Not sure if it’s been discussed here before but does anybody knows how come Team Cervelo did not ride P4s?
Is it that the bikes were not ready on time? Or, budget issue? Maybe the riders prefer P3???
This is not an official reply but I would suggest it may have to do with a number of factors that involve the introduction of a sophisticated new product like P4 and with the necessity for race equipment to have been integrated into the team and set up for the individual riders well in advance of the race.
Tom that was far too diplomatic; you’re going soft on us.
I say the P4’s are encountering, uh, “production issues” related to the narrow chain and seat stay width and inability to use most, if not all, of the most popular and pricey disc wheels including the Sub-9 and HED.
Bob
The P4 is perfect, not Cervelos fault all the other things arent.
While there may be things I am not qualified to comment on, I can assure you that the issue you mentioned, while a good observation, has not played a role in the delivery date of the P4 to my knowledge.
“I am not at liberty to disclose…”
So your initial response was BS?
Valid question. I edited my wording for better clarity. Thanks for mentioning it.
They are smart to delay the delivery as long as possible. Why bring out a pricey new bike in this economic condition where people are thinking twice about spending? Especially since I don’t think that the P4 has gotten the kind of response that Cervelo was hoping for and certainly not the kind of response that lived up to the anticipation. When I see posts around here about the P4 the vast majority of people comment on how ugly it is and say they would never buy one. Of course there are people who will buy them but they won’t be a success like the P3 or P2 unless the price comes way down or they figure out a way to make the bike more visually appealing. I know there will be people who are quick to say that aesthetics shouldn’t matter but only a small segment of the bike buying public actually does that. I think this is a good chance for Cervelo to either delay the release until the economic climate improves or if they haven’t already paid for production to just scrap the release altogether and go back to the drawing board.
Tom that was far too diplomatic; you’re going soft on us.
I say the P4’s are encountering, uh, “production issues” related to the narrow chain and seat stay width and inability to use most, if not all, of the most popular and pricey disc wheels including the Sub-9 and HED.
Bob
Actually, the Sub-9 wasn’t used on the P3s either. I’m also not sure why you would want to put a Sub-9 in a P4, you need such a disk to compensate for a bad frame shape, no point sticking it behind a P4 seattube. Anyway, the P4s will roll out with the team for the Giro. Plus, if Hushovd would have been on a P4 and beaten Cancellara, then so many slowtwitchers would have been denied their fun with the “fastest bike in the world” trolling. And I didn’t want to cause so much pain to my tribal friends.
Thank you, 
.
They are smart to delay the delivery as long as possible. Why bring out a pricey new bike in this economic condition where people are thinking twice about spending? Especially since I don’t think that the P4 has gotten the kind of response that Cervelo was hoping for and certainly not the kind of response that lived up to the anticipation. When I see posts around here about the P4 the vast majority of people comment on how ugly it is and say they would never buy one. Of course there are people who will buy them but they won’t be a success like the P3 or P2 unless the price comes way down or they figure out a way to make the bike more visually appealing. I know there will be people who are quick to say that aesthetics shouldn’t matter but only a small segment of the bike buying public actually does that. I think this is a good chance for Cervelo to either delay the release until the economic climate improves or if they haven’t already paid for production to just scrap the release altogether and go back to the drawing board.
Funny shit. In reality (in case that matters), there is a substantial backlog, so the delay has been rather frustrating for our customers, dealers and for us. But next month they are finally rolling off the production in reasonable numbers, so that we can catch up with the backlog.
Everybody is talking about the recession, but in the bike industry not much of it is visible. The part I don’t understand is that they fear the economy may shrink 2% this year. So basically, it will go back to the level of 2006/2007. I don’t remember those being such terrible years, everybody was pretty happy. But instead of being satisfied with that, the media reports little else, companies are laying off 20% of their workforce, and the world talks itself deeper and deeper into a hole. That said, we still don’t see anything in our business that matches with what we see on the news, other than that credit gets a little tighter for small business like our dealers. And this is not just Cervelo. Although there are some brands reporting serious problems, there are also some that see business as usual, just like us.
Shimano is a great example of company that uses extensive testing by pro teams before they go to production. Giant/Highroad-Theckdev is follows the same approach with their new Radical TT design.
It makes sense to me to let pro rides test equipment prior to rolling a product to the masses.
As for the economy, the biggest retailer in north Texas, and probably one of the biggest in the country has way too many 08 bikes. Earlier this year they told me that the 08 stuff will not be discounted due to price increase in 09. In reality, the 08 is heavily discounted and I don’t see much 09 bikes on the floor…
I have no doubt that there is a substantial back order. Cervelo has a very loyal following for good reason and there are plenty of people who would have been willing to put money down sight unseen for a P4. But I stand behind my earlier statements. The global economy is in bad shape and has some fundamental issues that will not be easily resolved. On Meet the Press this morning there was actually some serious discussion about the very real possibility that the US might be forced to nationalize our banks as some European countries have had to do. If you had said that was a possibility even 3 months ago you would have been laughed out of the room.
I have no doubt that Cervelo has not seen big drops in sales. But I seriously doubt that the P4 will be the bike of choice for those considering a Cervelo this year when the P2 and P3 are still available. I know you read the posts on here and I’m sure you have read the comments on the P4 just as I have. I’m not a Cervelo hater at all. In fact, I have lusted over them plenty. But I don’t think that you can argue with the fact that a lot of people think that the P4 is really ugly and not worth the price required to upgrade from a P3. A lot of these comments come from current Cervelo owners and I’m sure that it hurts you guys to see these comments. There are a lot of new bikes coming to market and though the P4 might test the best in the wind tunnell as you mentioned in another post recently consumers aren’t privy to that data. Cervelo has enough good will that people will assume that the P4 IS the fastest bike. But that doesn’t mean that they will upgrade to a P4 from a P3 or that they will choose a P4 over another super bike from a different brand as I did recently.
Obviously you know more about what it costs to bring a bike to market than I do but I would assume that there are significant costs upfront to have molds made and production facilities fitted for a new bike roll out. I would guess that Cervelo has a certain number of bikes that it must sell of a model to justify the costs. The question you guys have to ask yourself is whether the P4 as it is currently configured will sell enough to brake even or if you will have to sell even more of your other models to cover the losses the production of the P4 will incur.
When I was looking at bikes recently I had the P3 on my list and if the geometry had worked I probably would have gone that route. But the P4 was never even a consideration. Of course a good graphics person or a better paint scheme that hides that ugly integrated water bottle might solve the aesthetics problem quite easily. I wish Cervelo the best and I think it is great that you post here often. I just hope you guys are listening to your customers on this one so you don’t take a beating financially with this bike. Good luck!!!
Do you see your business remaining recession-proof/resistant across your lines? I can understand why demand would be healthy for a new product–even one as relatively costly as the P4. But does that hold true for your P1 orders? I would think that your credit-crunched small business distributors might trim back somewhere that you would see.
Thank you Gerard, i appreciate your response.
And, to set the record straight, I love my P2C. It is perfect for me.
Bob
Because Cancellara is still a time-trialing “god” while using a Specialized Transition.
They will not be able to claim the P4 as being the fastest bike on the planet, until they can find a way to find someone who can beat Cancellara. Looks like Specialized is going to have to put an order in for the “little yellow time trial stickers” that dawned the P3’s while under Cancellara.
How can you sell a P4 when you can’t show/prove that it is truly faster than a P3???
I seriously doubt that the P4 will be the bike of choice for those considering a Cervelo this year
It is for me.
I seriously doubt that the P4 will be the bike of choice for those considering a Cervelo this year
It is for me.
Me too! I’m not into leaving “free” time on the table when shopping for a new bike. Doesn’t matter to me what it says on the frame.
I won’t buy a new bike until I win a race overall… but when/if I do the P4 will be on the list I make.
I personally think the P4 is sexy… sexy in a smart-funny Tina Fey way.
A more important question for the Test Team’s performance is how the hell did they not get Sastre in the ~20 man break with Leipheimer? It’s game-set-match for the Test Team in Stage 1. What were they testing? Phelps’ bong?