I’m looking at buying my first tri bike. I’ve been on my Bianchi Vigorelli (Ultegra) 57cm for the past 7 years and raced in a handful of sprint/olympic distances as well as Steelhead 70.3 this year. I’m still relatively young (22) in the sport but have a solid job out of college and am making an effort towards becoming a serious age group contender (got a mentor, putting in the hours, signed up for Ironman WI 2012, etc.).
So, I want to keep my steel frame for group rides but am also looking at buying an above average tri bike (although, I know it’s the motor that really counts) to give me as much of an advantage as possible. I am 6’1 150lbs 34" inseam for reference. I’ve been professionally fitted on a Trek Speed Concept 9.0 Large with great results. Also, my girlfriend is a serious yoga buff and has improved my flexibility immensely so I’m looking for a rather aggressive bike.
Current options (all are full bikes):
2010 Cervelo P3 58cm stock components
Ridden in IMWI 2011Pretty solid scratch along top tube (4")LocalComes with garmin multisport watch for $27002010 Cervelo P3 56cm
Slowtwitch Classifieds2010 Kuota Kalibur Large
SlowTwitch Classifieds2011 Trek Speed Concept 7.5 Large (new)
LBS
Semi-professionally fitted me for free on SC 9.0Will do a 2.5 hour Retul fit after purchase for $230.Stock setup (Ultegra)Price may be negotiable
Do you guys have any advice on which bike would be the best value? I don’t want to spend a bunch of money now on a bike I will need to upgrade in 3 years, but I also know that I don’t need to buy a super bike until someone sponsors me Are any of these significantly better or worse? I’ve heard Kuota is hard to find support for in the US and everybody already has a Cervelo (I volunteered T1 at IMWI and can verify this).
I’ve been professionally fitted on a Trek Speed Concept 9.0 Large with great results.
There’s your answer. Go no further.
FWIW, Trek and Cervelo fit very differently. If you had a great fit on the Trek, odds are the Cervelo would not be the frame for you. Cervelos are firmly in the long and low category that generally suits people who are more torso than legs. Trek is more in the tall and narrow category for those of us who are more legs than torso.
This is what happens when people believe the hype. “Long and low” is hype, period. The frame may be low, but it is where the stack and reach end up that matters. In other words each individual rider controls “long and low” and can easily make it "short and high. This depends on your stem and spacing choices. When looking at the head and top tubes here are the numbers. SC 12.5 P3 12.7 top tube SC 54.1 P3 54.5. No difference that you will notice. The Trek has a significantly lower BB than the Cervelo. This will yield the feel that it is a bit more connected to the road. The P3 has a more lively feel, ie it sprints more like a road bike. Granted, these are my opinions, however they are based on the fact that I have owned all three of these bikes. Both bikes are great bikes. I have raced, and won events on a SC 9 series, P4 and a P3 in the past two years. I know how each bike feels.
Your greater concern should be support after the sale and how mechanically adept you are. The P3 runs standard brakes YAY!!! Super easy to work with and change out wheels and brake pads. The SC 7 series runs a proprietary rear brake. It is more difficult to change wheels, if you use the newer style of wider rims. If not, there is no issue.
Another concern would be how much of the steerer tube has been cut on the P3? Is it too low for you now?
I would say lean to the SC, expecially if you get a fit done with it.
if the trek was ‘perfect’ (and its probably not “perfect”)
a 58 P3 would just need a tiny spacer (half a cm) and 2cm shorter stem to fit exactly the same.
FWIW, Trek and Cervelo fit very differently. If you had a great fit on the Trek, odds are the Cervelo would not be the frame for you. .
I’ve been professionally fitted on a Trek Speed Concept 9.0 Large with great results.
There’s your answer. Go no further.
FWIW, Trek and Cervelo fit very differently. If you had a great fit on the Trek, odds are the Cervelo would not be the frame for you. Cervelos are firmly in the long and low category that generally suits people who are more torso than legs. Trek is more in the tall and narrow category for those of us who are more legs than torso.
Thanks guys. So it looks like it will either be a P3 58cm or SC 7.5 Lg.
Is there any reason, besides serviceability, not to go with the Kalibur? Is it a lesser bike?
Also, I’ve seen a couple frames for sale and lots of people parting their older bikes for components. Would it be cost effective to build up a bike or should I just buy a complete one? I don’t have any parts laying around though, so I would have to purchase everything. I’m comfortable performing regular maintenance on my bike.
Do you recommend any other websites where I can buy slightly used bikes? I’m currently looking at ebay, craigslist, and slowtwitch.
if the trek was ‘perfect’ (and its probably not “perfect”)
a 58 P3 would just need a tiny spacer (half a cm) and 2cm shorter stem to fit exactly the same.
With the same cockpit.
OP don’t neglect to take the aero bar stack and reach (elbow pad) into account.
Your post has really peaked my interest. Not to thread hijack, but…
For you which of the three bikes were faster for you? I fully realize it is going to be an individual thing.
I am looking at more on average. Not sure if you have this experience, but, if you trained on the three bikes and used same wheels, same route, did you have a feel for holding a speed in terms of watts which you were more efficient on? I realize the environmental conditions matter but if you ride the bikes enough times you can get a feel. I ride both a P2 and P4 and have a very good feel for the difference between them. But I also am very boring and ride the same route 80% of the time.
Also would be curious the aero bars in the comparison.
I haven’t had a chance to take any of them on a ride yet. I’ve only been fitted on the SC 9.0. I will definitely take a test ride on the one I want to buy (unless it’s online, then I’ll try to find one local just to test ride with). What difference will you notice the most? Should I be looking for average speed, watts, feel? Is it subjective or objective?
I have owned a p1, p2, b12, and sc 7.0. I have found consistently faster splits with the sc than the other bikes. And I am in worse shape now than I was before.
I do not think it is really possible to do what I was talking about unless you spend a lot of time on the bikes. Offroadtri mentioned that he had own all three of the bikes, P3, P4 and SC. If someone spends a lot of time on multiple bikes I do think they get a feel for one bike being “faster” than another. I actually hate the word “faster”. I think of it more that the bike and themselves in combination are more efficient.
I spend a lot of time training on the same route. It is a down and back, 4.5 mile ride. I do majority of my training on my P2. But I also have a P4 that I also do some training on. I have a pretty good feel for the difference between these two bikes for me. They have different frame geometry but I often keep them setup such that my position is the same. This is distance between contact points.
Does seem pretty consistent on the forum that the SC is a fast bike.
I do get the itch to purchase a new bike from time to time. Seems like new tri bikes are hitting the market so quickly it is getting harder to pick a jump in time. Right now I am anxious to see what the Cervelo Px, if it exist, looks like.
From reading the forum and looking at the data that is shared I would guess the three fastest bikes are the SC, P4 and Shiv nosecone.
Kalibur /
Kuota has bailed from North America this year.
Everything Ive seen, service is garbage.
LBS couldnt get anything delivered this year, I dumped my Kuota based on LBS concerns.
LBS has since dumped Kuota.
Are any of these significantly better or worse? I’ve heard Kuota is hard to find support for in the US and everybody already has a Cervelo (I volunteered T1 at IMWI and can verify this).