So, I treated myself to the TP Total Body Package from TP Therapy this week.

In a word – “OUCH“!

In two words – “!@#$ing OUCH“!

But hopefully it keeps my legs healthy this season.

I crunched the numbers, sent emails back and forth with Bolder, the LBS, and even got a reply from one of the guys at Cervelo. And I ended up with:

But it’s not going to work. Using the geometry measurements on Cervelo’s website, the bike should fit but it just doesn’t. I should have guessed based on the feedback that Bolder gave me about his and from what I’ve read about the bike. But the OCD in me wanted to believe in the official numbers posted that things would work.

For those that are interested, I took some pictures so you can see where the fit is causing me problems. I lined the bikes up side by side such that the bottom brackets were aligned:

The following is a picture of the seat posts in the forward 78 degree position. You can see that the clamp area of the seat post on the P3 is further forward than that of the P3C:

And another picture at the steerer tube. You can see that the tube of the P3C is physically more forward on the P3C than it is on the P3:

So effectively, the bike is just slightly longer in both directions. I’m already slid all the way forward on the rails of my current saddle on the P3 so there’s no room for adjustment there. And I’m already on a 90mm stem and would need shorter than a 70mm stem to make things work which just isn’t right.

The LBS doesn’t have a 51 in stock, nor will they be getting one anytime soon so I may just end up on the Tiphoon after all, which I’m totally fine with. It is cheaper at close out prices for what’s a more expensive retail priced frame. And I was pretty torn between the two anyway – the P3C does have sex appeal, but the Tiphoon gives you all those wonderful benefts of titanium. More importantly, the fact that the Tiphoon fits makes the decision a no brainer.

So… it’s back to the bike shop for me again today. I think I’ve been there almost everday in the past week! That has to be some kind of record, even for me. :)

EDIT: Ugh. A 51 P3C is coming on the 28th. Just when I thought that the decision had been made for me, now I have to pick all over again. Bleh.

A few days ago, I posted about switching chain lube and trying out White Lightning original. It’s a wax based, patented formula that claims to keep your drivetrain clean by trapping dirt in the wax and shedding this dirt off like a snake would its skin. It also has the added benefit of keeping your legs free from black marks when you accidentally rub up against your chain. I bought some a while ago but didn’t end up using it because of some negative reviews some other folks had given it. But I was bored and wanted to try something new so I figured I’d give it a shot.

(more…)

Well, I have a few rides on my saddle, so I can I can write my review. I basically decided to switch from the San Marco Azoto saddle to something new because I figured my old saddles padding was getting a little worn down by now and frankly just because I wanted to try something new. I get bored with things pretty quickly so am always looking for something to change out to keep things fresh. A friend of mine also recently broke his rails on his Azoto saddle and I’ve read reports of many others doing the same. I figured this was a good opportunity for a little preventative maintenance.

The first thing that intrigued me with this saddle was that it had a cut-out. Actually, I take that back. The first thing that I noticed about the saddle was the price. A quick online search and I could get the saddle for about $70!! Compared to $130 of many of the other competitors on the market, this seemed like a dream. And the saddle comes with a warranty for a few years. It doesn’t say if the rails are covered or not, but I know for certain that San Marco doesn’t cover their rails in their warranty (if they even have a warranty). For $130, you’d think that you’d be buying at least some protection? But anyway, back to the cut-out… my Azoto (really, the only other saddle that I’ve ridden for any significant amount of time) caused me some numbness and tingling when riding, especially while riding on the trainer. I wanted to try a saddle with a cut-out to see if that helped to alleviate the problem.

The saddle itself is quite long. I’d say almost an inch longer from end to end than the Azoto. It is also longer vertically from the rails to the top of the saddle so I was well served in taking numerous measurements before I swapped my saddle out. There also seems to be slightly more rail play when adjusting the saddle forward (I’m not sure about if you ride with the saddle in a slack position [forward on the rails] because I don’t ride that way). There was plenty of room to get me nice and steep on my P3.

Another difference between this saddle and my Azoto is that it’s flat across the top. I really like this feature of the saddle. With the Azoto, if I would try and scoot back to have more of my weight distributed across the back of the saddle, the saddle would end up being too high for my natural pedal stroke and it would end up pushing me forward anyway due to the tilt. The Tri-Stryke has no such angle and allows me to scoot back and be more supported on my sit bones. It still obviously causes my pedal stroke to be lengthened by moving back, but not double so like the Azoto (moving back and up at the same time).

The tip of the saddle is very thick. Most people think that the Azoto saddle is wide enough at the nose, but it has nothing on this saddle. The Tri-Stryke is far wider at the nose than any other tri or road saddle that I’ve seen. This doesn’t really bother me though. My thighs do touch the nose a little when I pedal, but between my shorts and the slick neoprene cover of the Tri-Stryke, this doesn’t really cause any problems.

But for the meat of things, how does it ride? Well, saddles are very much a personal thing. But I can say that this saddle seems to work out for me pretty darn well. The cut-out hasn’t really eliminated the tingling in my nether region, but it does seem a little better. I really think the numbness has more to do with my bike shorts itself, but I digress. For whatever reason be it the cut-out, the extra padding on the nose, the flatter top of the saddle, the Tri-Stryke saddle does one thing for me. It allows me to sit in my aero position more comfortably and for a longer period of time. And for the ten hours or so a week that I currently sit on my saddle, $70 is a small price to pay for a little extra comfort.