Hi Guys
Has anyone had any personal experience with either the '15 Cervelo P5 or the Trek SC 9 series over the last few months? Any thoughts, good or bad and any issues with either, small or large.
i have had a project 1 7.5 SC which is close enough to the 9 series obviously.
Love it - the only negative is getting that fit dialed in i found. I wanted it to be precise, so you need a fitter and bike shop who know what they are doing. Fortunately Carl on here is very helpful with reading your retul fits etc and can recommend stem lengths, bars etc…
Now that thats been done its been set and forget. Fantastic bike. Fast, comfy, love the monobar, its the perfect width (for me). Again, the only negative is that your not too handy wiht the tools on integrated bikes, if you wanted to adjust the bars fore/aft or even drop a stem size, then its a local bike shop. Not a huge deal, but my shop was over an hour away, but worth it.
No durability issues, no paint issues. After nearly 2 years of ownership, i have had the draft box lid come off once. I do more short course now and dont use it, but i would tape over the lid again just incase. Thats its only real achilles heal. I came from a P2 and am happy with the upgrade
I have experience of the '14 P5 as I brought one last xmas - it is the same bike, just a different, and in my view, better paint job. I rode a Trek E11 from 2005, and although it is no speed concept, I admit to being a Trek fanboy. I had this enviable choice at xmas, and the big deciding factor for me was the fact that I had a SRM powermeter with Rotor 3d+ cranks that would not fit into the Speed concept. As the bike was going to stretch me to financial breaking point as it was, the prospect of then buying another power meter swang me the way of the P5.
Excluding the above, I really think that when you get down to bikes of this kind of price level, I would just go on what your heart says. I do like the aero box on the speed concepts, and I would say the storage options therefore are slightly better than the P5, but in all honesty, I have added a behind the saddle holder, a between the arms bottle holder and a bento box on the top tube - I wasn’t struggling for storage space during my first Ironman outing on the P5. Componentry wise, you are looking at full DA on both builds, but not sure on the wheels. The P5 comes with Mavic elites which let it down slightly, but I own a pair of Zipp 404’s and a Zipp Disc, so was never bothered about the wheels. I suppose a lot of people looking at this kind of machine will be the same.
In terms of living with the bike, I can only speak for the P5, and it has been a largely positive experience. I have travelled with the P5 twice in aeroplanes, and have had no issues. The first time I broke the bike down it took me a couple of hours, but now I can get it from sitting in my living room to in a bike box in about 30 mins with a couple of drink stops. Adjusting the rear brake can be a fiddle - it is hidden inside the magic pocket, well the bolt is at any rate, so it is a case of wheel off and you have a pretty tight fit for a hex key.
Not sure what else I can add really. The fit took a lot of time to get right - glad I got the bike when I did as it is a wildly different beast to my old, more road geometry setup E11. I had a retul setup, but still needed to take tools out with me for the first 15 rides or so to make tweaks to the pads and the saddle position.
Both bikes I am sure would do you proud. As I say, assuming that fit is good on both then go with your heart. The differences between the two frames will be fractions of watts I’m sure.
I’ve had my 7 series SC for about a year now and absolutely love it. I’m pretty handy and confident wrenching on my own bike and with a Di2 setup it is really quite simple. I’ve traveled across the country to race Wildflower with it and I’ve traveled a lot with it on/in my car and have had no issues. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to buy another one. Well technically I did just buy a 9 series if that says anything about how much I love this bike.
Another SC owner here. '14 SC 7 series with Di2 (same bike as a 9 just different carbon layup). Very happy with my bike, I’ve even become pretty good at traveling with it. My biggest beef with it is that the brakes are a bit fiddly to adjust. Otherwise 10/10.