Road vs Tri Bike (2)

Triathlon Forum
1

I don’t do alot of posting here but I’m an assiduos reader of the postings. As result, I need some opinions and feedback.

I currently have both a Cervelo P2C set up as a full-on tri bike and a Cervelo R3, set up as a road bike. My connundrum is that my back is not 20 years old anymore and is getting cranky on me. As well, I predominantly ride road such that the P2C has now become a “trainer queen”.
P2C
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/static/editor/http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af77/keehna666/Bikes/Cervelo%20P2C/PSCZipp808-1080_zpsed0f0b99.jpg

R3
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/static/editor/http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af77/keehna666/Bikes/Cervelo%20R3/CerveloR3SRAMS60c_zpscc02e1f7.jpg
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/static/editor/http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af77/keehna666/Bikes/Cervelo%20R3/R3Zipp_zpsb7cb71f8.png

I think I’m leaning towards a one bike approach where I would get an aero style road bike, such as a Cervelo S5, utilize the two postion seat post and then slap a set of clip-on aerobars on it when I do get the urge to do a tri. I’ve thrown a set of PD clip-ons onto the R3 but it obviously won’t facilitate the optimal hip angle w/o moving the seat.The other option is to use the P2C and put a set of road drop bars/clip-on aerobars on it, and ride it as a road bike.

At this point, I’m ambivalent but would greatly appreciate any feedback, thoughts, or pictures of your attempts to find a “one-bike” solution.

ps: I’m not hung on Cervelo either

2

  1. S5 forward hole isn’t that forward, so check if you can get the seat where you need it

  2. new S5 has lower stack so that should be good

Not a bad plan if you just do these for fun. If you are AG competitive, having drop bars and sti shifters can be a non trivial disadvantage.

3

jackmott - in talking to my loal lbs (and Cervelo dealer), he pointed out the ride quality of the previous gen S5’s and the back end would be quite a bit stiffer than that on my R3. He also pointed out what you illustate, that the new S5 has a lower stack height, but also a different seat post from the previous models.

I do mainly Gran Fondos now and the odd tri hence why I’m leaning towards a road geometry style bike, but that be converted for potential Tri use as well.

4

Are both of those bikes yours? If so, have you had a fit? I ask, because it appears that you have much more drop on your road bike than on your Tri bike. The fit may be the problem, not the back. Stretching helps, too.

5

I personally believe ride quality differences to be 99% imaginary. On the plus side the S5 also has room for bigger tires, so if you do have ride quality issues, you can put a 25mm tire back there.

New seat post or old, there isn’t a super-far-forward setting like the old S2 and S3 used to have. This may not matter if you don’t need a really steep seat position, just gotta do the math and see (or try it and see)

jackmott - in talking to my loal lbs (and Cervelo dealer), he pointed out the ride quality of the previous gen S5’s and the back end would be quite a bit stiffer than that on my R3. He also pointed out what you illustate, that the new S5 has a lower stack height, but also a different seat post from the previous models.

I do mainly Gran Fondos now and the odd tri hence why I’m leaning towards a road geometry style bike, but that be converted for potential Tri use as well.

6

I see you copied Lance and hung your yellow jerseys too.

7

Yeah - the local guy is FIST certified and did the work up on both bikes.

I tend to play around with the stem length/heigth on the road bike depending on what I use it.I live close to the rockies so on long climbs, I’ll change the stem out to get a better climbing position. I also appreciae your comment on stretching as I’m “mandated” by my doc to stretch for 15 minutes or so after each ride, which helps.

8

I’ll be trying out a previous gen S5 at the lbs to validate whether my idea will work for me or not.

9

It’s strange, I have a terrible back (herniated disc years ago) and i find the position on the TT bike is far better than my roadie.

10

I found my back complained more doing TT’s with a road bike and clip-ons.
More drop and shorter reach feel so much better.

Remove those spacers on your TT bike and see how your back feels… from you pics it looks like your road bike has more drop than your TT bike, which should be the opposite.