'12 Blue Triad SL LE

Triathlon Forum
1

First, let me thank Blue Competition for sponsoring the Tri4Him Elite Team. After doing my own thing the past 3 seasons, I was interested in joining a team for 2012. My first choice of bike for 2012 was Blue and my first choice of team was the Tri4Him Elite Team – I first met some of the Elite team members at 2011 Boulder 70.3 (Matt Russell, Jared Milam). When I first checked out the team, I was THRILLED to see they already had a relationship with Blue!! It was confirmation this is where I am suppose to be in 2012.

On to the bike…

UPS dropped off Friday.

First ride Saturday night on rollers. Took it outside today in 38F for 40 miles. I’ve ridden plenty of top-end bikes in the past, but this definitely takes the cake. Geometry is very good for me. On a Medium with frame stack/reach of 536/401, my fit coords to center of pads are 605/466.

Built up with SRAM Red Black, ISM Prologue, Rotor 3D+ 172.5mm 56/44, SRAM R2C shifters, SRAM Brake levers, integrated 80mm Triad SL aerobars/extensions.

Notes on build: everything went pretty smoothly with 2 exceptions:

  1. Problem: rear side-pull TRP brake when properly adjusted for combo of 23mm tire + Zipp Firecrest Carbon Clincher rims, you get rubbing on center of tire with brake.

Solution: remove inner shim/washer from TRP brake shoe mounting bolt. AND either shave down or use thinner brake pads (I’m using Zipp Tangente cork pads which come thinner). You now have wider clearance for wide rims so when you readjust the cable (tighten) you get tons more clearance for even a 23mm tire. not sure, but a 25mm tire might even fit now. Removing the inner shim does not affect your ability to adjust the pitch of the brake shoe.

  1. Problem: feeding the front brake housing through the aerobar was fairly difficult. There must be a few tight bends inside making it difficult to feed the housing through without getting hung up on the bends (cable is not an issue).
    Solution: I ended up taking a full-length brake cable (not one that is pre-cut for front brake usage), fixed one end to the brake mounting bolt. While pulling on the free end of the brake cable (putting tension on the entire cable) I slid the housing through. Because the housing is forced to follow the taut cable, it can feed more readily throughout instead of getting hung up on the tight bends (what happens when the cable is slack).

If you’ve built up your own bikes you know that the more technically advanced the bike is, the more of a headache it can be. Both of the above issues took no more than an extra 10 - 15 minutes to resolve (really #2 is not even an issue, more of a technique for getting the job done).

The frame itself is beautiful – smooth, matte finish.

All the hardware is top quality and everything just plain works – seat clamp works AND HOLDS, aero extension mounts/bolts, internal routing, arm pads, headset/stem/spacers easy to adjust and change out. For how complicated it all looks, it’s very straight forward with a simple, yet elegant design.

Making adjustments/getting dialed in is easy and quick to do. Adjusting the extensions, saddle, stem is all a cinch.

And, it has 2 bottle holders!

That’s enough for now, I plan to come back and post some more after the final cuts are made, and I ride it some more.

(Please avoid making comments on cables/housing/fork/extension length, etc. – I intentionally left everything a bit long until I get it completely dialed in.)

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv306/merletris/bikes/P3010004-1.jpg

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv306/merletris/bikes/P2190004.jpg

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv306/merletris/bikes/P2190010.jpg

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv306/merletris/bikes/P2190009.jpg

2

Very nice please do post back about the ride.

3

Nice bike Kirk! Definitely some improvements from the past Triad models. I had a 2010 Triad SL. The main issues with it were 1) 1 frame bottle cage spot was not ideal 2) you had to run 21mm rear tire or would rub the frame 3) rear / hidden brake was a pain to adjust (not sure if you can really get around that one 4) non-adjustable integrated seat post was a big problem (for travel with a size Large frame), as well as if you ever want to sell it.
Sweet ride. Let’s do some training together soon!

4

I’ve been on mine for about 2 weeks now. Ride is great! Smooth and very stiff. The bike is also very light. The biggest plus about this bike for me is the two water bottle cages.

5

Beautiful! You need the black decals for your Zipps. :slight_smile:

6

Beautiful! You need the black decals for your Zipps. :slight_smile:

i’ll take new pics when 808 Carbon Clinchers with black hubs/black decals arrive next week!

7

Very cool. Just put the black decals on my 808s and like the look. Beautiful daughter, too–mine just turned 3 and loves to “help” me work on my Argon 18 too. :slight_smile:

8

Coach,

That is a sweet ride. I can’t wait to see your reviews as you get it dialed in.

9

crazy i’m asking about the saddle when i should be commenting on the bike, but (and sorry if this is a highjack)…

i’ve been considering switching to the prologue from the racing2. wondering if you have tried both and can comment on whether the prologue provides a little more cushion and if it’s narrower than the racing2. mine is zip tied together, but it’s still just a bit to wide. and i’m finding the racing2 just a bit to firm, even after a season on it.

thanks for any insight, and killer ride! plus, great photos at the bottom. gave me a much needed smile after a long day.

10

Mean looking bike awesome !cute baby! I was looking at this bike also but too much for my budget.

11

Why does it look like you went 100 mph through the desert and hit every bush you could find? That frame looks hammered! Am I missing something here? Other than that cool bike.

12

Why does it look like you went 100 mph through the desert and hit every bush you could find? That frame looks hammered! Am I missing something here? Other than that cool bike.

lol. laughed after we looked at the closeups. pretty accurate description of what it looks like up close :slight_smile: that’s just the matte finish Blue chose for the styling. it’s smooth to the touch. The lines are just aesthetics, no baja-ing at 100mph this weekend.
My wife says it reminds her of a finished fiber-glass look.

13

crazy i’m asking about the saddle when i should be commenting on the bike, but (and sorry if this is a highjack)…

i’ve been considering switching to the prologue from the racing2. wondering if you have tried both and can comment on whether the prologue provides a little more cushion and if it’s narrower than the racing2. mine is zip tied together, but it’s still just a bit to wide. and i’m finding the racing2 just a bit to firm, even after a season on it.

thanks for any insight, and killer ride! plus, great photos at the bottom. gave me a much needed smile after a long day.

I started out riding the original Racing saddle in spring 2008. Rode the Racing in 2009. Then the Podium/Breakaway in 2010. Tried the TT in Spring 2011 but preferred the Podium and rode Podium throughout 2011. Just recently put Prologue which is softest version of Podium/Breakaway/Prologue shape, and I like it best. While I was very happy (at the time) with the original Racing version, I MUCH prefer the flatter, softer feel of the Podium/Breakaway/Prologue shape compared to both the Racing and Time Trial saddles.

sounds like you are complaining of the same issues I had with original Racing, so I think you might be a great candidate for Prologue.

14

Why does it look like you went 100 mph through the desert and hit every bush you could find? That frame looks hammered! Am I missing something here? Other than that cool bike.

lol. laughed after we looked at the closeups. pretty accurate description of what it looks like up close :slight_smile: that’s just the matte finish Blue chose for the styling. it’s smooth to the touch. The lines are just aesthetics, no baja-ing at 100mph this weekend.
My wife says it reminds her of a finished fiber-glass look.

That’s cool, I’m sure the camera just picked it all up. LOL I’m sure it looks badass in person…more like raw carbon. I built up a SC 9 series the same way and i just really like the flat black look. Enjoy ride, it looks awesome!

15

thanks so much for the info and enjoy your new ride.

16

Looks great! I ride a '10 Blue Triad, and very rarely see anyone else on a Blue. I love the stealth black - I am quite the opposite with blue highlights galore on my blue Blue frame!

17

Bike looks awesome. My SL LE is on the way from Blue as we speak. I can’t wait. Thanks for posting. I’m getting excited!!

d

18

Beautiful bike, but you need a bigger crankset…

56/44, that´s…impressive.

19

Nice bike Kirk! Definitely some improvements from the past Triad models. I had a 2010 Triad SL. The main issues with it were 1) 1 frame bottle cage spot was not ideal 2) you had to run 21mm rear tire or would rub the frame 3) rear / hidden brake was a pain to adjust (not sure if you can really get around that one 4) non-adjustable integrated seat post was a big problem (for travel with a size Large frame), as well as if you ever want to sell it.
Sweet ride. Let’s do some training together soon!
this weekend looks nice, after 80mph winds… what are your plans for saturday?

20

Bike looks awesome. My SL LE is on the way from Blue as we speak. I can’t wait. Thanks for posting. I’m getting excited!!

d

sweet. have it pretty much completely dialed in now, and WOW, incredibly smooth. just hums down the road. just got zipp 808 carbon clinchers (black decals)… will post.