Am I the only one who thinks the new P2SL in gunmetal anodizing is the sweetest, swiftest, most simply lethal bike a triathlete could buy? Forget carbon, show up in the transition as the Quiet Killer. Beautiful.
Unfortunately, the fact that you buy this incredibly well-engineered piece of machinery and then have to have this lame looking forward facing seat clamp to get in the proper position has me upset.
Oh, I’m sure I’ll get one anyway. No one else can really compete with the P2 SL, but that darned clamp! Gerard, help us out here. What about a new seatpost that just has a low profile, zero-offset head inserted in the front of the aero post? Forward on the rails, we could still ride at probably 78 degrees, but it wouldn’t look like a lame road bike retrofit.
Am I being picky? Yes. Is the forward clamp ugly on such a beautiful bike. Definitely.
Unfortunately, the fact that you buy this incredibly well-engineered piece of machinery and then have to have this lame looking forward facing seat clamp to get in the proper position has me upset.
Doesn’t this statement strike you as contradictory? Well-engineered, but bad geometry. That’s what happens when you want one size to fit all.Chad
I’m riding an '03 P2K. Also quite beautiful, in my opinion, and I love the blue color. But my seatpost woes are even worse - - my bike only has an aluminum component. Anybody know where I might score a carbon seatpost (a la P2SL)?
The geometry is not “bad”. It is well designed, but to do that they have a funny looking seatpost clamp. All we are saying is that it would be nice if the aesthetics in one small area matched the engineering and design.
edit: also, some of us actually do (or did) require bikes which are UCI compliant. It is very difficult to do that if the actual seat angle is steepened.
I own a P2K and a P3sl. I’ve cursed that $%#@! seatpost clamp a thousand times and I’ve posted my appeal here on ST for Gerard to come up with some retrofit that’s not so gawdawful. Alas … to no avail. I love the bikes, but the seatpost clamp design is the worst I’ve ever seen and completely unworthy to be part of the Cervelo machines.
I agree. I just switched from the normal with the seat as far forward to the steeper head configuration with the seat in the middle. Not UCI legal though as I’m about 2 cm behind the BB and am riding at 78 degrees. The normal setup gave me 76.5 degrees and was legal.
What exactly is the problem with the seatpost clamp? This isn’t just an aesthetics problem, it’s a functional problem too? Does the Dual have the same problem? I’m looking at everything from the Dual to the P2C so this info would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
It wouldn’t take much for someone to come up with a CNC aftermarket head, especially since it’s modular and attaches to the seatpost itself. A nice low-profile head with the post extending below to fit into the Cervelo aluminum or carbon post. Seems like it would be a great seller and inexpensive. It would probably put the “effective” seat angle to about 76.5 degrees or so, but look nice and sleek and the saddle rails would do the rest.
I finally decided to repaint my well used Dual (it’s been SO good to me) instead of changing to another bike, and was lusting over the gunmetal finish on the P2SL myself. Am about to call to see if its possible. On the other note, I just changed out my seat on the Dual and once again was cursing that bugger seatpost…I hate it hate hate it hate it. It’s the little screw under the seat that you have to turn but can’t get to easily. What actually got me on the Cervelo website in the first place was looking for a possible replacement post in the newer models.
I had the aluminum post and now have the carbon post on my Dual. I have never had any problem with either post. That being said, I would love to have a zero offset option in Carbon. I know that a zero offset would work perfect for my set up and it would look a lot better for sure. I am not talking about offering a new head for the post but actually offering a zero offset carbon post with clamp.
I agree, for some reason the P2SL is absolutely my favorite looking bike. It’s fun to see that it’s not just me with that opinion. I got the black one as soon as I saw the gunmetal was coming out, but I think the gunmetal one is my second favorite looking bike and can see why someone else would prefer it.
Beyond the aesthetic of the seatpost, I haven’t had any problems functionally. In fact, since the seatpost so important, I actually think it’s an excellent functional design. I get a super precise dialing for the seat tilt (which is the most sensitive setting on the bike for me), and I ride a little steeper then 80 degrees with room for steeper if I wanted with super precision along that axis as well (I would imagine lots of seatposts are precise along that axis). And zero slippage problems.
Out of curiosity, does anyone have thoughts on how to improve it functionally?
I agree the aesthetic could probably be improved. . .