I’m considering one the of the cheaper metal cervelo bikes w/ ultegra. I am riding a specialized tt bike w/ 56.4 top tube horizontal (they call it XL size) and ride a 58.5 toptube on the road bike. The very largest size cervello seems awfully large on paper.
In any event. is it a decently constructed and designed bike that will withstand being used? Am I missing something when I look at the specs and figure the lowest (ultegra) bike has perfectly good components? I use ultegra grade stuff for road and cyclocross and it seems to operate just fine in all conditions.
Any tips or observations on this bike and the fit of it would be helpful, sorry if this is kind of a vague and general question.
I can’t help with the sizing, but I can say that the P2SL is a very good bike. Perfectly capable of heavy use. I use 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace on various bikes, and I’m very hard pressed to tell the difference. The STI’s are the only place where I can really notice anything, but I don’t think you give up anything in the reliability of shifting. It is more just feel. as far as TT bikes go, Shimano’s bar ends are Dura Ace.
FWIW - I use a road bike with a 56 top tube (ideal would be a 55) and ride a 51cm P2SL. The TT is maybe 1 cm too short for me on the Cervelo, but I don’t recall what the actual spec is. The next largest size would have given me a head tube that is too tall.
I just bought a Cervelo P2SL with Ultegra components. I’m still breaking it in, but I haven’t found the shifting or components to be of lesser quality than Dura Ace. It’s my opinion that you don’t gain a lot going from Ultegra to Dura Ace. I didn’t think it was worth the extra $300 or so to upgrade to Dura Ace. I’m really happy with it so far.
Re sizing. Previously, I rode an absolute tank of a road bike (50cm) and I’m very comfortable on a 51 Cervelo. I’m about 5’6’’ and have a slightly shorter torso and the Cervelo fit me really nicely. It has a seatpost that you can rotate forward for even more adjustability.
I had a 58 Transition as a training bike for a little while, it fit roughly the same as a 58 Cannondale or 56 Cervelo. I have a 58 P2C which is more stretched than the transition and handles quite a bit better as the transition didn’t suit the steepness I had it at.
P2Sl is a fantastic frame, have one sitting beside me to be built for my girlfriend this weekend (shifting from transition) with veloce. Have built several for friends lately and they have been very impressed with the bike.
I’ve got about 3000 miles on a P2SL (51cm) with Ultegra group and brakes, plus R700 compact cranks. I’m 5’7", the fit’s comfortable. Great bike, the Shimano compact cranks allow smooth shifting with the Shimano group, I’ve got no complaints about the Ultegra group at all.