It kind of kills me to write this, because I bought a really nice bike.
Ultegra gears. FSA compact crank.
Carbon frame.
Cervelo P2, classic triathlon bike, black and red. It’s sleek, smooth and fast.
…and it’s designed to be ridden in aero position.
If you’re not into road biking, aero position means you’re leaning forward on your elbows, forearms horizontal, hands on the middle bars. it’s a crouched position, and it’s extremely forward heavy, meaning the steering becomes hypersensitive because your weight shifts towards the front of the bike. Fantastic for aerodynamics. Considered too unstable for cycling in groups; not allowed for cycling races – designed for triathlon races where single file riding is mandatory.
Amazing bike.
Fast bike.
Terrifying bike.
Buying it, I assumed that I could ride it in regular upright position (see the horn handle-bars also?) and grow into the aero position. But the shifters are only on the aero bars, and the brakes are only on the horn bars. So I can either reach the brakes, or the gears…. and because I’m not comfortable with my ability to control the bike in aero position, it means I’m riding with my hands near the brakes.
So every time I want to shift the bike, I have to pick my hand up off the handle bar, move it over, shift, and move it back. Going uphill in traffic, that’s not my favorite thing to do.
So sometimes (ok, often) I will just let my cadence drop and struggle through the thigh burn rather than move my hand over and shift because I’m worried I might lose control of the bike in traffic.
This means I’m riding really inefficiently, because I’m shifting probably a third as often as I would if my hands were next to the gears.
The other problem I have is that I had the bike fitted for me to ride in aero position, haven’t gotten comfortable there, and so am riding upright and getting a ton of neck pain because it’s not how the bike was fitted or designed to be ridden full time.
SO.
I am looking into buying a road bike. I’m not quite ready to sell my Cervelo P2, because I bought it used and got an AMAZING deal considering the components and frame quality; it’s unlikely I’d find a deal like this again, and it’s fitted perfectly. It might be worth hanging onto it and seeing if I stick with triathlons and work into aero; it won’t depreciate that much more in value if I hang onto it for a bit, but replacement cost could be really high.
I did learn some things from the Cervelo, though.
I love having SPD-SL pedals instead of SPD, I clip in and out so much faster and with less frustration. That was a big deal between borrowing my friend’s bike and buying mine.
If I can add shifting comfortably and reducing my neck pain to clipping in and out comfortably, it’s going to open up a whole new world of biking for me.
Currently my longest bike ride is about 21 miles… and I had to end because my neck hurt, not my legs. I am excited to see what a road bike could do for my neck; it’d be really nice to stop because of my legs instead.
I’ve got my eye on a road bike on Craigslist that I’m going to see Saturday (wish me luck!) and it’s another pretty amazing ride. Fingers crossed it works out… if it’s awesome I’ll consider taking it out a few times and then using it for Tri for a Cure!
We shall see…