As many bike makers have the same frame made with different ‘levels’ of carbon - would it be better to purchase the best frame with lower to mid level parts or get the best spec possible and the ‘lower end’ frame?
I’m inclined to go with the best frame as upgrading parts is easier down the road than getting a new frame.
This question is excluding wheels and fit… though these are the most important aspects- I have a set of wheels that I will use and both frames fit with the same geometry.
Three parts of your bike make it more aero–wheels, frame/fork and basebar. As such, were I buying a new frame I’d pick the most aero frame I could afford and go from there. If I was on a budget, I’d look for an old aluminum P2K or P3 frame. They go for pretty low prices these days (Fleck could not sell a complete P3 that looked to be in great shape for ever the 1K$ he was asking). If you have a bit more then I’d look at a used P2C. They are only a tad slower than the fastest bikes out there, though they might be outdistanced further (but not significantly) by some of the new bikes coming next year.
For bars, you can buy used aluminum Vision bars for $50 of eBay or the ST classfieds. For wheels, buy a wheelcover for your rear wheel and look for a used older Zipp or Hed model.
And make sure your clothing doesn’t flap in the wind, you have a good aero helmet, and you don’t tape a bunch of crap to your bike and carry four water bottles on race day.
For other components, you can eBay used stuff that will still last you for years.
Don’t worry about how much it all weighs; weight differences of as much as 5-10 pounds won’t make a noticeable difference unless you are racing a hill climb.
Chad
As many bike makers have the same frame made with different ‘levels’ of carbon - would it be better to purchase the best frame with lower to mid level parts or get the best spec possible and the ‘lower end’ frame?
I’m inclined to go with the best frame as upgrading parts is easier down the road than getting a new frame.
This question is excluding wheels and fit… though these are the most important aspects- I have a set of wheels that I will use and both frames fit with the same geometry.
I’d go with the best frame you can afford. SRAM Force/Rival are rock solid “lower end” groups, and from everything I’ve read, there is minimal difference between the mid level and the high end components other than weight. There are some reviews (I think I read something by Rapp) that say the shifting is a little more solid in the highest end groups, but nothing that would affect the average AG’er.
John
I don’t know what kind of budget you’re working with, sao what I’m about to suggest might not be an option, but I thought I’d throw it out there for you. I just picked up a 2009 QR Lucero Lite, with a SRAM Red/Force group for $2500 from trisports.com. It’s a special preorder price, and you also get a $400 gift card once it ships (mine is expected to ship on the 25th). So you’re basically getting the bike for $2100. Not bad considering it’s the second highest tier tri bike QR sells, with the new Cd0.1 being to top dog, and the regular Lucero going for $3000 on the same site.
I did the math on all the components that come on the bike, SRAM, the Shimano wheels, etc. and they all total out to being around $1800-1900. So you’re essentially getting QR’s lightest frame for $200 (or $600 depending on how you look at it). If you do some other searching around their site too you can eventually get a free shipping banner to pop up at the top of the screen, and it does work for complete bikes.
I can assure you I don’t get anything from this, I just saw it as a killer deal, and want to share the love, so to speak. I’ll be getting some SRAM wheels later in the springs when I get back to the States (I’m deployed in Kuwait right now), and some other things here and there, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to save $1500/1900 on a bike spec’d that well.
Craine
So you’re essentially getting QR’s lightest frame for $200 (or $600 depending on how you look at it).
The only problem with this thinking is that light doesn’t really matter, aero does, and the Lucero is not exactly a fast aero frame. It’s probably down in the third or four tier and you can pick up 2nd tier eBay P2Cs now for under a grand. The Lucero is not a brick, like say the Kuota or Scott (Plasma 1) frames, but for the kind of money you are talking you could probably pick up an older model or used P2C.
Chad
P.S. I’m not a Cervelo owner, but their P2 is just an unmatched value compared to its performance.