New TT bike thread, decision down to groupset and frame

StaggerLee

Okay, so I'm looking at 2 TT bikes:

1. Specialized shiv comp, with sram rival/apex

2. Kuota k-factor, with full Ultegra.

the shiv will cost about €600 more than the Kuota

I have a soft spot for the shiv, but that €600 is going to hurt :rolleyes:

So, in terms of groupset, whats sram like? I've never used it, how does it compare to ultegra?


Then just general opinions on the shiv frame, is it worth the extra money in the long term?

tunney

StaggerLee wrote: »

Okay, so I'm looking at 2 TT bikes:

1. Specialized shiv comp, with sram rival/apex

2. Kuota k-factor, with full Ultegra.

the shiv will cost about €600 more than the Kuota

I have a soft spot for the shiv, but that €600 is going to hurt :rolleyes:

So, in terms of groupset, whats sram like? I've never used it, how does it compare to ultegra?


Then just general opinions on the shiv frame, is it worth the extra money in the long term?

Is the shiv worth the money? Dunno
Is the shiv more than 600 euro superior to the Kuota - definitely

joey100

I have sram on my TT bike and shimano on the road bikes and to be honest can't tell much of a difference. Wouldn't be a huge fan of the shifters on sram road bikes but hard to tell the difference on the TT. As far as I know this years Shiv's (2014) have moved to Shimano parts too.

I'd agree with Tunney, Shiv is definitely a better frame and you can always upgrade the parts or change them later on if you want.

Diamond_25

For a TT bike my main issue would not be SRAM or shimano, you are buying the bike to go fast so my priorities:

1. Can I get aero on the bike in as comfortable a position as possible i.e. does the bike fit me
2. compare aero data between the bikes
3. ease of maintainance - nothing worse than having to fiddle with a bike for hours to solve something small

I would not worry about €600 when making the decision, you are spending a lot so I would rather get what I want rather than settle for 2nd best

Slo_Rida

Can you post pics of the 2 exact models. If its the specialized I'm thinking of it's a disgusting looking piece of equipment. Kuota ain't so bad. Dunno about the technical side of it.
I'm also looking for a TT bike at the minute, lower price range than that though

StaggerLee

Slo_Rida wrote: »

Can you post pics of the 2 exact models. If its the specialized I'm thinking of it's a disgusting looking piece of equipment. Kuota ain't so bad. Dunno about the technical side of it.
I'm also looking for a TT bike at the minute, lower price range than that though

Specialized something like this - http://road-bikes.findthebest.com/l/1557/2013-Specialized-Shiv-Comp-Rival-Mid-Compact

Kuota with nice looking wheels - http://www.kuota.it/bike.php?IDCategoria=2&IDBicicletta=58&IDColore=1


Both look good to me!

Hmmzis

Are you going to use it for triathlons only or also for stage races or other CI sanctioned races?

Reason I'm asking is that I remember reading about the Shiv a while ago and if you're just looking for a Tri machine there is a model specific for that but you would not be allowed to race on that in CI sanctioned TT's (bikes have to be UCI legal).

StaggerLee

Just Triathlon

Slo_Rida

StaggerLee wrote: »

Specialized something like this - http://road-bikes.findthebest.com/l/1557/2013-Specialized-Shiv-Comp-Rival-Mid-Compact

Kuota with nice looking wheels - http://www.kuota.it/bike.php?IDCategoria=2&IDBicicletta=58&IDColore=1


Both look good to me!

The shiv looks ugly to me but yet I'm strangely drawn to it!
Well wear in either case...

Hmmzis

StaggerLee wrote: »

Just Triathlon

The UCI illegal version of the Shiv I'd say in that case.