I live in the middle of Houston, Texas. A one hour minimum drive from any open road that doesn’t have major obstacles for a nice bike ride.
For these two reasons I have put my 2003 Felt S32 on eBay. I figured I could get a Soloist Centaur and ride around the neighborhood and local park 1.2 mile loop during the week and not wory about getting in an out of aero position every 30 seconds because of traffic and tight turns on the loop. I can put in time and be more comfortable during the week.
Now I am worried I will look at my fiance’s Cervelo P2K and yearn for the lower profile, etc etc etc.
I know I can throw some clip on Vision Tech mini’s whenever I want to participate in tri. Notice I didn’t use the word “compete.” I know I’m doing the right thing for me. I know it for sure.
I’ll forever be a lover of the TT bike. It’s just hard admitting it isn’t for me and my lifestyle. Anyone esle out there had this experience?
Don’t worry, your yearning will fade (at least so did mine)…
I do not think this is a lifestyle decision. Your Livestyle is not defined by the kind of bike you ride (Don’t listen to those who tell you otherwise).
A friend of mine got rid of his P2K and classic steel road bike for a Soloist. He wanted to keep it simple with just one bike and he’s just as fast on it as with the P2K and still can take it group riding with the roadies. Doing the same thing has crossed my mind from time to time.
No worries. You’ll survive, if just barely. For those of us who reside in the real world, one nice bike is all we can swing. Make it a road bike. I’d rather have a very nice road bike, than an average road bike and an average tri bike.
If you change your mind you can always eBay the Soloist and get something else. But on a more important note, “fiance’s” implies you are marrying a guy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I think you meant to use “fiancee’s”. There’s a VERY distinct difference.
Don’t worry. Road bikes are more fun to ride than TT bikes anyway. Plus they’re more versatile. Since you’ve got a soloist, you can still pull off an effective trigeek vibe if necessary.
That’s a great swap. You’re trading a MOP tri bike for a TdF/Kona worthy quality frame, plus something that is much more versatile for your needs. It works for Lessing.
I have both TT (Giant) and a Soloist and the Soloist will get 5x the miles…
I live in the middle of Singapore , for the benefit of those who have never visted , a prosperous and clean island nation of 3.8 million inhabitants measuring : North/South ±25kms and East/West ±45. Fortunately for an intelligent gov’t, Singapore does not have anywhere near the traffic problems, of any of her neighbours. But those that do drive…
I cycle between 5.30 and 11ish, where the red line ( read frightening !) starts at about 8. I take my chances unfortunately and hope for the best. Keep my eyes open and reflexes sharp. On the home front I bought a CT, which I keep in my study and use as much as possible.
This is not the optimum circumstance , but it is the cards dealt and what is available to me. I have logged two 190km rides starting at 4.45 leading up to my first IM two months ago, in this tiny piece of real estate. Yes it was a bit boring , but hey, the chute at the finish line wiped out that memory easily !
Another canuck living in Singapore right here…though only been living here for the last month. Just uncrated my bike last weekend after a 2 month hiatus. Coming from Vancouver BC, the riding certainly looks less “relaxing” but is doable. Looks like I’m going to have to start the 5 -6 am ride time…riding after work is just too busy.
I purchased a new road bike last year (Litespeed Siena) after much deliberation over road vs. tri. I knew that I needed a new road bike - the question was should I go lower-end and save some cash for a future tri-bike purchase.
I decided to splurge on the road bike and forget the tri. I’m never realistically going to compete at a level where thestyle of bike is my limiting factor. So with some Profile Jammers added, I race the Siena very comfortably.
Goos luck with your new ride - you won’t regret it!
Hat’s off to you guys training in Singapore. Not sure how you do it. One thing you don’t have to worry about is wind-chill and frost-bite. I spent a few weeks in Singapore in 1995. I did a fair amount of running when I was there. Running is a great way to explore a foregin city. I would get up just before dawn and head out for about an hour each morning. I did find this cool park that followed a stream through the centre of the city. It had a paved path that had each mile clearly marked out on it. It was a great way to do mile repeats!
I live in the middle of Houston, Texas. A one hour minimum drive from any open road that doesn’t have major obstacles for a nice bike ride.
James,
I am confused - like you I live and work in Houston and my experiences are exactly opposite. Before a recent job change, I was able to ride the bike into the park (picnic loop) from the house in west Houston after work. Even though my new job no longer allows that, we still get our ride in, I just have to bring the bike to the office and then I ride to the park from there where we are able to get in a 18-20 mile ride in with few problems. We motor around the picnic loop with relatively little problems, in fact, if you ride a blue/white soloist, I beleive I have even seen you there (we are on white TCR Aero’s). Sure the park is getting more conjested of late due to all the 3-month wonders getting back on there bikes in order to prepare for the annual running of the MS 150, but by 6:00 pm, only the serious riders remain and by 6:30 the loop is nearly empty! Maybe I have a different persepctive seeing as our garage has 6 road bikes (and a mountain bike) but I think you should hold off on parting with the Cervelo unless of course you are actually angling your way into something like a TCR Aero Carbon or a P3 Carbon!
I am in exactly (well almost) the same situation. I spend 90% of the time on the road bike. Recently bought a soloist frame off ebay built it up as a road bike, problem is, and its a nice problem to have, I have an older Trek 5500 and a P2k as well. The Trek has been a winter bike for a couple of years but the p2 only comes out during tri racing and training. This would be fine other than I have not signed up for any IMs this year and all my training is done with a road group. Toying with the idea of selling the P2k, this way when I do return to long course tri racing I can buy another TT bike. But wife will not allow me to sell it!
I wonder if I can attain much the same position with the Soloist using the P2’s seat post and shorter stem. If so even less reason to keep the P2.
