I have a 2-year old Le Mond Tourmalet with aero bars. Thinking about getting another bike. Can’t decide tri bike or road. I plan to do 4 races next season- maybe 2 HIMs and 2 OLYs-and maybe some relays with friends who are not trigeeks. For possible tri bikes, I’m thinking about the Cervelo Dual (b/c Slowman says it’s a great value) or the Felt 32 for a little less $$. Haven’t thought about what road bike, but obviously in the same price range. I’m about a 2:45 OLY and a slightly sub-6:00 in the HIM if that helps. Training 8-10 hrs/week. Tell me what to do.
“I feel like a Christian Scientist with an appendicitis.” -T. Lehrer
Although I do not own a Felt, I have been very impressed by the incredible values they offer in their bikes. They are very well spec’ed and thought out.
Cervelo also makes fine bikes.
At your level, you will probably not be able to distinguish how much better you would be on one bike versus the other.
Go get properly fit by someone that has considerable knowledge and experience fitting triathletes and then get the bike that best meets your fit requirements. Then, look at the components.
What makes you faster on the dual. Better shape, frame design, components, something else?
I’m looking for a bike to race in road triathlons (up to 1/2 IM). I do not currently own a road bike or tri bike so I’m considering a road bike and fitting it with a profile design seat post and aero bar/bull horn setup for triathlons. I could still use it for other road riding with the drop bars and straight seat post set-up. Or, I could get a tri specific bike. I will do a few road triathlons next year.
Felt has good value for the money spent and their bikes are pretty good. I have a F65 that came with Shimano 105/Ultegra mix. Nice bike and it served me well as I started out. I now have a Cervelo P3 that I use for races and the Felt for a trainer. When I first started to look for a bike I seriously concidered the Dual. All I had to do was write the check but I decided to go with the road set up because I’d get more use out of it. Used it for training and racing and was very happy.
I personally like the Dual over the Felt but that’s me. You’d have to go and test ride the bike and get fitted for sure. If you have someone in the area that’ll do a professional fitting, they could help decide which bike would better suit you.
What makes you faster on the dual. Better shape, frame design, components, something else?
I’m looking for a bike to race in road triathlons (up to 1/2 IM). I do not currently own a road bike or tri bike so I’m considering a road bike and fitting it with a profile design seat post and aero bar/bull horn setup for triathlons. I could still use it for other road riding with the drop bars and straight seat post set-up. Or, I could get a tri specific bike. I will do a few road triathlons next year. If you are only going to have one bike, IMHO you’d be better of with the modified road bike. You’ll be a lot more comfortable in the long run probably.
those two bikes fit differently enough that one should fit you better than the other and your choice is then made.
That said, with a little jiggering, both those bikes can probably be made to fit you. I looked at both a couple years ago and went with a year-end close-out on a Felt S22 for the same price. Was the better fit for me, better components and I wanted 650c wheels. The literature would suggest the Cervelo is marginaly more areo – but I couldn’t see it making a big enough difference, all things considered.
