I weighed my 2004 Cervelo P3 10 Speed Dura-Ace today and was astonished at it’s heavier than what I anticipated weight was. It’s a 55cm 700c and with Shimano R540 pedals, Minoura behind saddle cage mount, 2 Profile Design Kages, Vetta V100 cyclocomputer, and Profile Design Carbon Stryke aerobars on stock Cervelo basebar. With the Velomax Circuit stock wheelset it weighed in at 20 lbs. 13 0z. With a HED 3 clincher front and HED Disc rear (with Conti Ultra-Lite tubes and Michelin Pro Race Ironman clincher tires) it weighed in at just over 22 lbs. There was a new 54 cm Orbea Aletta TT bike with stock 9 speed Ultegra set-up and AC 420 wheelset on the showroom floor that weighed in at 17 lbs. 11 0z. without pedals. Orbea does offer a 10 speed Dura-Ace version of the Aletta that must weigh in under 17 lbs. I hope all of this aero framing and aero wheels makes up for the extra weight of the P3. If not, there may be a 55cm P3 for sale.
Cervelos are a lot of things, light ain’t one of them. But so what. Weight, especially in a time trial, is largely irrelevant. Once you get up to speed, you stay there. Once at speed, aerodynamics is where it’s at, and where the Cervelo (IF you’re position is good) is better than just about everything this side of a Walser.
Also, you had a bunch of stuff on your bike the Orbea didn’t have…
Orbeas are fairly nice bikes, but not in the same league as your P3. Don’t worry too much about weight, in my estimation it’s far less important than aerodynamics, fit, buiid quality etc.
For technical articles on the relative importance of weight to aero., search this site and www.BiketechReview.com
as said, depending on your position, there may be more than a few lbs of drag difference, esp. with the different wheelsets.
in an IM, or any tri for that matter, it’s pretty much just a long TT, where you’re not climbing/accellerating/cornering/etc that much…so the aerodynamics isn’t that huge.
also…in my case, 3lbs is barely the difference between me with an empty bowel and full stomach…so…not really a consideration.
I weighed my 2004 Cervelo P3 10 Speed Dura-Ace today and was astonished at it’s heavier than what I anticipated weight was. It’s a 55cm 700c and with Shimano R540 pedals, Minoura behind saddle cage mount, 2 Profile Design Kages, Vetta V100 cyclocomputer, and Profile Design Carbon Stryke aerobars on stock Cervelo basebar. With the Velomax Circuit stock wheelset it weighed in at 20 lbs. 13 0z. With a HED 3 clincher front and HED Disc rear (with Conti Ultra-Lite tubes and Michelin Pro Race Ironman clincher tires) it weighed in at just over 22 lbs.
That seems like a lot. Before adding the rotors, my 58 P3 was just over 18 lbs when race ready and that’s w/o the carbon seatpost I’m sure you have. Of course, my bike actually gets much lighter when I add my trispoke and disc.
TT and tri bikes definitely aren’t about weight, though.
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This extra weight is your penalty for being a marketting gimicks and fashion victim.
Tell me one Ironman triathlon race that has no hills?
So as you will struggle up one of those hills - I will be probably kick your arse on my very llight Giant TCR medium size bike. This will give me 3 points. Perhaps you should consider disk wheels. I love overtaking guys with disk wheels.
Remember even team CSC does not use P3s on hilly TT sections. What is the point of a bike that is only good for short flats?
Just wait until you fill up all those water bottles and weigh it. Say hello to about 30lbs. Bike companies have done an awesome job convincing the uneducated public that light weight is extremely important. To a professional cyclist, sure it is. But most people I know that buy this stuff aren’t professional cyclists.
I don’t get why people are so worried about weight on an aerodynamic frame. Do some research. The added weight only affects you when you accelerate (doesn’t happen very often during a triathlon) and when you climb significant hillls (again, not very common during a triathlon).
If you’re really worried about it, go to analyticcycling.com and run some different models using different weights. You’ll see just how insignificant 5lbs can really be. Lastly, are you as light as you can be? It’s the total vehicle weight that matters. The bike is but one small part of that.
My large frame, large beam Zipp 2001, race ready with HED 3D and HED3 Carbon front weighs in at 22.5!!! So, who cares…I’m fast as hell on this bike! Then add about another 1/2 lb when my new 2005 titanium Rotor Cranks get installed next week…then it’ll be a very fast brick!!! : )
“Tell me one Ironman triathlon race that has no hills?”
Ironman Lite (aka Panama City)
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Until today I had never picked up a P3, went to the local tri exhibition in London and had a look at the P3 SL, it included an XLAB saddle wing with twin cages…it definately WASN’T what I’d term heavy, I was quite surprised , so much so that the P3C I have on order will be featherweight compared to my current race bike , a litespeed blade.
I agree with the comments that Aero bikes aren’t light but almost every Ironman I know ( except FL) has hills to one extent or another and yet we still race with bikes fully laden with gels,bars and at least two full bottles, which certainly doesn’t keep the weight down.
If we want light bikes that are aero then the choice is to adapt a road bike or to race light and use the aid station effectively.
You are trying to discuss the weight of your P3, but you are really discussing the weight of all the stuff you have hung on it.
My 51 cm model year 2000 P3 frame weighs 3.5 pounds. This is a little over a pound heavier than just about the lightest bike you can buy. Your weight penalty is between a pound and a pound and a half at the very most.
When I bring my P3 down to fighting weight for Lake Placid, it is right around 18 pounds as best I can measure it.
wow. My stock 10 yr. old fully-lugged steel frame bianchi campione is 22 pounds.
"When I bring my P3 down to fighting weight for Lake Placid, it is right around 18 pounds as best I can measure it.
Art Franke "
Yup my Dura-ace P-3 weighs 18 lbs. With my Zipp 404’s its even less. My road bike weighs 20lbs so I have no complaints.
Dave
If not, there may be a 55cm P3 for sale
what year? what color? what condition? I might buy the frame, fork, post…
Pluto:
Your reasoning is off. The difference in frame weights is at most a pound or so, on a total of 100-250 lb. of bike and rider combined. That is not the reason you are or are not passing people. In general, I would hope you pass some people on the climbs on a road bike, as you should be passing the people who made a conscious decision to ride a tri bike and spread their effort more evenly over the climb, descent and flat sections. If I ride a road bike I pass plenty of tri bikes, if I ride a tri bike I pass plenty of roadies, and vice versa, so that doesn’t prove a whole lot. Obviously QuintanaRooster is comparing a bike with everything under the sun attached to it to a bike just on the showroom floor that usually doesn’t have that. I will tell people time andagain to be smart about the accessories, I cannot believe the junk people hang off their bikes. But a hehind the seat bottle cage holder with two full 750ml bottles weighs the exact same on a Giant as it does on a Cervelo.
And CSC uses P3s on plenty of hilly courses, such as the last TT in the Tour. That course was about as hilly as most IM courses, although it was spread over a lot of smaller hills rather than a couple of big ones like Richter. You’re right that CSC doesn’t use P3 on an uphill time trial, but nobody uses a TT bike there so I am not sure what that proves other than that extreme courses sometimes call for different bikes.
When I got my Trident built up, I thought it would be lighter than it is. I haven’t weighed it, but I’m guessing it’s around 20 pounds. Ultegra 10 speed, carbon compact cranks, Carbon-X aerobars, carbon water cage, Look carbon seatpost. All in all, I thought it would be lighter than it is. But I’m not really worried about it. I weigh 200 pounds – a couple of pounds on the bike isn’t going to matter a whole lot.
RP
First of all Pluto, I think you are an arrogant, obnoxious jackass and I wouldn’t be afraid to tell you that mano-a-mano, face to face. That being said, this is a free forum where everyone has the right to express their opinion. Your’s has been expressed and it’s obvious you don’t like tri-geeks riding steep angled bikes. It’s even more obvious you have it out for certain people, i.e. Tom Demerly and myself. I’m not gonna get too excited about your ignorance and lack of affection towards a Cervelo P3. I bought mine because I can afford it and because I personally believe it’s a very good time trial bike. I like riding steep, I always have. I’m not a podium finisher but I finish in the top 25-30% of the races I entered. And if I was a back of the packer I’d still ride a P3 because it makes me feel good to not only ride the bike but to look at it too. I am very passionate about this sport and about my equipment. The fact that I posted a thread regarding the weight of my P3 was not a personal invitation for you to belittle all of us who ride P3s and accessorize our bikes as we see fit. I live in Florida where for the most part, it is pancake flat. My P3 is perfect for racing around here. I bought it for short course racing and maybe for a 1/2 IM although I have done 60 mile training rides on it and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it for long course but I have my QR Tiphoon set up for that. My P3 is accessorized for training with the Minoura behind seat bottle holder and a few other items that I wouldn’t normally use in sprints or Olympic distance. It doesn’t matter anyway because I can average 21-22mph with the way it is set up now over a 40K TT. I’ll take that being I’m a Clydesdale father of 3 who works 12-14 hour days. With that said, my P3 is not for sale nor will it ever be for sale. That was just said in jest. The P3 is worth the weight! Have a nice day, no hard feelings from me.
<First of all Pluto, I think you are an arrogant, obnoxious jackass and I wouldn’t be afraid to tell you that mano-a-mano, face to face. >
You are absolutely right, I am a very arrogant person. I am sometimes a jackass - but I do it as a means to be a devil advocate.
When I walk around the transition areas or in a bike shop I love the engineering of these triathlon bikes. In fact I think that the P3 is absolutely beautiful and it is made extremely well. I would consider buying one from pride of ownership point of view. I don’t have anything against tri geeks as you call them. I am just trying to add different point of view to the discussion, as I don’t like dogma.
I think you are a nice guy. You train hard and come across very passionate. And provided that you make your money legally you deserve to spend it in whatever way you wish – it is absolutely not my business. Having said that, I do find Demerely to be completely over the top with his infomercials. And if we speak about arrogance – where shall we start…
WTF? Pluto and I get into it all the time- it’s one of the things that makes the forum entertaining. this controversy/conflict is important here.
And no, my P3SL isn’t too heavy. I have no idea idea what it weighs to be honest- it’s pretty light though- light enough.
If I had one, and rode it, it would be about 220lbs. Of course, the bike would be a bit less than 10% of that.