While I absolutely love the paintjob and handling of my present yaqui–it’s all big round aluminum tubes and a profile sc fork. About as un-aerodynamic as they come. Have disc cover, and an old LG rocket, vision alum basebar. Will be buying the right tires (probably the 19mm bonty aerowing front and 23 bonty rsx rear).
Although I have a non-deep front (Velomax Circuit), my ROI time-wise seems highest on going to a modern frame. I’ll get my specific fit coordinates tonight, but suffice it to say that I ride steep, stretched out, my stem is slammed, and my legs hit my chest. I’m not worried about “not fitting an aggressive bike” 6’ with 34" inseam, so probably a 54/56 or medium. Throw the worst at me. Edit–my touch points are bb->saddle height 30" (76-77cm), setback to worn part of saddle 1.5-1.75" (3.8-4.5cm), actual saddle tip setback ~0.5" (1.5 cm), bb-> elbow 19"(~48.5 cm) forward and 24.25 (61.6 cm) up. So that’s ~89 degree STA (87 to sit bones) with a 14.6 cm drop.
Even if I buy a full bike, I’ll probably transfer over my 9sp setup and sell the modern stuff to lower the overall cost. Let’s shoot for a total incurred cost of ~ $1000 for non-wear items, and I’m assuming no one will want to buy the old frame/fork (will accept offers though).
What’s the best combination of frame + front wheel you can give me? Cheaper frame lets me get into an aero front wheel, but is that beneficial over spending all the bucks on the frame? My initial kneejerk reaction is to say, “no”. The data I’ve seen suggests that going from a 30mm wheel with aero tire to a 80mm wheel with aero tire is less than going from a p2k to a p2c. I may be wrong though, so do correct me if I’m mistaken.
So the comparison is between (goal $1k)
1.) BAMF frame + Velomax Circuit
(e.g. P3 alum, older Trek/Felt/?)
2.) Good frame + ??? Front wheel (clincher for sure)
(e.g. P2K + older 404/h3 or maybe Jet 90/FP80)
We can ignore me for the moment since I’m confident I’ll fit anything out there, provided the headtube isn’t too tall and the seat too slack.
which would give you a total of just over $1000 if you swapped over all of your other components.
I am 6ft tall and ride this exact frame except that I bought a pair of Spinergy wheels and put a cover on the rear one. We’ll see how fast it goes on Sunday morning in Louisville
Not sure about what combo can get you the lowest drag for the cheapest, but take a look at a used Leader frame too. Or keep trolling eBay. Cheap is good. Let us know what you end up with.
Another vote for the P3. I paid something like $700 for mine, complete minus wheels. It would be hard to build even a Leader frame for that. In general, I buy complete bikes, and sell framesets. Trying to piece parts together can nickel and dime you to death.
I’ve done some trolling and it does look like the p3 aluminum does come in as the leader, and if anything, under cost (~1k with everything still attached). Now if I can find an elusive blue/white combo
Another one is the 2007 B2 – how does this guy compare?
1.) BAMF frame + Velomax Circuit
(e.g. P3 alum, older Trek/Felt/?)
2.) Good frame + ??? Front wheel (clincher for sure)
(e.g. P2K + older 404/h3 or maybe Jet 90/FP80)
I vote for #2, and the P2K specifically. I’m riding a '04 P2K frameset I picked up for $400 (and in the blue/white color scheme, too) and kitted it out with Force, profile cx 1.5 bars, FSA SLK light cranks, and Reynolds Alta Race wheels for 1600 complete.
I’m 6’2", riding a 55 with the seat a little slack (75.5 deg or so) and the bars on the headset. I’d still like a little more drop, but don’t have room on the seatpost for a smaller frame. I also have a 57 cm Talon with the dual-post, have had some quick splits on it with clip-ons, but mostly it just sits on the wall. It’s more comfortable than the P2K, and probably fits a little better, but the headtube is too tall (and requires a standard headset, not integrated) to get very low up front. I’d ride it in an instant for a half or full over my P2K set-up for olympics (though I was also fine riding the P2K for a half last year).
But if you’re interested in buying a Talon, I could be persuaded to dump mine for a price that would get you in under 1k with an aero front wheel after selling the components (full SRAM force drivetrain, Ritchey WCS Bars/Stem/Headset, Arione saddle and Keo Sprint pedals).
Try to find an old P3SL. Not only is it nearly as fast as all but the newest bikes, but the black anodizing is just sick looking. An absolute classic. I’ve had guys on P3Cs and Felt DAs drool over mine even though their rides cost about 3-4 times more.
Try to find an old P3SL. Not only is it nearly as fast as all but the newest bikes, but the black anodizing is just sick looking. An absolute classic. I’ve had guys on P3Cs and Felt DAs drool over mine even though their rides cost about 3-4 times more.
There’s no doubt that the SL series is the best looking of the Cervelos across the board. Unfortunately–they go for a premium as result. Plus Desert Dude had his treatise on black bikes a while ago. Not to be missed.
SL for sure gets my personal vote, but blue/white goes #2 (as it will go with my to-be team’s colors best)
