I’m in the market for a new road bike and have an opportunity to get a Talon SL in the road config for a fantastic deal. The fit is pretty darn good as is the overall feel. Just wanted to get some ‘in the wild’ perspectives on the bike as a road setup. Any thoughts?
Not sure what you mean…the Talon is a road bike…just a tad steeper than some it is not a tri bike. A friend of mine has the SL and really likes it. They certainly have sold a ton of Talons over years.
I have a Talon and first started riding it in the “road” configuration. I now have it set up in as much of a “tri” geometry as possible with the aero seat post and the saddle as far foward as possible to create the steepest properly fitting postion possible with clip-on aero bars. Still rides great to me.
I ride it for tris in the road position with clip ons, and I think it is a great bike.
Love mine in the road set up. Comfortable and handles with confidence. Rode it for a while with clip-ons, but couldn’t get low enough in the front for a satisfactory tri position, and wanted bar end shifters, and got my QR dirt cheap as a left over. The only thing close to a criticism I have is that I have a tough time getting the rear wheel on/off because of tight spacing of the rear der. and the axle. (But maybe I’m just a moron.)
Good road bike. Stiff, responsive and comfortable. A real workhorse and great value for the price! I however switched the stock fork for a Easton EC90 to add stiffness.
The Talon SL is a road bike. It’s actually a great road bike, I have ridden one for several years now and do all of my road training and racing on it.
I have a Talon SL (actually have had 3 of them) two were stolen (although I got my 1st one back- saw it on eBay with my name visible in the picture). It is lively (i.e., responsive), fun, yet very comfortable ride. I would definitely recommend it. If the fit is good for you, I would go for it.
-Tim
Awesome road bike, good tri bike. Mine is pulling double duty (tri bike at the moment). I can’t wait to get the road bar back on!
Best road AND tri bike I’ve owned.
As a road bike it technical descends much more stable than my other recent road bikes (Giant TCR and Lemond BA).
As a tri bike I’ve turned my fastest splits and ride more comfy than on my QR Kilo or Cervelo P2K, and that was with FIST fitting and a lot of experimentation trying to ease crotch and neck discomfort on the tri bikes. Never been an issue on the Talon.
What works is very personal to the rider, and you may not get the same results that I did (actually very surprising to me), but IMO you’de be pressed to find a better bang for the buck ride.
I use mine 100% as a road bike and am very happy. I have put clip on’s on it and was very comfortable.