ok… i logged about 600 miles so far on my new bike and here’s my opinion. this bike is not only flat out fast (as expected), but the major noticable difference is after a long ride (5-6 hrs), my legs showed no signs of fatigue. i’ve been doing some brick work following these rides and the legs are like new. my old bike was a cannondale ms600 which was pretty nice, but i definately felt worn/beat up following the long rides. not so with the p3sl. i actually had to slow down a bit running off the bike cuz i could’nt maintain for 26.2 miles, but you get the picture…i know that there’s a ton of other great bikes out there, but i’m very impressed and happy with mine. dave
larry, thats a good observation, but i’ve bought both bikes from tom and we took correct measurments from the cannondale and transfered them to the cervelo. we found that the cannondale measurements were pretty dead on accurate. dave
Commenting on the Cannondale to Cervelo improvements:
I just moved from a 2004 Cannondale IM 5000 (thier super high end frame) built up with nice Reynolds Ouzu aero full carbon fork. Got a P3sl a month ago and transferred the aerobars, saddle, wheels, pedals from the C-dale to the P3sl. Same exact fit measurements. C-dale had Hollogram cranks, P3sl has Dura-ace cranks. My observations are:
The P3sl is a very fast feeling frame while seated, but then again so was the Cannondale, both accelerate quickly don’t seem to flex much and hold speed well. Blindfolded at speed and would not be able to tell the difference.
The rear end on the Cervelo actually seems softer than the Cannodale. I always thought that the Cannondale had a great ride but the Cervelo sucks up, or at least dulls road vibrations a bit more. Unfortunately the Cervelo also ends up feeling a little mushy under power compared to the Cannondale. This is especially evident jumping out of the saddle to accelerate such as cranking over the top of a hill. Now I know tri bikes, especially bikes ridden at 80 degrees (moot while standing though) aren’t expected to ride like road bikes, but the Cannondale would just get up and go when you stood and mashed the pedals. The Cervelo kind of wallows for a couple of pedal strokes then seems to wind up and go. The Cannondale was just a lot more responsive.
Front end, well the Cervelo seems harsher but that’s probably the Chord fork with the Aluminum steerer versus the full carbon Reynolds on the Cannodale. I had a Chord fork on my old Softride and it was pretty harsh there too.
When it comes down to it, the P3sl is nice and seated I’d never know a difference between the two. It rides like the $3K+ tri bike that it is, fast and smooth. Toss in the aerodynamic perks, I guess it’s probably a superior bike. I still like the ride (and the weight) of the Cannondale but the P3sl is a damn nice bike.