Now that the Shiv has been out for 1+ years, you can get very good deals on lightly used s-works Transition.
Opinions on comparison from people who have tried both?
For same money, is it better to get a comp/expert Shiv or a top of line s-works Transition?
I have owned Cervelo P2 in past but unhappy with it as it broke and customer service was mixed. Ready for a Specialized like my road and commuter bikes.
Get a Shiv. More support as the basic tt platform for the next 5+ years.
I have a large Transition Pro and am very happy with it. There are conflicting aero tests on how it compares to the P3 and others.
Its major drawback is that it’s a tad on the heavy side. Mine’s just under 20lbs. My guess is that a Shiv is probably 2.5 lbs lighter. Based on 4 sec/mi per pound for a flat 40k, it gives up less than 20 seconds for a flat full IM bike leg. If one assumes double that for aero loss ( a complete guess on my part), then that’s roughly a minute. More if it’s a hilly course.
For the money, I think the Transition is a great value.
I love my Transition, but I do hate the horizontal dropout which apparently has been eliminated (back to vertical) in the Shiv.
Also the Transition frame is a thing of beauty, this Shiv frame, eh…
I love my Transition, but I do hate the horizontal dropout which apparently has been eliminated (back to vertical) in the Shiv.
Also the Transition frame is a thing of beauty, this Shiv frame, eh…
horizontal dropout makes a TON of sense for an aero bike. riders choose different tires, and a vertical dropout forces the manufacturer to assume a larger volume tire will be run. this means the ‘aero shelter’ provided by the seat tube will be far less for a tire most people would use in a time trial/bike leg of a tri.
i’ve got a venge (vertical dropout) and shiv TT (horizontal). changing wheels is slightly more of a pain with a horizontal dropout, but how often do you do that? i race on a 700x22 tire and generally train on a 700x23. even with that small difference, i find there is a visible gap between tire and seat tube on the shiv. the gap on the venge when running a 700x23 is huge. i never have a 700x27 on there (i put one on for testing), but unfortunately it’s a least-common-denominator thing.
i prefer the choice.
Fair enough - I’m not that much of a tweaker. I run 23s almost exclusively. It’s definitely is a pain to remove/replace the rear wheel with the horizontal dropout.
Also my line earlier about the Shiv looking eh. was in reference to the Shiv Tri Frame and not the TT frame, the TT frame is easy on the eyes as well.
Love my Transition. No desire to get rid of it. Plenty stiff, plenty fast, plenty workable from a home-mechanic standpoint.
I’ve had several & have loved them all. Most recent is a 2011 Pro, huge fan.
Yes it’s heavy, no it doesn’t matter. I like the look, and contrary to others, I actually really appreciate the horizontal dropouts.
When you have on training wheels, no need to run it super close, but for whatever race wheels you have, great to be able to adjust how close you get the tire to the seat tube. Not hard to work with at all.
The nosecone Shiv looked, eh, ok. To work on that front end? Not so much.
The new Shiv, to work on, not so bad, from a looks standpoint, meh.
I’m pretty sure that towards the end of the year you will get some good deals on Shivs. I would rather get a mid-range Shiv than an s-works transition - the dura-ace components on an s-works don’t make much of a difference to your speed, but the Shiv frame with average components and a good aero wheelset will.
I am interested to see if people still feel that the cost of a new or newer Shiv Comp is a better buy than a S-Works or Pro Transition. Any thoughts? I am looking into purchasing a tri bike and looking for the best deal. The new/used and new frames/successful legacy frames question is very much in the forefront of my thinking. A similar question applies to the 2013 Felt B12 or the previous generation B12s. Again, assuming good fit.
I have owned and ridden 2008 & 2010 Transition Pro, 2011 Shiv Pro.
With that said, I would buy a “new” Shiv Comp over a “used” S-Works Transition. The reason being is because I really prefer the way the Shiv rides/handles. It is a much more stable and smoother ride than the Transition, even in erratic cross winds. Throw some race wheels on a Shiv and let it rip…
Buy new from a reputable dealer if you can. I sleep better at night knowing I have a warranty with a company who stands behind their product.
Thanks for the advice. That helps a lot.
I test drove both the Shiv Rival and the Transition Expert at the beginning of the summer and ultimately went with the Transition. It handled better, just felt right for me.
The Transition comes with a complete Ultegra 6700 group set that has worked really good so far. I just put some aero wheels (SRAM S80) and it works really good. I am a beginner triathlete and that configuration has proven to be more than enough for me. Its surprisingly easy to ride that thing above 20mph on a consistent basis.
Really happy with the Transition, no plans to change for a couple years.