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Best Bike for ME Based on Geometry...
Hey, EN'ers!
I got a Retül Bike Fit last week and pulled that data against a few popular entry level Tri-bikes ($2.5-3K range). Based on my geometry - what feedback do you experts have for me in my decision making? And are there any factors I'm not weighing? Thanks, guys!
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Added Quintanaroo, Argon 18 - and almost forgot Ventum!
@Matthew Goto this is awesome man. I will do a similar for this summer for a new road bike. I've always been a Trek fan and Speed Concept has been a best in class forever.
I have no experience with any of these so besides my voyeuristic watching of this thread I'll be no help. hahah sorry-
I'm interested to see what you choose though
great summary, @Matthew Goto. I'm just trying to understand the table - is this native stack and reach, or is it measured to the pads in all cases?
Absent that information, my votes are QR, Canyon, Ventum, in that order.
What's more revealing is just how much bike you can buy for less than 3G. Today's 105 is an incredible group, and these entry-level bikes surpass superbikes from even 5-8 years ago.
I agree with @Dave Tallo These days you can get a LOT of bike for a fraction of what you could have years ago. And yes the middle of the road group sets (i.e.) 105's are really really good. 105's are basically Ultegra's just a little heavier.
Unless you are a Top 5 (or 3) AG'er (which a lot of us EN'ers are), the gains per $100 or $1000 spent are so slim it doesn't make sense. You are better off dropping some weight and increasing your power/weight ratio.
A lot of guys in Europe ride Canyon and they are so sweet looking.
@Matthew Goto - I've never understood the tables, I am assuming the ones that you don't fully fit, will fit with pad/ cockpit adjustment?
the other thing you may consider is looking at used bikes on places like Facebooks Groups Tri 'n sell it & Online swapmeet. you can find a lot of bikes that are barely used for a great deal. Think of how many people come into this sport, gear up and leave.... @John Withrow is the master of this on ebay and slowtwitch, but isn't on "the facebook" and is missing half the market. He just found a sweet Shiv for Eric Bachman
I'd offer this guy $2,300 (w/ free shipping) if he also includes the Powertap pedals. You'd get a bike that fits you with nice components and sweet wheels and a new powermeter for well under your price range. You run a bit of risk because he has practically no feedback, but PayPal should cover you if it never shows up... I think we might have a few EN'ers in/near Lansing Michigan, so somebody might be willing to go look at it (or buy it) in person. If you save the guy the Paypal fees, he can use it to pay the shipping through Bikeflights...
The BMC looks next closest on your fit sheet. I don't know much about the BMC bikes, but you can buy a Brand New 105 version for $1,999. If you're lusting over this bike, I'd suggest you make them an offer for $1,950 with free shipping and see if they bite. Then if you're dying to spend $3k, you can spend the leftover money on a Powermeter, or new wheels...
@Matthew Goto if you go for the BMC up there that John points out, shop around on FB, ebay & Slowtwitch for wheels. What john is missing is that much of the market has moved to FB where they don't have to pay any fees! you can always opt to add 3% by paying via PP for goods & services & copying in the bike description. this will protect you. Most sellers are fine with that so long as you add the 3% to the agreed pricing.
@John Withrow what's a reasonable price for PT V1 pedals (2 sided and the 1 sided) these days?
@Matthew Goto I've got an older Cervelo P3 51 in the garage all set up and ready to go if you are looking for a budget bike. I even have a dual sided Quarq PM crankset I can put back on it. PM me if you are interested. Its a great bike, I've just been too lazy to sell it.
I find it intersting that your retul has you on a 54 Cervelo P2 and a 51 Ventum. Having the 51 Cervelo and the medium Ventum I can say that the reach was much farther on the P3 than the Ventum. Something doesn't look right there. What is your height?