Anyone ride one? Thoughts please…
Have never ridden one but was a bit surprised when I saw the final product. Would have expected quite a bit more from that brand.
Have never ridden one but was a bit surprised when I saw the final product. Would have expected quite a bit more from that brand.
How so?
I’m really pleased with mine. It handles very very well. I would recommend it to anybody.
jake
It just looks very uninspired in my opinion. If it had no graphics on it, it may look like some random carbon frame from Taiwan from 5-6 years back.
Compared to that gorgeous Scott you’re riding, Angelina Joile would would plain!
So you don’t feel that Parlee’s TT bike is a design of simplicity and elegance, but is just an uninspired reheat of an old design? Maybe you could use your powers at ST to demo one and do an in-depth writeup…?
Again, I am talking personal opinion on looks alone. Plus we can’t all have the same taste.
Also, who is Angelina Jolie? 
I agree, based on looks and design the Parlee is quite bland to me. Could do a lot better with the same amount of money. If you need custom, you could always go BMC/Guru.
Some like the colorful “circus” bikes and others like the understated looks.
THAT bike is just incredible. What a piece of art!
Replaced my 04 P2K with one, love it.
Agree… would rather have understated and rides WELL than something “wow, look at that” that can’t climb or take corners well. Simple looking is fine with me as long as it fits me well, and I am fast on it!
THAT bike is just incredible. What a piece of art!
X2
I have a Parlee TT, not the full custom bike where Bob Parlee measures you, but the more standard TT.
I think this is one of the best TT bikes on the market. The biggest reason for saying this is that the Parlee comes with two head tube heights. So you can order a frame with a tall or short head tube. This from a comfort/fit standpoint is a huge selling point. I am really suprised that more bike makers do not do this. I always thinks it funny when I see a guy riding a P3 with 6 inches of spacers to give them more height. In reality I don’t think most people fit on something like a Shiv to ride a 112 miles, much less get off and run a marathon. While I know MACCA rode a Shiv at Kona, I don’t think he rode one in any of his other races because the bike is not that comforable. Is the Shiv fast, sure but day in and day out I don’t think it works for a lot of people, same with the P4 and some of the other high end superbikes.
My Parlee rides & handles great, it is also very light.
My Parlee is a 58 frame with the tall head tube. 3T Brezza Limited Team Bars, SRAM Red, Zipp Vuma Chrono Crank & 808 Clydesdale wheels.
With Pedals & Seat, but no water bottle cages it weighs 17.1 pounds. So a smaller frame or without Clydesdale wheels or different seat (mine is kinda big) and you are looking at a 16 pound bike.
I do not think you can go wrong with Parlee, their road bikes all receive rave reviews. I would be very suprised to hear of someone buying a Parlee TT and not being completely satisfied. I have heard of a lot of Cervelo owners going to a Parlee, but have never heard of any of them going back to Cervelo.
Thanks… This is the kind of stuff I want to hear. I am on a Specialized Transition that I like, but does not fit well. My recent fitting, in which I felt comfortable AND powerful, shows the Parlee TT, Cannondale Slice, and Scott Plasma as the 3 best fits for me. I like the Slice and Plasma, but the Parlee is unique… kinda like ride something different. Am leaning towards the Parlee or the Slice.
I’ve got a Parlee TT. I agree that the paint job is not incredibly flashy, but the the real value in the TT lies in its basic, fast design. Bob Parlee’s focus is on making an aero, light, strong bike, not a piece of eye candy with curvy & colorful tubes. They are currently doing some wind tunnel testing at MIT in order to refine the TT’s design.
As was mentioned above, the bike handles very well for a TT machine. It is a high-end, high-quality bike.
As a disclaimer I should mention that I’m sponsored by Parlee, but nevertheless they make awesome bikes! All the reviews by cycling magazines are very positive…
Ethan, thanks for the post. I have been told that the Parlee TT rides very much like a road bike and ascends/descends well. Have you found this to be true, compared to other tri/TT bikes you have ridden in the past?
I have my eye on a Z4/Z5 right now, so Parlees have really been catching my eye lately. I saw at least three at Clearwater, all with custom paint. Parlee’s stock paint is not flashy, but it offers unlimited custom paint options. You can get as flashy as you want. You also have custom component options giving you nearly unlimited choices. If you want a Rival drivetrain and Zipp wheels Parlee will do it. A lot of Parlee dealers also specialize in custom geometry bikes and are very fit oriented (I’ve seen at least one who does Retul fittings), so you can be sure that you will not only get a great bike, you will get a great bike that will help you be the fastest triathlete you can be. My only complaint is that the headtube and fork look out of place in conjunction with the bike’s othewise clean lines.
Nice to know Parlee is refining their design. I look forward to seeing what a no-nonsense company, committed to practical, durable designs comes up with. That may be just about the time I am in the market for my next tt bike.
Every time I see them I think, “That is a an over-priced bike for the guy who just wants to be different.” As Herbert said, there is nothing that makes it stand out at all, especially for the price, and I doubt it is even as aero as the bottom-priced Cervelo. Hate Cervelos and, to a lesser extent, Felt, all you want, but they deliver in the value market. A lot of companies make carbon bikes because aluminum just doesn’t sell anymore, but they are not very good at it and count on the ineducated customer to not see them for what they are.
Chad