Hello, I am new to the forum and an happy owner of a soloist carbon 48 cm, now I am about to tale a P3c and my retailer is suggesting to take a 51cm because he thinks that 650 wheels are not ideal in terms of choices and tubolars and so on. I am afraid though that 51cm might be too big being now used to a 48 cm soloist that works fine for me.
please help me with suggestions
thx
it sounds like your retailer doesn’t stock 650 wheels, tires or tubes, and doesn’t intend to do so. instead, he’d rather sell you a bike that doesn’t fit. choices are plentiful in 650. choices are also plentiful in bike shops…i’d find another.
I know of two people that have been in your shoes. They both fit on a p3 48 frame, but didn’t want to go with the 650 wheels. One bought a different bike that fit her and had 700’s and the other just went with the 51 p3 and adjusted the bike to fit her.
I think it depends on what sacrifices you are able and willing to make and how well you will fit on the 51 vs the 48. Another option is to consider a different frame.
thank you for your reply, infact I am even considering going for a kuota kueen , but having such a good feeling with cervelo I wanted to stay with them.
But Andrew is right would be a mistake to buy a bike that doesn’t fit.
Why people don’t like 650 wheels by the way?
I have owned a 650 bike in the past and there are in fact not as many options available in terms of race wheels. I am happy that I went to 700 for that very reason. However, I fit on my 700 well which is most important.
thats my fear and as well when I want to have racing and training wheels I have to get 2 sets, while with 700 I can use the wheels I already have
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not certain for the relationship between the soloist sizing and the P3C; however, many, if not most, people size down from their road size to their P3C size. if you are on a 48 right now, i can’t imagine a 51 P3C would be the proper size frame.
Provided the gearing is adjusted correctly there is no drawback to using 650c wheels in terms of performance. There is a smaller number of choices in terms of race wheels and tires though, but realistically, this is a minimal concern. How important is it really to have access to a 650c Zipp sub-9 disk when they make a 650c version of their standard disk that would be lighter because it is smaller than a 700c Sub-9?
There is a common misconception that 650c’s are somehow “slower” than 700c’s. Not so. The gearing *does *have to be appropriate for the wheel size, but when that is done performance is absolutely on par with 700c equipped bikes.
Tom, thank you very much that is very helpfull, but what kind of wheels would you suggest as 650? because I was looking at Zipp 808 and they don’t exist in that size.
thanks
thats my fear and as well when I want to have racing and training wheels I have to get 2 sets, while with 700 I can use the wheels I already have
…a valid point. best thing to do is investigate and find the bike that will use 700 wheels and still fit you properly. from cervelo’s website, a 51 p3c has a toptube of ~53 at 75degrees(seat) and ~51 at 78degrees(seat). your 48 soloist has a toptube of ~51 at 73degrees(seat) and ~48 at 76degrees(seat). that’s quite a stretched out position, judging by your road bike sizing, or a real short stem to get a proper fit.
You can get a Zipp dimpled disk and front 404 (non dimpled) used off of ebay for $1000-1200. That will absolutely save you money over buying the same wheelset in 700c.
You can also get HED DEEP 90mm in either the Jet or CX styles, but they are heavier than the Zipps. These can be had for < $500 most of the time.
You don’t have as many tubular options, but you do have the best options, which are the Vittoria Corsa CX and Vittoria Crono. You don’t need any other options.
Chris
I was looking at Zipp 808 and they don’t exist in that size.
if considering a deep dish 650 wheel, hed makes the jet90 in 650. not a zipp 808, but still a nice wheelset.
if it helps, i’m 5’6 and ride a 48’ P3C w/ 650’s. my shop has no prob. stocking or getting 650 tubulars for my race wheels (custom zipp 404 w/ pwr tap rear and head 3 front). my girlfriend is 5’3 and rides a 46 QR Kilo w/650’s and solid zipp rear w/ dimples to race, she’s even more aero than i. i occasionally train w/ a local pro; Heather Gollnick who also rides a 46 QR - she about 5’2 and not shabby on the IM circuit… be sure your fit properly to be certain…
How important is it really to have access to a 650c Zipp sub-9 disk when they make a 650c version of their standard disk that would be lighter because it is smaller than a 700c Sub-9?
Tom, that is an excellent point. I would add that a 650c wheel will also be more aerodynamic than the equivalent 700c wheel, again by virtue of its smaller size. So even though the 650c disc won’t have the shape of a sub 9, it might be just as aerodynamic.
Of course, the most aero option would be to take a 650c 808 or 404 and put a cover on it, giving you the aerodynamic advantage of the sub-9 shape in the 650c size.
When looking at bikes my wife ran into the same issue. She has a Solist in 51 and a P3C or 2C in 51 was just too big. Going to 650 to get a Cervelo just didn’t make sense as between us we already have a few sets of race wheels. She ulitmately opted for a Scott Plasma Contessa where all sizes are 700s. Even the LBS that we buy all our stuff from suggested she look at other bikes. Sometimes just because it’s a great bike doesn’t make it the right bike for you.
thanks for all this feedback, love this forum, I think now I have a quite good idea to either go for a 48cm p3c or go for a different bike, I quite like the kuota kueen as well even if still think that p3c 650 zipp 404 + disk is my first choice at the moment
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not certain for the relationship between the soloist sizing and the P3C; however, many, if not most, people size down from their road size to their P3C size. if you are on a 48 right now, i can’t imagine a 51 P3C would be the proper size frame.
Yep. There are some that have gone the reverse way, but the majority are either the same size or size down for the TT fit. I have 54 soloist and 51 P3C. However I still have my 54 P3C (will be reluctantly sold soon, I’m just looking for a caring and worthy owner). Needed to use it this week and put a 70mm stem on instead of the 90mm and got pretty close to my 51 fit. However with the 51 I can get even lower, the bike frame will be lighter and more aerodynamic because of the smaller size. Also Cervelo have pulled an additional 150gms of the frame weights across the board between the 2005 and 2008 versions.
Desperately trying to justify that the benefits of the new frame could not have been sold by a $50 stem alone…
If I was in the OP’s position I wouldn’t worry about wheel size issue, I’d go with the smaller frame and take the additional comfort that having a correct fit will give you at 140Km into an IM.
RA Cycles has had a good deal on a pair of HED tri spokes 650c for a while in their wheel deals section. Don’t know if they still have them, but check it out.
http://www.racycles.com/catalog.html?Vl=474&Tp=2&reload=1
Doesn’t look liek they have the trispokes any longer but still have deals. check out the link.
I am lucky to have both the Soloist in size 48 & the P3C in size 51.
They both fit me quite well.
The ability to use the same set of wheels for both bikes should be considered.
Quite expensive to maintain 650 & 700c.
I would not go up a size for a TT bike, if anything, some riders go down one size
.