Over the past month I've been slowly putting together this P2Sl. I've always had a crush on this bike, as well as it's bigger brother, the P3Sl. The P3Sl's are pretty hard to find,(keep in mind this is an 8 year old frame) but I decided that if I ever found my size frame for a decent price in either model, I'd buy it and build it up for fun as a project. The whole idea of this undertaking was to go on the cheap side, but to end up with something that made me excited. I didn't buy the cheapest possible gear I could find, but I did get everything used.
I bought this frame from a friend, along with the fork, 105 derailluers, and Cervelo brakes. None of which would really strike a knowledgable triathlete/cyclist as a the beginnings of a "cool" bike. I received my fair share of jokes and sneers at the humble beginnings, especially because I had chosen an aluminum frame, but I had a vision and pressed ahead.
I kept my eye out for a good deal on aero bars, and got my wish with an awesome set of Easton Attack TT bars that had been cast aside by someone upgraded to next year's model. They have an aggresive look and weigh in at just over a pound! I wrapped them with arundel gecko grip tape, which is, I have to say, the sweetest bar tape I have ever seen.
Rotor cranks come stock on high-level Cervelo's these days so I waited until someone who didn't like them swapped them out for something else and I was able to snatch up the version with the Cervelo logo on it, which is a nice touch. Something to note: I decided to go from 172.5mm cranks to 170mm on the rotors since I knew I would be getting a more aggressive position, and Scott, my boss and fitter, said that would help keep my hip angle open.
The Ultegra pedals, Selle Italia seat, Sram brake levers, and bottle cage were all things I had on my other bikes, or in my box of random parts. The Easton circuit wheelset is on loan at the moment while I try to decide what wheelset would be a best match.
All told the bike tips the scale at 18lbs 4 oz. A respectable weight for any TT bike, let alone an aluminum frame with 105 derailleurs and training wheels.
Future upgrades that I would like to see are a Sram force/red drivetrain and possibly a different seat. But this really came out better than I had imagined, and since I went over my budget a bit, it'll be a while before any upgrades are possible.
I'll update once I've gotten my first ride on it, which should be in about an hour :)
Damian and I just got back from our Tuesday 60 minute recovery ride and we experienced a rare phenomenon in Portland during March. NO RAIN.
computrainer at the training facility to check out the position in the mirror and to use the spin-scan feedback on the computer (see photo) to check for any obvious dead spots or general issues with my pedal stroke. All seemed in order, and I actually felt a little more comfortable from the waist-down than I am on the Plasma. It will take some time for my shoulders to get used to the lower position, but I'm confident it will be fine.
Over the past month I've been slowly putting together this P2Sl. I've always had a crush on this bike, as well as it's bigger brother, the P3Sl. The P3Sl's are pretty hard to find,(keep in mind this is an 8 year old frame) but I decided that if I ever found my size frame for a decent price in either model, I'd buy it and build it up for fun as a project. The whole idea of this undertaking was to go on the cheap side, but to end up with something that made me excited. I didn't buy the cheapest possible gear I could find, but I did get everything used.
Rotor cranks come stock on high-level Cervelo's these days so I waited until someone who didn't like them swapped them out for something else and I was able to snatch up the version with the Cervelo logo on it, which is a nice touch. Something to note: I decided to go from 172.5mm cranks to 170mm on the rotors since I knew I would be getting a more aggressive position, and Scott, my boss and fitter, said that would help keep my hip angle open.
Yesterday the ALounge Pro Team competed in the Desert Triathlon in La Quinta, CA. We've been down in Carlsbad since March 1st getting some warm weather training in. The mileage totals for the ten days that we'll be down here are as follows:
ry well put on and we all had a blast getting in some early season racing, despite being tired from the accumulation of training. Some other pros from the Southern California area showed up, as well as some hotshot local amateurs, so the competition wasn't typical for a "local race". Even so, the Alounge Team swept the podium, Damian was third, and I narrowly beat out Philippe for first. Philippe and I had a great battle on the run, leaving T2 at virtually the same time. He passed me at mile 1, and put on a 30 meter gap, but I slowly closed it back down to take the lead in the last 1/2 mile. We both had a great time, and the crowd seemed to like the close race.