We put up a Guru Cron-Alu review update for 2005 on our site. It’s the standard sales pitch. The value of it is in the photos that try to capture the quality of workmanship and paint on Guru bikes- that is hard to show on a website, it really has to be seen. The bike also has custom “S” bends o it- the yellow one i the review at least.
Here it is:
As always Tom, a very detailed review. I was in the market for a tri-bike last year and having looked around endlessly I opted for the Guru Cron’alu 10sp ultegra. Your '04 review played a part in that decision. I wasn’t possible to have a professional fit done so I really was on my own re sizing. I contacted Guru and told them that I was interested in a Cron’alu but wasn’t really sure what size would be best. I ended up emailing Robert (at Guru) all my measurements and he recommended a size and was very helpful and answered all of my questions. I ended up ordering directly from Guru and was VERY happy with the bike (like you said, great quality) and service.
Based on my personal experience I would definately recommend Guru to anyone.
tom
p.s Thx for the great reviews Tom. I really enjoy reading them.
<<It’s the standard sales pitch>>
It is not a standard one - it is an absolultey superb sales pitch. Well done. But Cervelo is the best. What is the point of any other bike?
Part of the reason we enjoy selling (and buying and riding) Gurus is becasue of working with Robert. He is a great guy with a “can do” attitude. We’ve heaped some pretty unreasponable expectations onn Robert and his crew and they always meet them with their compliments.
One of the things I notice about that review is it says nothing about parts kits to speak of. That might come back to haunt me. I hope people understand it is about the steak and not the sizzle.
The photos try to show the meticulous attention to detail on the frames- but that is tough to see in a photo.
“The Cron-Alu in particular is like meeting a great girl- the more you get to know her and the closer you get, the better it becomes.”
That’s one small step for man, but one giant leap for all Tomkind.
Hey Tom,
My field is somewhat related to metallurgy so I tend to be a bit picky about this. Keep in mind that virtually everyone in the bike industry gets this wrong.
Dedacciai tubing is lighter,
All aluminum alloys are the same density (only exceedingly tiny differences exist), therefore Dedacciai tubing is only lighter if they use less material (thickness, diameter, etc) to make the tubes.
stronger,
That can be true, different alloys have different strengths
stiffer,
Again all Al alloys have virtually equal stiffness, the only difference in stiffness would be if the tubing dimensions vary
more durable and more expensive than most other aluminum bicycle frame tubes.
These can vary with the alloy used.
Now just make the damn snow go away will ya.
Shawn
Damn Tom, you make it difficult. I am in the process of trying to find out what bike to buy, I had sort of decided that if the Guru trilite would fit me, I would go for that. But after reading this review I have to re-consider that. If the Cron-Alu is that good, why should I go for the Trilite? With the money saved from going “down” from Trilite to Cron-Alu I can almost buy a set of Hed 3’s.
According to the Guru website, you can get the Cron-Alu with either regular or compact cranks. Given that you’re a fan of compacts, I thought that you might have mentioned this, or at least talked about the pros/cons of compacts.
**virtually everyone in the bike industry gets this wrong. **
Which of those statements is wrong?
Tom said the dedacci tubing is lighter, stronger and stiffer, not the alloy the tubing is made out of.
Good review, Tom. I’ll have to spend some more time drooling over their bikes at the IMCDA expo again this year. Last year I think they thought I was a stalker.
You can get any bike with compact cranks… 
I’ll work on that snow thing…
Tom, I was looking at your comments about the camelbak BFM bag. Where do you put your shoes?
Hmmm. I haven’t packed for a race in a few months… let me think about this.
If I recall correctly I put them in the bottom of the main compart, horizontally, one pair on top of the other. I have a Shimano shoe bag that came with their cycling shoes and put my running shoes in there to keep the rest of the contents clean.
The pocket on the bottom/horizontal/outside holds Bodyglide, ear plugs, race belt, - small items. Clean clothes go in the second, smallish outer pocket, Helmet, shoes, wetsuit and racing clothes, towel go inside the main compartment. Sunglasses on the outer side pockets along with cell phone, etc.
I wasn’t really saying that Tom was wrong, but was clarifying a very commmon misconseption in the industry. Indeed, "Tom said the dedacci tubing is lighter, stronger and stiffer, not the alloy the tubing is made out of. " but most people intrepret that as meaning that the metal they use is lighter.
I’ve commonly heard people state, and seen in print written, that Scandium alloy is stiffer and lighter than more common Al alloys, when in truth it is not. That is why I pointed out that to make a stiffer or lighter tube it has to be done by varying its dimensions not its alloy.
Styrrell
Ahh, but saying that it doesn’t exhibit the same grain growth when drawn, thus allowing for thinner walls, reduced diameters and more compliance doesn’t sell bikes.
Scandium is lighter than Aluminum.
Actually isn’t the density of Scandium right up there with Iron?
-SD