Continuing the P3 V P4 debate. I too am deciding which to purchase. The main difference being that my races would be on courses with bigger climbs for e.g Ironman France and Switzerland. It would also involve all training being in the Alpes region. My question - Is the P4 purely a TT bike. We know Chrissie can put road bars on her P2C and win races so I assume the P3 is the same. For hillier terrain P3 or P4?
p3, because it is proven and MUCH cheaper.
P4 is faster but both can be run relatively slack at 78-79 degrees if you think that will help with climbing.
“continuing the debate?”
There is no debate. Buy years old outdated technology, or buy the new best from the worlds most reputable triathlon frame manufacturer.
Do you fit a P3 or P4? I see way too many people that ride in the “altitude position” on a P3. They could just ride the P2 with less spacers, save lots of money and be equally fast - because their position is usually so bad that stretching and lowering the front end would yield much more improvement over a P3 vs. P2.
If the P3 doesn’t fit, I’d get a P2C with custom paint job.
Back to your question, you can ride all tri bikes on those terrains. IM Switzerland is not that hilly, so even an aggressively set up tri bike will do. On a really hilly course there will be little different between the P3 and P4 given that aerodynamics plays little difference at those speeds. I think you’re waisting your time if you buy a P4 for IM distances.
Also take top tube length into consideration when thinking of turning the P2/3/4 into a roady, especially with a slack setup.