Would upgrading from my Cervelo Soloist carbon road bike to a new P2 be worthwhile if I am doing all Tri’s and will be doing IMLP 2014? Or do both bikes have similar geometry and I won’t get any real benefit from switching? The P2 comes with the compact crankset that I would have to upgrade to on the Soloist if I was to stick with it.
I used to ride both and there is no question P2 is faster. New one is likely even better. I road my S3 for Alcactraz and next time I wouldn’t.
I own a 2011 S2 and a 2012 p2. Both have compact 165mm cranks. The geometry is different. I have the S2 w slammed stem and clip on aerobars and seat all the way forward on the rails with the stock seatpost. my p2 is also slammed stem and front seat position though not fully forward on the rails. they are different bikes and the positions are different. the p2 is more aggressive and if when i ride it hard, different muscles ache on the p2 than s2. the s2 w clip on aerobars in an aggressive setup (for an S2) is a jack of all trades, master of none. not optimal for an hour+ of climbing. not aggrssive enough for true TT. the p2 is much much faster and better for tt. qnd i dont mine it at all for moderate climbs (eg 4000 feet over 70+ miles). but if i had to climb by sitting back and spinning for more than 2 or
3 hours straight, i would prefer a more climbing focused setup. my s2 in current config is better tho i have been tempted to unslam the stem and push the seat a bit back to accomodate.
So you would say i am better off on the P2 for the Lake Placid course with all the hills
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For almost any IM you will be better off on a TT bike then a roadie. IMLP included. This coming from a guy who only owns an S2!
I’m with the previous poster. I have my S2 in a semi tri config, and i find i can’t get really comfortable for anything with it. Fine in tt mode for a half iron, but wouldn’t want to do a full on it, and likewise, when I’m doing a long climb (over an hour of straight climbing) I wish I just had it set up as a normal road bike.
If the Soloist allows you to get into your ideal aero position, then you could get 99% of the benefit of a P2 by just putting a TT cockpit on your Soloist
But, if you want to keep the road bike set up as a road bike around, then yeah, the P2 will be a substantive performance increase. Drop bars and sti shifters add a substantial amount of aero drag and a bit of weight too.
If the Soloist does not allow you to get into your best aero position, then get a p2 =)
Would upgrading from my Cervelo Soloist carbon road bike to a new P2 be worthwhile if I am doing all Tri’s and will be doing IMLP 2014? Or do both bikes have similar geometry and I won’t get any real benefit from switching? The P2 comes with the compact crankset that I would have to upgrade to on the Soloist if I was to stick with it.
Thanks for the input. Ideally I’d like to still keep the soloist and buy Tri bike
IMLP is not “hilly” in the sense you need a road bike. Its going to be very hard to get a comfortable aero position on the soloist. If you can afford to buy the P2 and keep the Soloist, that would be two perfect purpose-built bikes.
Train the winter on the soloist then switch to riding the P2 in the Spring. The P2 is really a great bike and is nearly as good as any of the new superbikes out there.