wind tunnel testing showing 6 minute improvement over 112 miles / 180km full distance triathlon distance
2 minutes from upgrading previous 50mm wheels to new 75mm Aeolus RSL
leaving 4 minutes from ‘other’
Because the new bike has integrated food/water systems, I would think one way for Trek to honestly make the 4 minute claim would to make poor aero choices on previous bike and use random Bontrager water bottles and top-tube feed bag. No idea if that would be enough, just talking out loud.
A good chunk of the watt savings comes from the lower rolling resistance of the wheel, per Slowtwitch. Interesting way of measuring watt savings from one bike to another, but I guess comparing “Bought bike A” to “Bought bike B,” that’s how they arrive there.
Yeah, from memory, they ran a range from 3 to 9 months depending on the specific model and time of season. We are also a shop in the boonies that does maybe 2-4 P1 bikes a year, so it’s possible that we get a lower level experience compared to some other shops with more P1 sales.
Definitely not true. Xavier at Aerocoach and Jim Manson at ERO sports have some of the most experience with independent aero testing. They’ve said multiple times that the Cervelo P5 and Speed Concept are still two of the fastest around
In average, now people are keeping their cars at least 12 years.
Most car quality has gone up the last decade or so.
The other day I saw a first generation Ford Focus driving around. Looked in very decent shape. I had a 2002 FF. That was my first car after college (bought 2003).
I started thinking if I would have bought a 20 year old car in 2003 it would have been a 1983 car. Think about that for a second… how much the quality have change from 1983 to 2003… and now…
You can make an analog reference to bike and their technology… a 10 year old bike today is not much more different than a new bike. But a 20 year old bike is MUCH different than a 2011 bike,
12 years seems like a very long time…but I am also looking at it from the worldview of a major metropolitan area. The demographics are obviously going to be different here than more rural areas.
100% disagree here…disc brakes, electronic shifting, improved aero, etc. are all nearly standard on road bikes now. MTB’s have undergone a wholesale shift in geometry and performance during this time, as well.
Fair… I am not as familiar with bike industry as I am with cars… (I start getting into bikes just 5 or 6 years ago).
But my point is…
a 2013 cervelo p5 is as capable now as many newer bikes with they fancy electronic shifters and disc brakes…
but a 2005 bike probably is not as capable as a 2013 bike.
My point: the bike industry is getting to a point where gains are marginal but prices are sky rocketing.
People will probably keep their bike longer now than years pass.
I look at all industry released claims with a skeptical eye. Quintana Roo released a new bike the VPR earlier this month and claimed it was 13 watts faster than the Cervelo P5 disc. Cervelo has said the P5 disc is a little faster than the P5X which Cervelo claimed was 4-7 watts faster than the P5 rim brake. So basically QR is saying their bike is 20-25 watts faster than the P5 rim brake bike.
The thing is, they will do little things to make a bike look better. Like bottle placement or how they store the gels etc. So when feel compares it to the old speed concept, did they have it set up in fastest possible setup? The British TT scene is a good place to look for ‘advice’ as those guys take aero setups seriously and know their stuff
This (as well as the new QR bike) is a fantastic looking bike. But most people could get a lower CDA for thousands less by picking up an older bike and then spending ripe aero testing and optimizing their setup.
