Big vs thread - tri bikes and wheels
 

I have a low end aluminum road bike with clip on aerobars (Raleigh Gran Sport 08) and I will be doing sprint, olympic, and maybe one or two half ironmans. I am looking for a bike upgrade and i have narrowed it down to the Cervelo P2, Felt B12, and Orbea Ora. Right now, I'm leaning towards either the felt or the orbea, so does anyone know anything about these bikes and can give me advice? I would also like to buy aero wheels and have heard mixed reviews about the Flashpoint 60/80s, SRAM 60/80s and Hed Jet 60/90. My budget for the wheels is at or under $1500. I have heard that the flashpoints crack easy at the rim, and I have heard that they are bombproof. Oh, and no tubulars, I woud like to stick with clinchers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

First of all I'd say try them all out, figure out which ones fit you, and if you like the way one fits as oppose to another. For some reason Felt's don't quite fit me right, it just feels a bit off, and I love how cervelos fit me. Everyone is different, and fit is the most important thing, if you're going be in more or less the same position for 90k, you want to make sure its pretty much perfect.

As for those three bikes, I'd say the P2 would get you the most bang for you buck. I really like Orbea, but I think when you compare costs to what you're getting Cervelo comes out ahead. As for felt I never really looked into it b/c the fit just wasn't right.

As for wheels I've pretty much always rode on either Zipps (tri/tt), and Mavics (road). If you look around you could probably find a nice pair of '08 404s for under 1500. At the bike show this year I saw a few 404 sets going for 1400-1500 CDN, so if you want to go with zipps you could check into it.

Hope it helps.
~Plewes

+1 on trying the bike. All the bikes you said are great bikes it's primarily going to come down to what fits you. I really wanted a Cervelo but being a taller guy (6'4") the geometry just wasn't ideal. I've got a Felt B12 and absolutely love it. I also just got a HED disc/Jet6 combo (more than your 1500 but not all that much).
Somebody else can correct me but didn't SRAM buy Zipp and the SRAM wheels are essentially the same as the FPs?
Good luck and happy cycling on your new purchase. I just wish it would stop snowing and I could use my bike outside:(
--Sax