless someone gives you a big discount were you make a neutral finance move ( get new one for a same price as selling the old) there is no reason to make a change. You can just keep enjoying it and get better.

I have a road bike from 2009. Ceverlo s2, still better then 90% of the bikes I see out there.
Don't need that extra gear. don't need disc brakes. And now there are a tone of cheap barley used race wheels so I can collect different wheel sets for different race terrain or seasons.

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Technique will always last longer then energy production. Improve biomechanics, improve performance.
http://Www.anthonytoth.ca, triathletetoth@twitter

There’s a LOT of landscape between keeping an 8-year old bike and paying $8k for a new one.

Yeah, I know. The question is complex:

1. It's fun to get a new bike
2. I might go a little faster
3. But it costs a lot
4. But I also like my old bike and it has been builtproof
5. Plus, because my bike is mech, I know how to fix it
6. But the paint is chipped...
7. But it's damn expensive to get a new bike
8. But other people I know get new bikes, so why not me?
9. But isn't it wasteful and unenvironmental to just buy something you don't really need
10. Somehow I bet buying a new bike contribute to climate change
11. I am getting older and maybe a new set-up'd be good
12. etc...

:)

I don't see any bikes that are as fast/good as my Plasma for less than $8000...I'm not going to pay $$ to end up with a worse bike.l
But I like dessert dude's fixes...that might be the best alternative.

it doesn't have to be "damn expensive". I'm not saying its "cheap", but you could (1) take DD's upgrade suggestions on current bike or (2) sell current bike and get new bike--you could upgrade and get basically everything you could want for upgrades/speed/looks/electronic shifting etc. for probably half of your anticipated budget. Just don't go to the local bike shop and buy the stock bike sitting there. That will cost you $8k and make you slower.

I'm in the same boat, seeing no reason to upgrade from 1st generation Cd 0.1. OTHER than the next bike I buy will NOT have a voodoo seat post. I think that I love to tinker with bike position as much as I like riding & the QR takes all the fun out of it. What's the collective ST wisdom on easiest to adjust tribikes when it comes to seat, handlebars, aerobars...?

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Hey now....I may be 5-6 pounds above this time of year's race weight but that's no reason to call me dessert dude hahaha!



To DFW_tri's suggestion I'd probably just upgrade the plasma 3.

You're in for $~1000 for the tririg Alpha, gamma extensions & Omega front brake. Then you can get an electronic groupset for ~ $1300. I paid $250 for labor to switch my bike from mechanical to electronic. My mechanic gave me a bit of a discount on labor though. He said it was a fun project and reminded him of his national team wrenching day. I'd budget $500 for all that.

If you do this ping me and I can give you some thoughts on how to do it. I wouldn't just trust it to anyone due to how it's channeled internally.

Round it up to ~$3K all in. You've lose around ~ 10w, maybe a bit more, drag vs stock and only ~ :50 slower than the SC over 90k. 75% of the people riding faster bikes are going to F them up with dumb hydration & storage placement anyway. That's the only drawback. You've got to be smarter with that stuff on the 2nd gen super bikes like ours.

Take up to $1k of that and treat the significant other to a nice spa weekend or something, bank $1k into an emergency fund even if you have one, stick $1k into the stock market or not and you're still ahead.


The only bike I'd switch to is a Cervelo P3x. Not at $8k though. I'm to "value oriented" to quote my friend worth 9 figures, which I think is easy to say about someone else when you're worth 9 figures and they are not. Guess I should think about selling my plasma.

I figure the 1:3x -2:3x I'm getting on low to high yaw days is worth it when I went back and looked at results. Then there are several races where I'm up a spot or two on the 70.3 podium or move from 4th or 5th overall to the top 3 overall in the local/regional scene, one race where I earn a larger prize $ check and/or get the bike prime.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

You can blow that Cd.01 out of the water with even a small budget. Plus get a bike easier to work on. My ex GF was sponsored by them years ago. I bought her a Spec Transition pro and fitted her to it the day her contract expired. ugh that bike.....always something.

Instead of looking at it as a bike. Look at this as parts. You want to get some bars that are easy to adjust and fast, then work backward to find the bikes that will work with those & your fit coordinates.

I choose the Tririgs for the adjustability for wind tunnel testing. You could go with the Profile Ultimate aeria. They are = to one another on a yaw sweep.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Thanks for the tips Brian S.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

No, objectively it doesn't make sense.
But this isn't really an objective subject. You can look at what time it will save you objectively, but since you presumably race for your own enjoyment/fitness/satisfaction it's subjective whether that's relevant.
Everything else is subjective. Will a new bike add to your enjoyment or detract from it? Maybe you'll enjoy possessing a new bike, or maybe you'll regret the cost, feel a little bad about that each time you use your new bike, and it'll make it less satisfying and enjoyable?
I wouldn't spend that sort of money on a bike. I have it, but I feel it would be wrong to spend that on a bike that is really just luxury as it's little better than much cheaper options. But again that decision is subjective.
I haven't helped much have I?

Maybe consider what replies you subconsciously hoped to get on this thread. Were you hoping people would tell you to get a new bike or hoping they'd talk you out of it?

That’s because you are strictly looking at retail prices at a bike shop. You need to be more creative to get faster for cheaper.

Hey thanks to everyone who contributed. I think I just wanted to make sure I had all the pros and cons sorted out and you guys really helped.

I think I am going to keep my bike and do some of DD's upgrades (thanks DD I will PM you for more details).

Cheers everyone (and here's hoping I actually get to race my bike next year at IM 70.3 Hawaii or IM Canada--or both!).

Cheers!

what about adding a ceramic speed BB?

Just replace your bearings with Phil Wood "carbonyte".

If you are using brakes in a tri or TT then you are doing it wrong.......

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.