I have a 2018 Trinity and really like it. It’s fast and my times over they years on the same courses (similar conditions and watts) in WNY have been quicker on it. I rode an original DA for a few years, then a 2014 Blue Triad SL before moving onto the Giant. The rear brake pads are PIA to change though, so if you are switching between carbon and aluminum tracks frequently, then I would look at other options. That’s the only thing I don’t like.
step 1. make sure you fit on the bikes you’re looking at. this can not be underlined enough. if you go out and buy a bike and do not properly fit then you’re stuck with a bike that you cant comfortably ride.
that being said, my fitter is in love with the P-Series bike. he said its one of the best bikes out (in his opinion right now) as far as bang for the buck goes.
Don’t respond if you don’t want to but why no QR? I just bought a PR5 rim so I’m just curious why no interest at all. I also felt limited with my choices in Canada so I only considered Cervelo and QR. Probably should have looked at Trek as well but I didn’t want a plain black bike (already have one).
I just took a quick look at the 3 bikes on your shortlist and wow those are extremely different offerings in terms of components. Do you have a preference with things like disc/ rim, wheels, powermeter, Shimano/ SRAM, 11 vs 12 speed? Unless you have no preference in terms of components.
There’s also a 2021 model of the Giant on their website. That’s quite the colour option!
Not to mention the Giant and Canyon have the equivalent system. Could be put on the Cervelo with the stem (i have it on my rim brake P5). Not a strong reason to get the QR.
…is there any bike updates coming from any of the big brands?
When and if Trek ever get around to updating the Speed Concept is probably the big unknown. I can’t imagine that Canyon won’t have a disc bike out by next year. My guess is that everything new from the big manufacturers is really likely to be disc whether that is what you want or not. I would guess you are seeing about all the rim brake TT/Tri bikes from big manufacturers. I just think the market segment is too small to support both a rim and disc version of even the best selling TT/Tri bike.
With regards to the QR, I just can’t get down with how it looks. Very personal taste I know, but I prefer the giant and cervelo and canyon in the looks dept.
Just seen the 2021 Giant trinity advanced pro. Interesting! Very high spec with sram etap and power meter. Will need to see the new colour way in real life before I make a decision on it.
Pricing will also be a factor. Would plan to upgrade wheels to swissside hadrons also.
step 1. make sure you fit on the bikes you’re looking at. this can not be underlined enough. if you go out and buy a bike and do not properly fit then you’re stuck with a bike that you cant comfortably ride.
that being said, my fitter is in love with the P-Series bike. he said its one of the best bikes out (in his opinion right now) as far as bang for the buck goes.
Interesting…in comparison the Giant, QR and even the Canyon, the Cervelo seems to be the least attractive in terms of ‘bang for buck’…
If I opt for the Cervelo p-series, I don’t think I can stretch to the Ultegra di2 for $6500. So I would likely go for the 105 version and upgrade wheels (Swiss Hadrons 65/80). That would be about 4700 but I would have 105 (cheap crank and shifters) and the cockpit that I would prob want to upgrade also…
Choose your bike from the bars back (Slowman has written about this on the front page). Don’t worry too much about wheels.
The Trinity Advanced has terrible bars compared to the others, the ‘good value’ evaporates quickly if you can’t get your best position (the whole point of a TT bike) or have to buy aftermarket adaptors.
The P-Series has decent bars, pad reach adjustment is a bit coarse but it’s not hard to change stems.
Canyon bars have fine adjustment on pads (X & Z) but the extension length is a bit more limited (may have to cut initially then you’ve only got a couple of cm to play with).
Most people throw money away buying TT bikes because they fixate on the level of componentry or frame. Focus on getting your body tucked out of the wind, then fill in the dots. As mentioned this means bars then frame. Wheels are fairly homogeneous between good brands now and are pretty low on the speed hierarchy.
Note: I designed the bars on the Canyon. They’re for a specific purpose which required some tradeoffs.
Choose your bike from the bars back (Slowman has written about this on the front page). Don’t worry too much about wheels.
The Trinity Advanced has terrible bars compared to the others, the ‘good value’ evaporates quickly if you can’t get your best position (the whole point of a TT bike) or have to buy aftermarket adaptors.
The P-Series has decent bars, pad reach adjustment is a bit coarse but it’s not hard to change stems.
Canyon bars have fine adjustment on pads (X & Z) but the extension length is a bit more limited (may have to cut initially then you’ve only got a couple of cm to play with).
Most people throw money away buying TT bikes because they fixate on the level of componentry or frame. Focus on getting your body tucked out of the wind, then fill in the dots. As mentioned this means bars then frame. Wheels are fairly homogeneous between good brands now and are pretty low on the speed hierarchy.
Note: I designed the bars on the Canyon. They’re for a specific purpose which required some tradeoffs.
Thanks for the response. This will be my first TT bike so I’m not quite sure what I want in terms of front end bars? Any tips for figuring out what will work for me?
Thanks for the response. This will be my first TT bike so I’m not quite sure what I want in terms of front end bars? Any tips for figuring out what will work for me?
Ideally you would go to a good fitter first (that means one with a decent fit bike and other tools like motion capture) - there is a list on the site but the list of really good ones is shorter. Maybe share your general location so people can share recommendations for good fitters in your area. Given you’re not planning to purchase a bike for a few months that may give you time to travel (if such things are allowed) to see someone.
If you don’t have a chance to see a fitter first then you need to get the most adjustable bike possible (QR pops its head up here), or one that takes standard bars so it is easy to modify.