I’m moving on from my old P2 toward a slightly less old P4 and want to build it as fast as possible. How wide rims will fit on the P4? I already have a rear disc that I know will fit as it fits on my P2, but looking at getting either some Hed or used 808s.
Here’s what I currently have in mind, lmk if I’ve missed anything.
Bars- Tririg alpha one
Stem - Tririg Sigma
Front brake - Tririg omega x
Brakepad - Koolstop
Groupset - Di2
Spoke with a gent at Lake Logan 70.3 a few weeks back who rode a P4 (damn well I might add) and had a lot of insight on it. Hopefully he can chime in, as I know he noted about wheel width being an issue in terms of clearance. Best of luck - just switched to TriRig cockpit and love it.
Tyre size is an issue on mine. I did run a 24mm conti force on the rear with a narrow rim disc. It ended up rubbing on the brake cover.
Your other options look great.
I built up almost the same bike–I didn’t go Di2 because I wasn’t sure how to get the battery internal with my older Di2 (7970).
This bike is as aero as can be–be warned you’ll have no excuses for slow bike splits but your fitness now 
The alpha one bars are amazing. I had width issues on the rear wheel when I tried to use the rear brake fairing. Without it, there is plenty of room for my Flo Disc. I run a Conti TT 23mm tire on it.
Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Welcome to the P4 club.
For training, I put 25mm Conti GP4K on my 19mm internal wide rims, and they BARELY fit. So the tire measured about 27mm. By barely fit, I mean any gravel would scrape the frame. I ended up going back to 23mm.
You can fit 25mm tires on a narrower rim, but the bike is likely fastest sticking with 23s.
For di2, the rear derailleur wire would not fit through the chain stay. Option 1 was to drill wider the hole, which I did not want to do. Option 2 was to cut the wire, and pass through the narrower portion of the wire. It is the connector head of the wire that would not fit. So it cut it, ran it through, then soldered it back together under the B.B.
The front derailleur hole was a bit easier, so I lightly drilled the hole open.
I stuck the internal battery down in the down tube, with a layer of foam on it. It hasn’t fallen or rattled at all. I have the UCI seat post, so the battery would not fit in there.
Pro tip: tape a piece of string around the battery before stuffing in the down tube, so it is much easier to remove if needed.
If the rear brake gives you shit (which it likely will), there’s a guy on this forum that has an adapter to run a TriRig Omega.
That’s an awesome looking bike! Read some old thread saying there was another battery you could purchase that was smaller in order for it to fit in the seat post ao i might try that. I might take you up on that offer!
Do you keep spares in the storage?
Just a quick note - if you purchase our Alpha One bars, you don’t need to add the Sigma X stem. Alpha One is a bar/stem combo already.
Thanks for the clarification!
Do you have a 1st gen P4 or a leter EVO?
This makes a ton of difference
Ahhh…Lake Logan. I love that race - such a great venue. Highly rec the race for those looking for a 70.3 next year.
The P4 is a FAST bike. Like yourself, I was coming from an older P2 looking for an upgrade without dropping crazy money. Eric Reid (EricMPro) helped me build the thing out with: 3T Ventus, TriRig Omega and we added a Torhans Bento on the top tube. Good call on the TriRig Alpha. The Ventus is sexy, but it’s a bit sketchy and limited on adjustments. I run Firecrest 808’s on mine. It’s a tight fit (had to sand down the brake pads), but they work fine and I’ve had no issues. I have run a Renn Disc before, and it fit. I know there are some other disc’s that will fit, but that’s all I’ve tried personally.
I love the thing, but the rear brake has become a concern for me. Lake Logan was a pretty technical course and no doubt I left some time out there due to sketchy braking. I would look into the thread on here about the rear brake mod. That is top priority for me this offseason or selling mine for a P5-6 or something else.
I still run mine mechanical. I’ve looked into switching it over to Di2 or eTap, but I haven’t seen a clean enough job that I liked enough for the expense involved. I haven’t looked too hard lately, but I’m sure someone has it mastered now.
Like Gardiner stated, no excuses for a slow bike split going forward…
Savage8778 - thanks for the compliment - I was just trying to catch you
I actually havent pulled the trigger yet, what are the differences? Later version has better brakes no?
The EVO rear brake really isn’t an improvment. I think there are some internal cable stop that help with cable routing and housing friction, so nothing special.
The EVO does have a larger cutout on the downtime, which allows you to run a standard bottle and cage. Which is nice to have a regular bottk down there for training.
The frames are night and day difference
Aero wise and quality
P4 Evo is great frame
1st gen is an avoid at all
Cost
.
Wow okay thanks, will def get an evo then.
Wow okay thanks, will def get an evo then.
I’d think twice about the P4. I had the last model year…2011. The rear brake was pretty worthless and I usually had rubbing issues. Wheel and tire choices are very limited. I had to use an older Zipp 900…the newer discs are too wide to fit. I’ve found the newer wider wheels and wider tires to be much more stable and have resulted in faster overall times by being able to take corners faster. When my LBS said a couple years ago that they finally couldn’t make adjustments to the rear brake and Cervelo offered to trade for a new P5 frame, I jumped at the chance. The P4 was fast and easy to make adjustments (except brakes) but again, I’d consider other options.
The frames are night and day difference
Aero wise and quality
P4 Evo is great frame
1st gen is an avoid at all
Cost
Could you explain the differences in frames? Or point me to an article/source? I had no idea they were so drastically different.
I had the 1st gen P4, and other than the R brake issues, loved it.
FAST bike.
I’m not aware of any dramatic changes they made to the 2nd version, other than the R brake change and differences around the water bottle area.
I still swear that my P4 was faster than the P5 that Cervelo was kind enough to replace it with (after my R brake mount broke and made it unrideable.)
The P5 is better day to day, and the Magura hydraulic brakes are the shizzit, but in terms of going really fast, the P4 was just better.
I think the differences between the original and Evo frames are exaggerated a bit. I have an '09 P4 and, aside from the horrendous rear brake (which I upgraded to the v2 brake BTW) there’s no real functional difference in the frames. Who puts a water bottle on the downtube of a P4, anyway? I’ve built mine up with Pro Missile Evo bars, DA 10sp mechanical, Tririg Omega X front brake (not shown in this photo), and (non-FC) Zipp 808/disc. For sprints/olys I only use one bottle BTA (as shown). For long course I add an Xlab single-bottle holder behind the seat, and for training I have an Xlab dual-bottle holder behind the seat for a total of three bottles. The ‘bottle’ on the frame is for tool/tube storage. It’s a ridiculously fast bike. Only two things would make me want to upgrade to a different bike: 1) something that will accomodate 25c tires (for more comfort while training) and 2) better brakes. I’m going to try to get at least one more season out of this bike and see what new bikes come out this coming year.
I have found that firecrest generation zipps with 23-24mm tires work great on my P4 as long as I use shallower pads in the rear and don’t use a tall tire like the GP4k. I have tested specialized turbo cottons (24mm), Vittoria corsa speed (23mm) and zipp tangente speed (23-25mm) without issue.
I too have the tririg front brake. This combined with the evo rear brake gives me more than sufficient braking for a TT bike.
I built up a 2009 P4 in the last year.I used a 3T Aduro bar with a trig front brake.
Yes the rear brake is not good but as long as you have a solid front brake should be ok.
yes braking sucks with CC if it rains.
I would suggest HED Jet Black or the regular Jet.
I was able to run the Alto CC with 25mm GP4000 no problem.
I turned the water bottle into my tool/flat kit.
With the small UCI seat post I had to put the battery in down tube up at the head tube
