P2Ksl or P3sl

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi,

I am a roadie who started to train for Olympic distance triathlons.Altough I own a couple road bikes I want to buy a specific tri/tt bike.

I am looking at the Cervelo’s because of the reputation of the company and reversible seat post which I believe will make my transition to tt position easier.

My budget will allow me to buy either a P2Ksl with very nice wheelset(Zipp’s,hed’s etc.)or a P3sl with the factory wheelset.

Which bike would be faster and better suited for me on a 40K bike course?

Thanks for the input.

2

P2K SL with fast wheels will be quicker than P3 with stock Velomax.

3

I own an '03 P2K…its a very nice bike, and fast with the stock Ritchey wheels. I’ve ridden the P2K in tris from sprints to half-IM distance, and its been a great bike. My guess is you would be as fast or faster on a P2K with a nice race wheels than a P3 with stock wheels, but to be perfectly honest, I’ve never ridden a P3. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Spot

4

I agree with devashish paul. Prhaps the one thing I would add is that, to the extent that ride quality (i.e.- not feeling the bumps too much) influences your performance there are few bikes in the world that ride as well as a P3SL in the time trial/triathlon orientation. I would go so far as to say there are *no other *bikes with the ride quality of the P3SL in its price range.

There are a lot of nice bikes out there to be sure, but the P3SL emerges as a favorite of mine in that price category- or any price category $1500 above it.

5

So Tom - are you saying that the P3 rides better than the P2-P2K?
Just curious…I need to make the same descision soon.

6

…and just to be clear…as a result of a recent insurance settlement, I personally am getting a P3SL. I’d never buy this bike otherwise, as I don’t feel I am worthy of such a fast bike. Basically, it boils down to the fact that the insurance company makes the cheque out to my LBS and me and I have to spend the whole amount on the bike there. Since I already have race wheels, the answer was easy. Otherwise, I would go P2K plus fast wheels.

Tom, does the P3SL ride nicer due to the longer front centre for the same sized frame in a P2K ?

Dev

7

“I don’t feel I am worthy of such a fast bike”

No such thing as not being worthy. You’re only “unworthy” if you can’t afford it. And you’re fast any ways so won’t be BOP’ing it on your P3SL. You’re one of the last guys on this forum that has to worry about being a “poser” on your new bike.

But to answer the original post, I’d go with the P2K and aero wheels over the P3 and stock wheels.

8

I can’t believe no one has mentioned fit. A P2K is an aggressive (sorry, Tom) fit, a P3 even more. What I mean by that is the top tube is very low relative to it’s length. Another way of saying that is that the top tube is very long relative to it’s height. So that means that unless you ride pretty low (or have longish upper arms or femurs), you are going to need either a bigger frame than otherwise (to get the top tube up higher) which means short stem, or a smaller frame but with a lot of spacers beneath the stem.

So, it all comes down to fit.

9

Thanks for all the replies.

I am a pretty flexible guy and I do not have any problem riding low as far as comfort goes.

My concern would be:

Am I going to generate the same LT power riding low?

10

…you don’t need to generate the same LT power riding low and narrow. You should go faster at a lower average power than riding like a sail…or so I am told.