If you were looking for the fastest tri bike for $4000 or under and wanted ultegra mechanical components what bikes would you consider? Assume you are about 6’ foot tall and can achieve your desired position on a medium 2011 Shiv Expert utilizing 170 cranks. So far the possibilities I have:
Other consideration include the ability to substitute 170 cranks and 50/34 chainrings without a big price bump, ability to pack it in a trico ironcase for travel and finally a cool paint job could be the tie breaker. Be interested to hear from others who own any of the above bikes or who are riding something similar that fits this bill.
Used bike. I picked up a 7k 1 yr old bike on the classifieds forum for just over 3k w/race wheels ( which I sold). Could go new, but lots of folks want latest and greatest and frequently dump ‘young’ bikes in great condition.
The others do not even belong in the same conversation. I think the edge goes to the IA for ease of travel / maintenance, substitution potential for components, and paint job. Of course, I can’t understand why you would go with mechanical if you had $4k to spend on a new bike. Just by the IAx frameset ($2500), add Ultegra di2 w/ base bar shifters ($1000), a fast after market front end ($200), and an Omega X brakeset ($300). Done.
The others do not even belong in the same conversation. I think the edge goes to the IA for ease of travel / maintenance, substitution potential for components, and paint job. Of course, I can’t understand why you would go with mechanical if you had $4k to spend on a new bike. Just by the IAx frameset ($2500), add Ultegra di2 w/ base bar shifters ($1000), a fast after market front end ($200), and an Omega X brakeset ($300). Done.
Among that class, you are probably not going to find objective information to make a data-driven decision about speed. They are all very fast bikes.
So, in my humble opinion, it comes down to mostly lust-- the intangible desire for one over the others. Personally, I chose the IA, and I would make the same choice every time. My favorite lookers are the IA, Trek SC, and Shiv in that order. But, what makes the IA look best to me is the wide seat tube that continues in the wide seat post. All the rest go skinny on the seat post.
And, I think that the IA is the fastest of that bunch.
I am not a fan of the looks of the QR, Ceepo, and Fuji. I could live with them, but not love them.
I believe someone already mentioned a Cervelo… just thought I would toss the P2 out there for consideration along with a link to this article from TriRig where he makes a P2 pretty dang close to a P5 in terms of speed.
This is begging for a quick soap box… I love Tririg. I have a pair of their brakes, and I plan to put the Alpha X on my bike. But that study is so bad and so misleading, that it is junk. I wish they would either rewrite it or pull it down from their site.
Tririg took the P2 with about $8K of upgrades (Dash wheels, Dash seat post, Dash Seat, Alpha X, and Omega X) and compared it to a P5 with about $6,500 in upgrades. Neither of the two test bikes were functional, because the drive trains were removed, brake levers were removed, and the brakes were removed from the P5. Oh yeah, and the P5 was a larger frame with a larger head tube-- a significant impact on drag alone.
After all this, Tririg concludes in that article that and entry level P2 with an Alpha X will save $5K and be just as fast or faster than a P5. That is misleading to the point that it is pretty much a lie. The P5 comes with a crapton of higher performing components out of the box that add to both its cost and performance-- Tririg ignores these in its conclusion. The conclusion truly fails when you consider the all of the economics in the comparison: the modified P2 costs more than the P5 it supposedly beats.
Just looking at their study and the protocol, Tririg can really only draw from a couple possible conclusions:
The bars made no difference, because the 56cm P5’s taller head tube gives it a worse profile than the 54cm P2, so all the difference is in the larger P5 frame, or
The Tririg bar is so much better than the Aduro bar that it overcomes any potential aerodynamic advantage that the P5 frame may have over a P2 (between two normalized, non-functional bikes)
I lean toward #2, and that is why I want the Alpha X on my bike. I think it is significantly better than other aero bars. But it will not make a P2 faster than a P5. If it is lucky, an Alpha X alone may make a P2 faster than a P3. Maybe.
If it is lucky, an Alpha X alone may make a P2 faster than a P3. Maybe.
The P2 and P3 are the same frames. The only difference is the P2 has a slightly wider fork. Adding the Alpha X to either of these bikes makes them equal.
What is a front end? I know what base bars are and I know what aerobar extensions are. Edit: strike that. I missed that your list listed ‘frame only’ and needed a full cockpit.
Also, I’m not sure why people would worry about upgrading a rear brake. I’d guess that air is pretty darned turbulent by the time it gets to that area. Could there possibly be time savings there? That’s one part I’ve never considered upgrading.
I’m not sure why people would worry about upgrading a rear brake. I’d guess that air is pretty darned turbulent by the time it gets to that area. Could there possibly be time savings there? That’s one part I’ve never considered upgrading.
I upgraded mine, because the rear brake on my IA 16 was a total piece of crap. It had a noodle because the cable entered from the side (really stupid selection for a bottom bracket brake). And the brake stopped very poorly probably due to flex in the brake calipers and friction in the system (part from the noodle). I could have bought a direct mount Ultegra or Dura Ace brake, but I loved the design and mechanical advantage of the Omega X. So, I upgraded mine for braking performance and maintenance, not aero speed.
What is a front end? I know what base bars are and I know what aerobar extensions are.
Also, I’m not sure why people would worry about upgrading a rear brake. I’d guess that air is pretty darned turbulent by the time it gets to that area. Could there possibly be time savings there? That’s one part I’ve never considered upgrading.
I have 2 Omega X’s on my P2 because I wanted to my brakes to match.