Cervelo P3sl. Well, I’ve got an incredible road bike. The main thing I could do with it is to change the frame. Maybe to a Tarmac SL because it is 200 grams lighter, but in terms of equipment it is pretty much state of the art or the Cervalo R2.5 which lists for $2200 for frame, fork and post. (BTW bikesportmichigan.com is a great site.
The main things left are the usual maintenance that comes from riding your bike too much. I do have to say the new Campy CT compact cranks are great.
- Rebuild the front wheel bearings. Topolinos are great but after three years and all this Seattle rain, its time. I need to learn to do that.
- Rebuild my Speedplay X-1s. They have been great, but I’ve never lubed them regularly. Anyway, one is frozen, so I need to rebuild it.
- New shoes. The Rocket7s look good as lighter weight and custom.
But, in terms of bike lust, what’s a person to do? Well, there are two things, tandems and time trial bikes. So, here’s a review of the best selling triathlon/time trial bike there is, the Cervelo. This bike was bike of year at bicycling.com.
But here are some better in depth reviews:
P3SL. This is aluminum and like Trek’s 5200s and now Madones, they are stock bikes that triathletes use to win all the time. The most important thing is a super low position although incredibly uncomfortably is fast because of the wind resistance reduction. Unlike standard road biking, folks actually have the bars 12.3 centimeters (that’s five inches!) below the saddle.
The tubes are of course incredibly aerodynamic as well. They even have a curved seat tube that goes around the rear wheel. The thing is also designed to work best with a solid disk rear wheel since it create less turbulance.These aren’t light bikes, they weigh 17-18 pounds and they aren’t really expensive:
P3 Team. Has Ultegra 10. $2800
P3SL. Completely jet black and about 100 grams lighter, $3600 with Shimano Dura Ace 10 speed.
P3C This is the new carbon fiber bike. It won best of show at 2004 Interbike. $4400 list price but hard to get. Most important thing is that they tend to run large. So, if you are a 56cm on a traditional bike, then you probably want a 54cm, since in truth its top tube is 56cm center-to-center (the same as a 53cm P3SL by the way). Even, so this reviewer found that he went to a 51cm P3C! It looks good with those Zipp wheels doesn’t it?
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