Need help choosing between 3 Specialized bikes!
 

Good morning everyone.

I need some guidance as I am at some cross roads for purchasing a new to me bike.

I have settled on 3 options and ready to pull the trigger.

I currently ride a 2010 Specialized SL3 Tarmac Expert. I don't do much group riding and am looking to get into triathlons / longer solo rides.

Here are the 3 bikes that I need help deciding between.

Feel free to ask any questions.

2016 S-Works Venge Vias Aero Pro - $1,600

• 2014 Sram red components
• Trimax cranks
• Flow 60 / 80 mm carbon wheels aluminum, rim/d.
• Condition - Fair to good.
  • My worry is this bike sounds like a mix of parts.

2015 S-Works SL5 Dura Ace - $2,200

• Dura Ace package
• Carbon Roval wheels aluminum rim/d
• Fizik saddle
• Condition - Mint

2018 Specialized Tarmac Comp Disc - $2,000

• Enve Stem
• Enve Handlebars
• Enve Wheels
• Enve Seat post
• Specialized upgraded seat.
• Condition - like new.

Due to everyone's input I ended up going with a 2014 Specialized Shiv and quickly after did my first Triathlon.

S-Works Venge

Thanks for the response! That is what I am leaning towards. I don't fully trust the seller, just seems too good to be true. The seller is willing to meet me at a specialized specific store to have a mechanic go through the bike to verify legitimacy and quality.

Sounds like these are all used, I would, without a doubt, do the 2018 specialized tarmac comp with all that Enve. Especially since it's disc, that means the wheels aren't particularly old.

Also, since it's a 2018 model you can be pretty sure it doesn't have a seriously excessive amount of miles on it, unlike some of the others.

This is by far the cleanest bike. I always appreciate a newer, less used bike. It has around 300 miles on it. My hesitation is it being a comp (lesser quality $3k bike new) with a bunch of upgrades compared to a s-works ($9k bike new in 2016, used now).

Weight is also a consideration but i'm not a climber.
Venge runs around 17.6 lb
Tarmac Comp is 18.5 lb (before upgrades)
the S-works tarmac sl5 is around 15 lb.

My current Sl3 Tarmac Expert is around 16.5-17 lb.

If you're looking to get into triathlons, get a tri bike. Road fit versus a proper Tri fit with aerobars constitutes a much larger performance difference than you'll see between two reasonable drop-bar road bikes.

Which one fits best?

If it doesn't fit, then the rest doesn't matter.

Venge if in good condition (price seems good & it's an aero bike, which is nice for triathlons). The thing I don't like about buying used (especially a few years old bike) is that you sometimes don't have the full history. If you do have a good feeling about the bike and its current owner, it's reassuring. You could always ask questions about the ''mix of parts''. Perhaps it has been upgraded over time.

This. If Tri/TT is the goal, then get a Tri/TT bike. I did some TTs this year with clip-ons on an aero bike and it worked, but def wasn't optimal. Having to break aero to shift is a pain. You have a road bike, get the Tri bike and ride both. :thumb: (unless you just want a new road bike, in which case, get both! lol)

ITU tri or normal tri?

I ask because you're getting yourself into some parts swap trouble if buying a bike with OEM aero bars that don't have any OEM provision for adding clip-on bars.

Forget buying a fancy road bike for tri, at all, if you won't run clip-ons on it. I could run my brother in law's 1990 Trek 1100 with clip-on's at the same power and smoke a fancy aero road bike without clip-ons.

ITU, you'd be OK as people make "stem mounted" ITU clip ons.

But for full clip ons you need to consider a model with space on either side of the stem on the handlebars for clip ons..........or get something like an older Propel that had the OEM clip-on provisions.

Otherwise, TT/tri bike is the answer unless you really want to also road-race and do "hammer" rides.

+100 if triathlon is your emphasis. It's going to be difficult to get an optimal TT fit on a road bike because the geometries are so different between a road bike and TT bike (compare the head tube angles). Even if you can overcome that or are willing to live with a road bike fit with aero bars, you'll have to come out of aero position every time you want to shift. Unless you add electronic shifting, but for the price of that upgrade, you could buy a solid, used TT bike.

In terms of good used TT bikes, I would look for a Cervelo P2/P3, Cannondale Slice, or Specialized Shiv. I lean towards Cervelo's because they're pretty easy to work on / adjust (my wife has a P2). You could probably find an older Trek Speed Concept for $2K, which is a very fast bike, but they aren't the easiest bikes to adjust in certain ways.

I'm going to pile on concerning the necessity of a Tri/TT bike if you want to race Tri/TT. (If you want to ride to finish, you don't need anything more than a comfort bike.)

The Tri/TT bike is all about body position. Your body position is the primary determiner of aerodynamic efficiency, not the bike's tube shapes. And you can't get nearly the aero efficient position on a road bike (even with aero bars) that you can with a properly fitted Tri/TT bike. For me, the difference is about 1 to 1.5 mph average over an hour TT -- that's huge.

(In the old days, I would ride my BMC TeamMachine road bike racing triathlons and TTs. In every race where I rode the road bike, I was the fastest road bike. But in every one of those races, I was passed by several guys on triathlon/TT bikes who weren't as fast as me. I got tired of being beaten purely because of the design of my bike. I bought a tri/TT bike and started really competing at the front.)

This.

If it does not fit, you must-a-quit.

Good morning gents,

I took all information into consideration and ended up going the Tri Bike rout.

I purchased a 2014 Shiv in great condition around a month ago, spent a few weeks dialing it in and then competed in a Cal Tri sprint event.

This was a learning experience as I went not to race but to figure everything out for my first triathlon.

Learned a ton and ended up getting 59 out of 356.

Thanks for all the information provided as it definitely changed what I was going for.

Much Appreciated !

Does the 2016 Venge have those dropouts that face slightly forward? [MENTION=364302]Doge[/MENTION] might be able to add a little here.

those dropouts are a dealbreaker IMO.

I don't know about the 2016. I had a 2015. There were two issues. One was under load the wheel would pull out due to angle, and 2 the hardened steel plates on the dropouts made them very difficult to clamp and bite.

Later I think they fixed this. I reported it in May 2015. Specialized ViAS seems to have a similar problem. There was no response from product support or the dealer. I would not buy Specalized again.


“It appears the rear quick release isn't getting an effective bite on the dropouts, and can slip out. Specialized PR manager Katie Sue Gruener said the company is asking all riders with a Venge ViAS rim bike to please stop riding it and contact their local Specialized retailer for a new rear derailleur hanger and a safety inspection.”
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/spec...m-brake-bikes/

we have replaced a few Venge dropouts for customers that purchased them second hand, but I’m not sure what year Specialized fixed the problematic design.

Cost?

Please be careful when riding on the road in this. Those bikes may be slightly faster/more aero, but they are WAY less maneuverable. I do hope you have a regular road bike as well.

Sold my road bike and threw everything into the Tri Bike.

I mostly ride the river bed trail (50 + miles of carless path) and some on Pacific Coast Highway. The section I ride has few lights and a descendent bike lane.