Hello all!
I need a little help from people that have been around the sport longer than me!
I have been doing tri’s now for about 3 years on an old qRoo Caliente. It’s been a great bike to get me into the sport but I am ready to upgrade to a newer, more stable bike. My girlfriend rides a 2013 Cervelo P2 and is super happy with it but the Felt IA 14 is a sexy looking beast. It seems that the Cervelo is more well-rounded and may hold it’s resale value better than the Felt but the IA is supposed to be the fastest frame on the market this year, if I am not mistaken? I know the right choice is to get the one that fits and feels the best but do y’all have any other input? I’m not a super-fast rider, usually in the low 20’s(mph) on straight/flat rides and in the upper teens on serious rides with elevation.
I also did the Retule and it spit out either the P3, the IA, the qRoo PR5 or the Blue Triad. I seem to be most interested in the Cervelo or Felt but open to suggestions on the others as well. I am trying to keep this purchase under 5k and will likely keep it with its stock components/wheels until next year to spread out the cost.
My goal is to finish IM Louisville in October. I have done Olys & half’s but would like to jump up into the full distance this year. My best sport is running but cycling is a close second.
Thank you for all your expertise in advance!
The Felt IA.
-Drag that is competative with the P5.
-The aerobars included are quite good.
-Lighter than the P3.
-Better integration, cable management, and storage options.
I might be biased due to purchasing an IA recently.
Another post from a biased owner of a Felt IA16. I got it from a shop that sells, Felt, Cervelo, Trek, Spesh. I didn’t even consider the Cervelos. I would have got the Speed Concept before them.
I was in a similar boat about 16 months ago. Ended up on a Felt IA and am extremely glad I did. I was considering TREK SC, Cervelo P5, and one other I don’t even recall. It boiled down to fit, comfort, and “wrenchability” to me. The aero numbers don’t lie and this is an incredibly fast bike. Every bike shop mechanic I spoke with told me they cringed everytime someone brought in a Trek SC to work on and I had about 10 other friends that owned P5’s and ended up selling them. Everyone said they felt faster on their older bike or a P3 than the P5.
It doesn’t hurt that I pass those bikes all the time in races.
Felt IA, hands down. The IA pretty much obsoletes the P2 and P3 class of bikes.
Not sure what the price you are looking at for the IA 14. Retail is 4K. For the same money I would buy a closeout P2 for 2K, a crank based power meter (such as a P2 Max), and race wheels such as Hed Jet 6+s on closeout.
I think you would be an ignoranus to buy a retail P3 or IA14. Sorry to be blunt, but the IA14 weighs 21.5 lbs, and if you follow the above for the same money you have a 19 pound bike that is faster and with the PM will make you a better rider. If you buy the IA 14 or P3, you get nothing really that is going to help you.
If you really want to spend 5 K you could nearly upgrade the above to DI 2 or a new base bar if you feel like that is going to make a difference, or add Ultegra, fast tires, latex tubes, etc. If you know how to work on your own bike or have friends who do these are small things to tweak.