I was wondering if anyone can post some thoughts on the QR Tri bikes. I’m looking for an aluminum tri bike to put racing wheels on to get a fast bike at an affordable price. I just want to make sure the name brand I go with will be quality and hold up for a long time. Are the Roo’s fast and to they handle well?
Are there other bikes that people like such as Orbea. I’m torn between Orbea and OR right now.
I’ll take any feedback on name brands to avoid and ones to check out other then Cervelo. We all know about Cervelo.
I had a 2006 QR Kilo and like it. My first tri bike and great deal from all3sports.com. Handled well, good geometry, good components. I only sold it b/c I realized I like to ride a road bike most of the time, not a tri bike. So now I have a Soloist Team with the reversible seatpost for summer tris. QR is a good brand.
It is pretty difficult to find any “badly” built bicycles these days if they are a name brand and sold through various outlets. QR is one of the pioneers in the “triathlon” bike industry, founded by the owner of this website, has evolved over the years, but is still focused on the sport of triathlon. You can’t go wrong in choosing a QR (unless you pick one that doesn’t fit you very well).
There really aren’t any “name brands” you need to avoid. Much of your decision will be based on how well you fit and feel on a particular bike, and the geometric dimensions upon which that bike is built to make you more comfortable for riding in the aerobars. There are quite a few factors you need to consider that will dictate whether you ride a shallow seat angled bike (less than 76 degrees), a steeper angled bike (76 or more degrees), which size wheels (650 or 700), how long of a top tube you may need (is your upper body longer, equal to, or shorter than your lower body), etc. I would suggest looking up a dealer on this website who is located in your area, and consulting them to find the optimum geometric style that you would probably feel most comfortable on.
I think they used to be good when a guy named DAN ran the company but once it was sold, they have just continued to lose ground to Cervelo. They used to be “the bike” at Ironman but without the original visionary of the company at the helm, they have just gone downhill. Very sad really!
I ride an '06 QR Caliente and really like it. Previous bike was a Kestrel Talon (both Carbon). I had an Aluminum trek before that. In the end, it’s all about the motor. But if you are looking for things like quality etc then no, you can’t go wrong with QR. Just choose the one that fits you and your budget.
I was wondering if anyone can post some thoughts on the QR Tri bikes. I’m looking for an aluminum tri bike to put racing wheels on to get a fast bike at an affordable price. I just want to make sure the name brand I go with will be quality and hold up for a long time. Are the Roo’s fast and to they handle well?
Are there other bikes that people like such as Orbea. I’m torn between Orbea and OR right now.
I’ll take any feedback on name brands to avoid and ones to check out other then Cervelo. We all know about Cervelo.
I think QR is a fine brand as well. But if you’re open to aluminum, there are a bunch of brands to look at including Felt, Guru, Giant, etc. Even some of the carbon framed bikes are so aggressively priced that you might be able to squeak into one of those. I just saw on nytro.com that they have the new Scott Plasma 2 with a decent component group for $2600. That’s amazing given the technology that goes into making those bikes.
I purchased a Guru TriLite 2 years ago (they unfortunately don’t make this model anymore) which is mostly aluminum with a carbon rear triangle and I love it. I was able to get a custom made frame for a fair price. For me, the fit was critical because I’m about 6’ with a 30" inseam. I needed a short bike with a lot of length for my torso in the top tube. There are not any bikes out there with that type of geometry so I went custom.
All that to say, regardless of material, make sure it fits.
I have an '06 Tequilo that I LOVE …it fits like a dream and is a blast to ride. I have ridden my fiancee’s $10K+ set-ups and, although there are some differences, am still very very happy with my QR. The price was more than right for such a cool little bike.
However, if you are looking at aluminum, there are a lot of options. The reason I went with the Tequilo was that the geometry was favorable to my build (shorter torso, longer legs).
I’ve spent some time with Mac our QR rep and quite some time going over the 2009 line-up for QR. In my opinion, after some rather weak offerings, Quintana Roo is back. They are back to the great Quintana Roo we knew quite a number of years ago.
Specifically:
The new QR Tequilo is very impressive. It is a value priced entry level bike at $1599 with true triathlon geometry, excellent basic construction and a solid component kit. It will bring a lot of people into the sport on solid equipment.
The bikes that move upward from there are nice as well. QR had a nagging problem (in my opinion) with the cable housing stop on the down tube of the previous carbon frames on the Seduza, Caliente, etc. That has been solved I am told by QR.
QR has also introduced their entry into the innovative, superbike market to compete with the Cevelo P4, Felt B2, Look 596 and other ultra-high end tri bikes. Their super bike is the new Cd0.1. It utilizes offset-flow frame design to moderate the boundary layer of air moving around the frame for a claimed aerodynamic benefit. I do not know enough about low speed aerodynamics to offer an opinoo on the validity of this design, but it is a novel approach.
I do know the other bikes in the line, the “meat” of the line, are solid- especially the new Tequilo.
I had an '06 caliente and rode the hell out of it for 3 seasons. No complaints about the bike, it never once let me down, but switching out cables was an M-F’er best accomplished with a few beers and an afternoon full of patience.
Completely agree with you about the cabling. I put on a new set of aerobars and cables about 2 months ago and it was one of the most frustrating and difficult things I’ve ever done on any bike. I hope what they’ve told Tom D. is true. I love the bike.
On any bike like that, use cable liners (material similar to the nozzle of WD40) and run them from the ends back through the frame over the actual cables. Then pull the old cables out.
Run the new cables back through the cable liners and then remove the liners.
Hardware stores do. Plus bike shops who sell bikes like it might have the liners which they took out of the new frames . On the QR frames they are the blue “thingies.”
I ride a 2006 Kilo (purchased in 2007) and love it. I have a little over 5,000 miles on it without the first problem yet. In my opinion it it a fantastic bike. There are lots of options out there so do your homework before buying.
I purchased a set of Zipp 606’s for race day and have blown by some guys on some really nice bikes.
