Needing some real world reviews and opinions on which frameset you would go with. Im trying to decide between:
2014 supersix evo hi mod Team($1600)
2012 S-Works tarmac sl4 ($1700)
2012 venge pro ($1100)
2013 propel advanced sl ($2300)
Back story, I’m a cat 3 racer, 6’3’’ with a 32" inseam (Short legs, long arms/torso,) and 190 lbs. In racing, I tend to get in a lot of breakaways on road races, and am usually in the sprint in crits. I live in Florida, so there’s not a whole lot of climbing going on. Most of my rides are within the 35 to 70 mile range. Sometimes the occasional 60 miler will include 5k of climbing. It’ll be a size 58 in any of the mentioned frames.
All will have sram red 2013 groupset installed along with a 2010 zipp 404 front and 808 rear
What would you choose, and why? The more opinions, the better
2014 supersix evo hi mod ($1600)
2012 S-Works tarmac sl4 ($1700)
2012 venge pro ($1100)
2013 propel advanced sl ($2300)
What would you choose, and why?
The Venge or the Propel because they are aero.
The Propel has the non standard brakes, which can be more of a hassle to deal with. So you might lean venge if you don’t want to deal with that. Both bikes have won cat 1 and pro tour sprints under guys bigger and strong than you
A bike is a bike for the most part, aerodynamics make them a wee bit faster which is nice. If you don’t pay for aerodynamics
just get an aluminum caad 10 or something. No sense paying a lot for nothing.
If you plan to run deep carbon wheels, such as the 303 which has a wider brake track, you’ll want to avoid the 2012 Spec bikes. There’s not enough clearance to run those wheels between the chain stays. Those chain stays are very narrow and regardless of your wheel choice I would measure, ride and test whatever you plan to go with to make sure it fits.
If you plan to run deep carbon wheels, such as the 303 which has a wider brake track, you’ll want to avoid the 2012 Spec bikes. There’s not enough clearance to run those wheels between the chain stays.
I’m pretty sure that is not accurate…I mean I’ve seen it done, a lot.
If you plan to run deep carbon wheels, such as the 303 which has a wider brake track, you’ll want to avoid the 2012 Spec bikes. There’s not enough clearance to run those wheels between the chain stays.
I’m pretty sure that is not accurate…I mean I’ve seen it done, a lot.
Maybe this was the case on some of the TT frames?
Road…
We urge customers who plan on riding the 303 Firecrest to test the wheel within the frame in which they intend to ride it, under normal riding and road conditions, before purchasing. Clearance within individual frames of the same size, from the same manufacturer, may vary. That is why it is imperative that you test the wheel in your frame, or in the frame that you are considering purchasing.
Customers who run into this fitment issue may select any other spoked wheel within the Zipp lineup as an alternative,including the 404 Firecrest with its narrower aero-width profile.
Below is a list of known frames that may present this issue. This list will be updated if this fitment issue is discovered elsewhere.
2012 Specialized Tarmac SL4Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge
Below is a list of known frames that may present this issue. This list will be updated if this fitment issue is discovered elsewhere.
2012 Specialized Tarmac SL4Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge
I know! My teammate has the Venge and his Zipp 101s are a pretty tight fit. I think 303 is the only real concern though with those frames. The brake track width on those is nuts.
What Jackmott said, a bike is a bike, aero advantages of the frame are probably small in real world situations.
Personally I prefer the SL4 for general handling and descending but we have a lot of climbs around here.
For what you do the Venge is good. I road a Venge Sworks with 404s once and did not like the handling with the 404’s (but it was only on a descend)
If you plan to run deep carbon wheels, such as the 303 which has a wider brake track, you’ll want to avoid the 2012 Spec bikes. There’s not enough clearance to run those wheels between the chain stays. Those chain stays are very narrow and regardless of your wheel choice I would measure, ride and test whatever you plan to go with to make sure it fits.
I realize that 404s are not as wide as 303s, but I have ridden 404s with 27mm tires (Vittoria Pave) on my Venge with no problems whatsoever. I would be surprised if there is any issue with 303s on that bike.
I realize that 404s are not as wide as 303s, but I have ridden 404s with 27mm tires (Vittoria Pave) on my Venge with no problems whatsoever. I would be surprised if there is any issue with 303s on that bike.
I’m sure the product people at Zipp were surprised like you. So they issued the aforementioned warning about the venue and Tarmac frames. I’ve read several posts here and on other forums where owners of this setup have had “no issues” and then I’ve heard the opposite from expert wheel builders who won’t sell you a set of 303s if you have those frames that Zipp calls out on their website. So who knows. I mention it to the OP only as a “you might want to check this out” suggestion.
Yeah, I know everyone thinks that. But aside from outlier cases like really cheap, poorly built bikes, I stand by it.
While is agree with your recommendations, the above is just flat-out wrong.
No, it’s flat out wrong. The wheel base, center of gravity, ride dynamics and stiffness will vary considerably between frames. As an example one of my bikes is an aero road bike that is super fast, handles really well, but beats the living crap out of me on rides. Then I have a Ti bike that isn’t nearly as aero, is super comfortable but has a relaxed geometry and doesn’t take turns anywhere nearly as good as the aero frame. Neither of these FRAMEs are cheap, let alone super cheap. They are just “different” and designed for "different’ purposes.
There is no way you can say these frames are interchangeable. Depending on the type of ride and what I’m willing to put up with, will determine which one I take on a given day.
If it were my money, I’d go with the Propel, despite its brakes. I like the fit (personal), look, and that it’s aero. I really like the handling of my TCR and the geo is the same. As much as I like the Cannondales, their fit gets a little wonky in the large sizes (I’m 6’5").
I have the 2012 S-Works Tarmac SL-4 (currently listed in classifieds!). Overall, it is a fantastic race bike. If you want to ride hard and fast all the time and not worry about actually enjoying the ride, then I highly recommend it. The ride quality of my 58cm is anything but enjoyable once the road gets choppy/rough and you start doing longer miles. Wheel choice will be an important consideration here as well. I currently only use the bike for road races and crits because it is incredibly efficient (good sprinters, good climber). Cornering stability is confidence inspiring. For reference, I ride a Colnago (C59, C50) as my daily trainer due to a better combination of ride quality, geometry (for me), and stiffness.
I have a set of Enve 6.7s that I can test for clearance if you want me to check.
