What constitutes a “superbike” for everyone. Is it looks? wind tunnel tests? what your favorite pro rides? I am looking to get my first top end bike ad drawing up a list!!
what others are there? I am sure i have missed plenty off and these aren’t in any order either!!
From your list…it would be integrated cockpit. You could include Felt DA or B2, BMC Time Machine, Cervelo P4
i do like the integrate cockpit purely from a look point of view but does it really make too much difference as the P4 isn’t integrated??
A super price tag.
I am in the same boat as you. Similar to Crowie…I am ending my relationship with Orbea this season. It has been a wonderful 4 years… However, I have not (as of yet) been contacted by Specialized RE: my new SHIV!!! I’m not sure what the delay is? I think I’ll go test my phone line again…
Seriously, I’m not sold on the integrated cockpit either, even though I will only travel 1-2 times/year for a race, I’m not comfortable enough with my ability to wrench on something that could be that finicky. Part of me says P4, but I have also been watching the thread about the S5 being used with an TT cockpit and forward seat position, although I think someone from Cervelo commented that you would be better served going with a P2. I have longer legs, shorter torso and not that an aggressive position so I have heard P3 not great for that.
What constitutes a “superbike” for everyone. Is it looks? wind tunnel tests? what your favorite pro rides? I am looking to get my first top end bike ad drawing up a list!!
what others are there? I am sure i have missed plenty off and these aren’t in any order either!!
Superbikes are also rare, you don’t see them EVERYWHERE…that would leave Cervelo out of the list as others have suggested. I’ve never seen a Trinity in action…just sayin’.
I think in trying to define what makes a superbike, then think about what makes a supercar. Firstly it needs to have as primary functions speed, be an organisations testbed for technological improvement, aesthetic personality etc… What is not important are things like efficiency and comfort, the users needs are very much secondary to the product.
For me the bike frame which fits this aesthetic profile more than any other would be the Ceepo Viper. It is the perfect structure on which to hang the exotic and make a very strong visual statement. Would this make it a superbike, I am not too sure. The thing about a supercar is you are making massive compromises and paying over the odds simply to live the dream and make the statement. If through a Viper you feel every little bump on the road and you have kitted it out with a solid carbon fibre saddle with no padding whatsoever then maybe you are some way to creating a superbike.
Though I have not ridden a Viper or anything else on your list, I have ridden a ‘true’ superbike. Many years ago at a national trade show I managed to blag a ride on Chris Boarman’s Lotus pursuit bike on which he won an Olympic gold medal only by knowing the right people. I put some compatible cleats onto some shoes and got someone to hold it whilst I clipped in with a large crowd of onlookers gathered. At that point I set off down the hall to cheers, it was not that I felt the changes between the wooden floor boards of the exhibition hall through the bike that made me realise I was on a ‘superbike’ or all the attention. Rather what did it for me was when I started to near the end of the hall thinking oh **** how do you turn this thing around. I remember thinking this thing has not got anything like the turning circle of a normal bike, braking against the bike like mad using my legs and picking a point between two stands for something to grap onto when I stopped. I unclipped climbed off, turned the bike around and wheeled it back knowing I well outside my comfort zone. I was greeted by “why the hell did you pedal off that fast” all I could say was “I got a bit excited”, what did he think I was going to do. These are the emotions that make something into a superbike, you need to experience it, live to tell the tale, not neccesarily own it. I can honestly say I have riden an Olympic gold medal bike it was an experience not to forget, I am also glad that there were not that many people there to witness it.
superCAR == superENGINE
superBIKE =/= superENGINE
eta: forgot the important part! whoops
I bought a Speed Concept in February. Essentially it is a 7.5 series with some minor modifications…Profile armrests for abit more rise, etc. I went with the 7.5 because I also had some concerns over an integrated front end, though I do think it is ultimately the wave of the future. I have paired the bike with various configurations of ZIPP wheelsets.
This is the first bike I have bought that I truly think has been worth the hype. I had been on board a Litespeed for a number of years and didn’t really need a new bike, but thought that the TREK was really a forward thinking design and went ahead with the purchase. I have won the AG in my last ten races, and while there are many factors that go into such a streak, I give a lot of credit to the new bike. It is fast.
I think how most people use the term , its a bike with more than the typical amount amount of parts integration. Take the P3. Thats probably as fast as it gets for a bike where all of the parts are a la carte. Easy to wrench and its pretty rare to run into a in compatibility.
Styrrell
I have a speed concept 7.5 as well. Not sure that it qualifies as a super bike, but it is fast, and substantially more affordable. If speed defines “super” it has that in spades.
How about a Storck Aero2 IS? You don’t see may of these around and it has a hefty price tag.
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Super bike is any bike with ‘recent’ advancements in integration. P4 (hydration/rear brake), Speed Concept(too much to list), SHIV and Trinity Advanced (nose cone). Also a big price tag helps. This is not to say that all these advancements actually make them better bikes. I do all my own wrenching and I really like normal brakes and headsets. I’ve wrenched on hidden brakes and nose cones. I would prefer to have normal brakes, but could manage the aero and hidden ones. However, I would never own a nose cone bike. The hassle is not worth their own claimed aerodynamic advantages.
I saw that Storck this spring at a sprint tri Mrs Barchetta was doing, being ridden (to the win) by Meike Krebs, and a very impressive looking machine it is too.
What about the new QR Illicito? Fairly radical design, seems to have slipped on to the market without too much of a fanfare.
Still say Felt DA and Look 596 should be on there
Also the new BMC TM01.
The trouble with the superlative “super” is what to do when the next generation hits the streets? Is a Shiv no longer “super” when Specialized moves beyond it? That’s a fancy way of pointing out that “superbike” is always going to be subjective as an adjective. It is no way to select your next bike.
I wasnt using it to generate a list to buy a new bike…although!!
I am in the same boat as you. Similar to Crowie…I am ending my relationship with Orbea this season. It has been a wonderful 4 years… However, I have not (as of yet) been contacted by Specialized RE: my new SHIV!!! I’m not sure what the delay is? I think I’ll go test my phone line again…
Seriously, I’m not sold on the integrated cockpit either, even though I will only travel 1-2 times/year for a race, I’m not comfortable enough with my ability to wrench on something that could be that finicky. Part of me says P4, but I have also been watching the thread about the S5 being used with an TT cockpit and forward seat position, although I think someone from Cervelo commented that you would be better served going with a P2. I have longer legs, shorter torso and not that an aggressive position so I have heard P3 not great for that.
When we designed the front end of the Triad SL we wanted it to be fast…but we wanted it to be user friendly. there are a lot of fast bikes out there but they have 10, 15 or even 20+ small bolts holding it all together. The Triad SL works just like your normal road bike with the exception of two small points. First, there is an additional bolt through the stem to give it a second anchor point making the front end stiffer. Second, the compression from the top cap isnt on the stem but on a shim which is around the steer tube.
Bottom line is this; if you can take the bars off your normal road or tri bike you can easily work the front end of the Triad SL.
What about the cannondale slice rs? I would assume that Cannondale’s bike would definitely fall under the superbike category.
If you consider “super” to mean integration, than your list looks good.
If you consider it top-tier aerodynamics, you need to add the QR Illicito (very possibly more aero than any you listed there).