Thinking about a new bike?
So, I sent my stuff into Todd at TTBike and I am gonna have to make some big changes in my bike to make it fit right but could just get a new bike to do the trick. His suggestions were Kestrel 4000, Cervelo P3/4, or maybe a Felt. Anyone with any strong feelings about any of these bikes. I am not to worried about cost but don't want to spend just to spend.
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Jeff,
i have a P3 and it's great, especially if it is destined to fit you properly. looks like a win win for you, with those options.
as for the P3, it has horizontal dropouts and a really wimpy limit screw down there. on many occasions i force one screw in with the force of pedaling and the rear wheel gets skewed to one side and starts to rub. the P4 fixes this with a much better design.
my fix for the p3 problem is to put two nutsin between the frame and the wimpy screw on both sides. this prevents the wimpy screw from being shoved in during a ride.
the only other issue to consider is the cockpit adjustability. the cervelos and the kestrel allow for classic stem and aero bars. i think the felt has an integrated front end and i am not quite sure how adjustable that is.
anyway, good luck with your choices!
GH
I am finding with a power meter I am more powerful in the aerobars with myself more forward on the stem of my seat. I am going in for another fitting next week. Going lower the drop move the seat forward and try a ISM adamo racing saddle.
Best of luck my friend
Jeff, I sent my stuff to Todd also and found him to be very helpful. Listen to what he says. In my case, my set up was decent, but my bike was old and I was envious to get a new one. Everyone bragged about carbon being nicer and I was ready to get a little more agressive posture and defeat some nagging neck stiffness. So, I just bought the P3 and absolutely love it. I am more forward in the cockpit and I bought a ISM saddle and it is the best. I havn't logged any long miles yet, but I can tell that it is going to be my baby for several years. I have been warned about the drop outs but told as long as you're careful you'll be fine. I downloaded all kinds of different frame geometries and studied them for months before I met Todd via EN and was confused and scared to make a huge decision wrongly. I wanted a cool bike, but I wanted one that fit. When I got the bike and gave the mechanic the measurements that Todd sent me, it fit perfectly the first time I sat on it. So, I hope you have a great experience like I did and that you find the perfect ride!!! Can't wait to hear about it. Chap.
One suggestion if you get the P3:
I like the ski-bend bars, and so I didn't even consider switching them out. However, now that I've been on the bike a few years and have moved my position around a bit, there are a few adjustability issues that might be made easier with a slightly different set of bars.
The default P3 bars have adjustable elbow pad pedestals (up and down), but the fore/aft position of the elbow pads and bars is fixed. You move them both together by putting in a new stem. New stem may necessitate new cabling, depending on how much of an adjustment you make.
A set of bars where the pad and bar-end position were also independently adjustable would have been nice.
That said, one of the very NICE things about those bars is that the pad can be very, very low, i.e., the "zero" pedestal position is only a 2.5 mm shim and the cups are very close to the bar.
Just something to look at and consider as you figure out what your position would be on that bike. Not a big deal...and of course all bets are off if you want different extensions or bars for another reason anyway.
I have had no issues with the dropout screws at all. Haven't ever even adjusted them from how I got it. I do really like the horizontal dropout for convenience of removing the wheel. AGain, not a huge deal, but I like this nice detail.
William
almost forgot!
another positive experience with cervelo quality:
P3C #1 flew out of the back of a pick up on the freeway in seattle at 70mph
. no other cars around, so the only impact was the bike to the cement. the rear derraileur hanger, which i s aluminum on the p3 was bent and fortunately no other issues. the aluminum was good enough quality that my expert mechanic was able to bend it back and the integrity was still good. probably wouldn't withstand another re-bend, but survived the impact.
eventually, sold it to my good friend as he has ridden it fine to date with no issues.
P3C #2 crashed with me on it at 35mph
. once again, the rear derraileur hanger bent and no other issues. my expert mechanic bent it back and i am still riding this bike with no issues. by the way, i did break and required surgery.
conclusion: it may be made in taiwan, a critique many Euro-files have against Cervelo, but whomever they contract, they make a strong bike and the materials they use are good quality...at least in my two cases above.
likely the others are top quality also, but i have not crashed those!!!!!!
carbon rear derailleur hangers are lighter, but one fall and the bike is ruined.
my little brother just got a new tri bike and he decided on a cervelo p3, just like me!!!!
good luck.
GH
The Felts are long and low. So keep that in mind. Not that low matters all that much but long does. The top tubes on the Felts are longer than most. It just doesn't fit me the best from a reach perspective. The rest of the bike fits me wonderfully except the reach part which kind of messes up the whole fit to a degree. The best elbow angle I can achieve is 98 degrees. Ideal would be 90 degrees. I need a frame with a more compact top tube to reduce the Superman feel that I get when riding for long durations.