“There are people who have no bodies, only heads. And many athletes have no heads, only bodies. A champion is a man who has trained his body and his mind, who has learned to conquer pain for his own purposes. A great athlete is at peace with himself and at peace with the world; he has fulfilled himself. He envies nobody. Wars are caused by people who have not fulfilled themselves.”
I saw an add for Softride with Zipp 404’s for around $2200 on one of the TRi sites. Sell the Zipps for some cheaper aero wheels and outfit it with some good components. My butt and back love my beam bike.
It’s never a no brainer, or everybody would ride a cervelo or they all have no brain, which is kind of bold to assume.
If you have some technical flair and can build you own bike, you can get a lot of bike with 3k$. I’m building a argon18 Mercury with a mix of campagnolo, Oval ConceptsA700 and Velomax TempestII and it will be right around 3000$. That’s out of reach for the P2K, at least if you look at the stock components.
With $3000 to throw around I’d be looking at a pretty trick BP-2 Stealth. A one-piece carbon TT frame with mono-stays and a cheap price. With the extra $2000 bucks you had after getting the frame and a nice fork you could set that ride up real purty.
If you want double-triangle though, the Argon 18 is hands down the sexiest bike on the planet.
Actually we seem to hear quite a bit less even up here about Argon or Guru, both Canadian bikes, than we do Cervelo. Don’t know why, but CSC going with Cervelo is a major coup. Whitfield won Olympic gold on a Guru and I don’t think the company marketed his win as well as they could have. It’s also nice when you can talk direct to Cervelo’s owner on this forum. But it sure sounds like you’re gonna have one heck of a nice bike when it’s finished eh.
QR Santos for $2400. It is a poor man’s Tiphoon (lacks the Dura-Ace and the aero tubes, using 105 and round tubes). I’d spend the additional $600 on a part of a flight to Europe to go race at Roth, Austria, Zofingen, Nice, or the new Half Ironman Monte Carlo !
IF it fits, the Felt S22 is the best deal on the market. 9sp dura ace, carbon-x bars, aero frame, aero post, SWEEEET DEAL, we have sold some B2 and the only difference is the 10 speed DA and the Zipp 404’s. but you can get it for $2200…great deal
Let fit be the single determining factor in your buying decision. Subordinate everything- including price- to fit.
I wager you will be able to get an optimal fit for under $3000 that will result in better performance than a marginal fit at $3000.
Bike fit and positioning is the single most significant factor in performance, and good fit can be had at many price points from $1000 up to the most expensive bikes provided you spare no expense in getting a good bike fitter.
Which bike should you buy? You guys already know the answer-
“Buy the one that fits the best”
If you don’t have a Computrainer, I’d buy one before I’d buy an expensive bike. Or, a PowerTap wheel. Frankly, unless you are a very strong biker already, working the engine pays much bigger dividends than pretty stuff.
Assuming you already have a Computrainer or a PowerTap, I’d buy the new Aegis T2 frame and work from there. (this also assumes you have some decent wheels)
Computrainers are nice they are also expensive. Which you might as well cut your budget in half if you buy one. I suggest you find a GOOD TRI FITTER, that sells Serotta and buy the CXII. Then you will get a custom that fits like it was made for you, oh wait it will be made for you!