Time for a new roadie, car ran over my old one so upside is a bike for chrissie.
I have a TT bike for the tri’s so really looking for a fast fun do it all roadie. I do lots of kms on my own, plenty of hilly riding in and around Sydney Australia, will be doing some long mountainous sportif rides and maybe a trip to Europe for some touring in the alps in 2016/17.
Top of my list and available at my local are the S3 and Izalco Max, for around the same price i’d end up with these options, stack and reach will work on both:
Izalco Max: Full Sram Red 22 and Fulcrum Zeros. Pros super light great handling bike, fast and fun from all reports. Cons externally routed, non aero, no option for electronic gears for future upgrade (except Sram eTap)
Cervelo S3: Ultegra mech and Reynolds Aero 58’s. Aero frame with great reviews, great wheels, electronic ready. Cons not super light, lower spec groupo, not top range frameset, BBright can be limiting on crank options.
I was leaning toward the Izalco Max, love the look and the frame gets rave reviews, but only electronic group available is Dura Ace and out of my budget meaning i would be buying the mech only frameset. Also recently had my old Cervelo Soloist out for a few rides and have been loving the handling and the aero feel (probably in my head) of the frame. Am coming off a Focus Cayo Evo which I have enjoyed but keen to get on a more racey steed.
Welcome thoughts on these two options and any comps from those who have ridden both.
I’d suggest considering the Canyon offerings. The Aeroad SLX should give the S3 a run for it’s money on aerodynamics. Most of the Canyon bikes are very good on weight, if that’s a priority, and value for money will easily beat the Cervelo (you’ll almost certainly get a far better build for the price unless the Cervelo is heavily discounted). On the lightweight non-aero side I also think Canyon have a very tempting alternative to the Izalco with the Ultimate CF SLX (which probably adds a little aerodynamic benefit too). When I was roadbike shopping early last year I considered the Cervelo R3 and S3, Focus Izalco, Felt AR4 and a few others but I ended up going for a Canyon Ultimate CF SL 9.0 and haven’t regretted it for a second. It’s got a great build for the money (all Ultegra and decent Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels), it’s light and most importantly it’s fun to ride. It also cost less than any of the others at about €2200 at the time. If you have €3000+ to spend the Ultimate CF SLX and Aeroad SLX become options too and both look like fantastic bikes. Having said that the Izalco and in particular the S3 are gorgeous bikes. They just seemed very overpriced by comparison to Canyon for the build they came with. The Canyons should lose out nothing in quality or performance and are good looking bikes too so I found it hard to look past them.
I too would probably check out the AeRoad from Canyon. 4000 euro for an Ultegra Di2 bike with Mavic Cosmics is a great deal. That being said, I have an S3 and I can’t imagine there is much I would improve on it. The ride is fantastic, throw some aero road bars on it and some decent wheels and you’ve got a bike that rides nicer, costs half as much, and is almost as aero as the top of the line S5. I’ve got DA9000 shifters and derailleurs, the Cervelo aero road bar, a TriRig Omega X front break and some Ksyrium SLS wheels (not aero I know) and I’m still in for less than the base spec S5. As far as Ultegra being a lower spec than Red 22 I would have to disagree. The new 11spd Shimano stuff is REALLY good. All of it. I’ve ran 105, 6800, 9000, 6870 and 9070 and the differences between them (aside from the mech vs elec thing) are so minute that the only really deciding factor would be price or which aesthetics you like best. But if you prefer SRAM over Shimano then I guess that’s kind of a wash though.
These are wonderful decisions to be debating. Certainly no wrong choice to made.
I have no experience with the Izalco, but can speak to the S3.
-My 54cm S3 frame weighs in at 964g. Although not the lightest, it’s certainly on the lighter end of the spectrum.
-I also would hesitate to say it’s not a top end frame set. Yes, you could argue that the S5 is above it in name, but really they are both so close to one another.
-As others have also stated, the new Shimano groups have definitely improved upon what was already a benchmark in shifting performance. I find my new Ultegra 6800 has better shifting than my old generation Dura Ace 7900 (the main improvement is with the front shifting).
The Izalco looks to be a great bike too and now that I have seen how light the frame set is quoted to be (750g frame, 250g fork), I can easily see why you are calling the S3 ‘not light’! The SRAM groupsets are certainly lighter than Shimano’s offerings. …This has the potential to be a weight-weenies dream bike!
I have no gripe about electronic groupsets, but I still prefer mechanical shifting because i really don’t see that much of an advantage to what electronic provides (…especially for the $).
If the Izalco and cervelo are the same price, go for the Izalco. It sounds like a way better deal and more suited to your “hill riding and mountainous sportif’s”.
Have looked at the Canyons and they have actually this week started shipping to Australia, price is very competitive but not hugely different for the specs and right now Di is not a must. Keen on buying local both for final fitting and future servicing, I know my way around a bike but I am a lazy mechanic,
Kyle agree, I did discount the S3 from a price point earlier on but have come back on the Ultegra mec option and for below reasons and with a Reynolds aero 58 upgrade this will be a sweet ride. Finding it tough to split
Thanks, the low weight and traditional racey looks of the Izalco Max are attractive. External cabling and non aeroness of the frame are holdiing me back along with positive history with my old trusty soloist
You stated you climb a lot, I wouldn’t call the Reynolds an upgrade for that type riding. As for the cables, I don’t know the aero data, but internal cables these days are becoming more of a “look thing” than a significant aero advantage for the everyday rider. Yes if speed matters hiding them away will have some minor advantage.
Took a Focus Izalco out for a test ride today, not 100% my setup but reasonably close and same spec I’m looking at. Did 65kms with 3x 4kms climbs and plenty of rollers.
Thoughts: Light, stiff, great out of the saddle response and feel, confident descending, font end is stiff and felt it on a couple of rough descent sections but nothing scary, didn’t feel like it loved the rollers and flatter sections not sure if frame aeroness or lack there of or more likely sub optimal position was a factor. First time on Sram Red and wasn’t hugly impressed, didn’t love the shifting action which gave me a lack of confidence knowing exactly what gear I was in and I also mis shifted a few times but expect I would become used to this.
Not sure if I will be able to test ride the S3 but despite the positive test on the Izalco am still attracted to the S3, Shimano Ultegra is a known quantity and I like the idea of an aero frame with cables hidden away, also gives me an additional $1200 for a wheel upgrade over the Izalco. However the Izalco felt great and off the rack is 6.2kgs, Cervelo S3 is approx 7.5kgs
You should test drive the S3 before deciding, as fit and feel are something very personal. When looking for my road bike at the end of last year I was in your same position and tested several road bikes and couldn´t make up my mind so I waited until I found what I really wanted, which ended up being an S3 which was not originally in my list. So my advice, test drive, open up to more options and buy when you are really sure that is what you want. Better wait a couple of months than buying something your heart is not 100% on board with.
S3 fan here. Fits me perfectly and is an all around great bike, whether it’s 100 miles with 100 feet or 10,000 feet elevation gain. I’ve got the Ultegra Di2 build with Hed Jet 6 Black (previously Zipps), Zipp SL70 bar, and Quarq Riken. Love this bike!
There are a lot of subjective qualities that ultimately affect how we perceive the performance of the two bikes. In this case, it’s almost impossible to make a bad choice. If it were me, I’d go with the bike that ‘excites’ me more.
I have tried SRAM shifting and although I like the shape of the grips, I too did not feel comfortable with double tap shifting. It’s likely a matter of ‘experience’ with Shimano shifting (and lack thereof with SRAM), but it was enough to keep me going back to Shimano.
The new generation of Shimano Ultegra (even down to tiagra) has made a improvements in what was already great shifting performance. Definitely hard to go wrong here.
