I’m in the market for a new bike. I actually don’t care to go the full out superbike route as speed is not my primary objective in the next bike I get. At the same time I don’t want it to be totally slow either.
I travel a lot so a bike that travels well is important. The more standard components it uses the better. Also because of some biomechanical issues with my neck resulting from an accident 18 months ago, I’d like a bike that I can ride a bit slacker with more weight on my butt rather than my arms and neck. I also have a short torso so I am looking at short reach bikes, which would allow me to ride as slammed back as possible and still stay somewhat aero (relative) without putting a lot of weight on my upper body nor getting too stretched out. Finally, I want a bike with a 7 mm or more bottom bracket drop as I find that they seem to handle the best of tri bikes when riding technical switchbacks (again I know this is not applicable to most triathlons, but I like taking trips where I do a tri and also ride the local mountains, so I want a bike that can do both).
I converged on 3 potential options: Cannondale Slice 3 Ultegra, Specialized Shiv Comp, Blue Triad. All these bikes meet the above requirements. The Slice is the cheapest, ($2700 right now at Nytro) leaving a lot of money to spend on travel and other assorted tri stuff. There is not much talk about the Slice here on ST so I’d like your feedback. The 71.5 degree head tube angle has me marginally concerned…does this handle like a Harley through technical turns? Other than that, it looks like a pretty darn good option given my requirements (which arguably are slightly different than those of full out speed rigs that are ST approved).
Haven’t owned one myself but have set up quite a few people on them. Can’t recall any being unhappy but quite a few have been very happy. If were to replace my old al. P3 I’d get get a slice. I like simplicity and I’m even tired of dealing with horizontal dropouts.
And whatever you buy, how about buying it north of the 49th…after all you live in the epicenter of where our tax dollars get consumed
Haven’t owned one myself but have set up quite a few people on them. Can’t recall any being unhappy but quite a few have been very happy. If were to replace my old al. P3 I’d get get a slice. I like simplicity and I’m even tired of dealing with horizontal dropouts.
And whatever you buy, how about buying it north of the 49th…after all you live in the epicenter of where our tax dollars get consumed
Greg.
LOL…I have to admit, we’re both old school and when I saw that it had vertical drop outs, that really got me excited…but I didn’t want to admit to that here on ST. I will also check with some of my local options!
Dev, Dan has owned one for a while, does he have any articles or reviews?
I guess for me, I’ll always go for the nicer frameset with slightly lesser components. The Shiv Rival offers similar geometry, better aerodynamics, unique but not complex brakes and some long course integration. It runs just about $3K. The small is close in geometry.
I’ve had a Cannondale Slice w/Rival groupset for 3 years now and love the bike. Comfortable and nicely stable in a straight line. But…in my experience it doesn’t like to turn. I really have to argue with it through tight corners. YMMV.
Thanks guys. My guess looking at the geometry charts is that the Slice would turn like a Harley, but would also ride like a Harley in a straight line (I guess you can’t have both). This feedback is useful, but I don’t think I am ruling it out…as quirky as it sounds those vertical drop outs are a rare item in today’s TT bikes. Any bike with chainstays that are 40 cm or so should have no reason to go horizontal…those are just a big pain in the butt for the marginal age grouper level aero gains :-).
I have test ridden the Shiv and also like how it fit me and how the bike handled. Anyone with views on the Blue Triad?
Dev, have you looked at a Ritchey breakaway? They come as a frameset so you can basically build it how you want, and it all breaks down to suitcases. The cables even have connectors which I thought might be nice to allow swapping of front end components (road to tri and back).
Dev, Dan has owned one for a while, does he have any articles or reviews?
I guess for me, I’ll always go for the nicer frameset with slightly lesser components. The Shiv Rival offers similar geometry, better aerodynamics, unique but not complex brakes and some long course integration. It runs just about $3K. The small is close in geometry.
I owned a 2011 Slice 5 105 for about a year and was very happy with it. Really comfortable but yes, the frontend handling was a bit sluggish to me. But don’t get me wrong, it’s a great bike to get started with since most triathlons don’t have windy roads to navigate through. =)
I have a 2011 Slice 3 Ultegra. Trained and raced 2 seasons. Very comfortable bike. More comfortable than the P2 I came off of (that is the only Tri bike I can compare it too). But comfort is a very subjective and qualitative evaluation.
It felt more stable than my P2 as well.
Never had any problem with handling and railing it around corners. And I ride short fast stuff 40k and under.
A tried and true value in my opinion. Superbikes are super cool, but also not super service friendly. And the engine (ok fit too!) is way more important that the nano seconds a superbike will get you.
Love the Slice. Had a 2011 himod top of the line bike and just upgraded to the Slice RS blk inc. I still have a soft spot for my old bike for all the reasons you mentioned. prefered vertical Dropouts. Exposed easy to work on brakes etc etc.
Very underated triathlon bike. Not the fastest but very very easy to LIVE with and not that much slower. Oh and did I mention how comfortable it is. Handling was never an issue it is a tt bike afterall its never going to handle like a road bike. I found it to climb very well. If I had to only own one bike and wanted a tt bike this would be it. The Slice RS… as much as I love it. Its fiddly and isnt a Only one bike type of bike.
I have had mine 4 years. I love it. I have a short torso and it is first tt bike I have been able to use a normal length stem on. So for me it handles far better than any tt bike I have ridden. In fact I was stunned that it cornered better than my road bike. I have since gone out and bought a cannondale road bike. Only dislike that took some getting used to was the stiffness, I was coming off a titanium tt bike and found it a bit harsh on rough roads. You can pick them up second hand very cheap now, I would think a Durace one could be only $2000 if you looked around.
I’m in the market for a new bike. I actually don’t care to go the full out superbike route as speed is not my primary objective in the next bike I get. At the same time I don’t want it to be totally slow either.
I travel a lot so a bike that travels well is important. The more standard components it uses the better. Also because of some biomechanical issues with my neck resulting from an accident 18 months ago, I’d like a bike that I can ride a bit slacker with more weight on my butt rather than my arms and neck. I also have a short torso so I am looking at short reach bikes, which would allow me to ride as slammed back as possible and still stay somewhat aero (relative) without putting a lot of weight on my upper body nor getting too stretched out. Finally, I want a bike with a 7 mm or more bottom bracket drop as I find that they seem to handle the best of tri bikes when riding technical switchbacks (again I know this is not applicable to most triathlons, but I like taking trips where I do a tri and also ride the local mountains, so I want a bike that can do both).
I converged on 3 potential options: Cannondale Slice 3 Ultegra, Specialized Shiv Comp, Blue Triad. All these bikes meet the above requirements. The Slice is the cheapest, ($2700 right now at Nytro) leaving a lot of money to spend on travel and other assorted tri stuff. There is not much talk about the Slice here on ST so I’d like your feedback. The 71.5 degree head tube angle has me marginally concerned…does this handle like a Harley through technical turns? Other than that, it looks like a pretty darn good option given my requirements (which arguably are slightly different than those of full out speed rigs that are ST approved).
I bought one last year from Nytro. Price was a big factor for me, because I couldn’t justify spending any more than $2500-$3000 on a TT bike.
I am very happy with the bike - it’s comfortable, and fast enough for me…
No complaints.
I had 3 (!) Slices. One of the original non hi-mod guys and two of the HiMod. One is still on the road, the other two both cracked on the rear seat stay. Having said that they were nice bikes but gosh does Cannondale have poor customer service. Going on two years for a replacement frame!
I ride a 58 so there may be some differences in handling there but I found that the slice handled well. Not a twitchy bike at all. I kinda liked the harley feel! With as laid back as the headtube is the whole bike seems long and kinda low. You may find you start to countersteer a bit early in the turns just to get everything going the right direction. The most complicated part of the whole bike is the seatpost, which takes some fiddling but not too bad after you get it all set. I did find the original non hi mod was a nicer ride.
After my debacle with not getting a replacement frame quickly I moved on to a Valdora frameset, for a lot of the same reasons you are looking at a slice. Less time fiddling with brakes and seatposts and more time riding! I “think” their small is still a bit big for you but you’d have to check it out. It even has two frame mounted bottle mounts.
I rode a 58cm Slice 105 late last summer (while I was waiting for my 58cm SliceRS Ultegra di2 to arrive). Of course the old Slice was a ‘smaller’ 58cm bike and didn’t fit me quite as well as the new… but I’ve found both bikes very comfortable and handle great. No complaints with either. I didn’t notice any lack of speed with the 105 version of the Slice - it seems like a good value (in fact, Nytro just sent an email with a crazy ‘all in’ package for $2,500). I must admit that I’ve not ridden a TT/Tri bike before, but I like the ride on both bikes. I DO love the new bike - Di2 is amazing. I can’t wait for the bullhorn lever/shifters to arrive.
