Please help!

or go to cyclefit, get fitted, get a glider cyclocross bike.
ideal for commuting.

I've ridden a few triathlons and earlier this term was training with the TT boys from Oxford, and most of them dream about a bike like that.
not necessary until you are at a v. good standard.

or a condor

nothing wrong with the TT stance in traffic..
you'll get from A to A&E in no fucking time. it's his life peeps stop being so judgemental.

when he does buy it stick the Arospok on the front as Fred said. the man knows his bikes...

Bella, is this the same guy in the story you posted a couple of months ago?

If it is, sounds like he can afford to buy this, if he doesn't like it he's got to remeber it's not a normal commuting bike and he should try a more normal one...

If he's that shallow, he might find being spotted on his commute to work enough of a pleasure to outweight any danger/lack of comfort! After all I do wonder how many of the fixie riders on here stick with fixies in the hope they'll stand out from the crowd?! ;-)

Just in case it didn't annoy some of you enough you enough:
***FIXIE
[B][U]FIXIE
[B][U]FIXIE
[B][U]FIXIE
[B][U]FIXIE
[B][U]FIXIE ***
[/U][/B][/U][/B][/U][/B][/U][/B][/U][/B]

Get a decent commuter bike.

Ok, the guy Bella is asking for lives in New Zealand and so is not going to be able to get to any London bike shops. I'm guessing the reason he's now interested in riding is due to Bella's excitement about the bike I'm building for her. She's telling all her friends. :)

So, really it's a long shot, but anyone know any good bike shops in the Auckland area or any good NZ bike companies?

Ta

$1685 GBP!

Call me a bored pedantic teenager but which is it?

Tell him to start with a normal steel roadie. Other than the fact his infatuation with the carbon frame, I can't see any logical reason to buy that beast.

cos carbon fiber frames are where it's at.

I do wonder how many of the fixie riders on here stick with fixies in the hope they'll stand out from the crowd?! ;-)

why don't you start a poll?

Put riser bars and Armadillos on it, should be perfectly suitable for commuting..

I have a Hed which is the same ball park spec as the P3. It weighs 16lbs. is obviously fast and is only meant to go in a straight line at about 37 mph. It's almost impossible to climb a serious gradient with the bars, as there's not enough pulling grip, and full aero position in London traffic means there's a time delay in reaching for the brakes. But take it to somewhere like Hillingdon track and a simile might be the Stig on TG. Not for normal use at all.

BTW Just to annoy Hippy, the Cervelo must be the business as it has Campagnolo!

@belezza the P3 is about to be superseded by the P4 which will probably affect the value.

Bellezza, let us know if all the above comments have managed to persuade your friend or not. I really want him to buy it!

I have a Hed which is the same ball park spec as the P3. It weighs 16lbs. is obviously fast and is only meant to go in a straight line at about 37 mph. It's almost impossible to climb a serious gradient with the bars, as there's not enough pulling grip, and full aero position in London traffic means there's a time delay in reaching for the brakes. But take it to somewhere like Hillingdon track and a simile might be the Stig on TG. Not for normal use at all.

Fiddy, how many bikes DO you have?

10

10

Gis'a couple mista!

Bellezza, while everybody has commented on the potential choice of bike, I have a different perspective. The repeated assertion that your friend would like to use it 'for going to work and for recreation' strongly suggests to me that he doesn't really know what he wants yet--too vague so far.

This also explains why he wants to start with a bike like this, or even why his thoughts seem to be so focused on getting a bike. His skills and knowledge are also important and he should definitely focus on himself a bit more.

Talk some more to him about how long his commute is, what sort of route he would want to take, what riding style he is likely to want to adopt, what places he has at home and at work for securing the bike, what sort of recreational riding he wants to do, what the situation is with cycling generally where he lives, whether there is decent cycle training available, etc.

The best thing he can do is to first of all get in touch with a local cycling organisation, as they will know the place and can give him the best advice. Another shameless plug for the LCC advice section, which is aimed at beginners and a lot of which will apply even in NZ:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?Pageid=111

He should realise that when he starts cycling he can get a lot of help from people who are experienced, and that will save him a lot of hunting around on his own and even contemplating bizarre purchases like a Cervélo time trial bike.

It sounds boring, but the safest option for him is probably just to get a decent hybrid, an investment that can pay off for him for a long time, and as he gets more into cycling, he will be able to try out different bikes and exploring different styles. Fixed or single-speed is obviously one of them and conditions permitting he could of course start out with that--but he's got some way to go in any case.

Good luck to him if money doesn't seem to be a hindrance, but enjoyment of cycling can't necessarily be bought.

thanks again for all your opinions, the overwhelming consensus seems to indicate that the bike is not suitable for his needs although some minor modifications would make it more suitable.

again, his commute will be short and its use will be for basic recreation.

he lives in Auckland and having lived there many years I can confirm the bike shops are crap, many frames and components in stores are not even known, as example, a staff member in a leading store didnt know what a aerospoke was... frightening...when I told him to go ask about a brooklyn frame, they had never heard of it and asked what it was?.... WTF?? this is a leading store in Auckland....

anyway... have passed all yr opinions on and he can make a decsion from there, yr experiances and expertise is appreciated x

To be fair, neither an Aerospoke nor a Brooklyn Machine Works track frame are things that a middle-of-the-road bike shop owner regularly sells, isn't it?

I don't think that the chap that runs the bike shop on Roman Road (my LBS) has heard of these either.

To be fair, neither an Aerospoke nor a Brooklyn Machine Works track frame are things that a middle-of-the-road bike shop owner regularly sells, isn't it?

I don't think that the chap that runs the bike shop on Roman Road (my LBS) has heard of these either.

I wasn't implying that they would stock either but could get them in or know of someone who might stock that caliber of frame/components... the point was they had never heard of them!

what bike store proprietor or staff member hasn't heard of a aerospoke???? I mean come on!!!

or a cannondale r500 r600 or r800

Now why am I under the impression that you used to have one of those?

what bike store proprietor or staff member hasn't heard of a aerospoke???? I mean come on!!!

Quite a handful of them, I mean come on, it's an aerospoke, it's not the best wheel you can buy, and it's usually just for pure appearance reason and the only advantage is that you won't have to worry about the spoke popping.

I would be worry if they never heard of a HED3 3 spoke wheel and/or Merican for instance.

what bike store proprietor or staff member hasn't heard of a aerospoke???? I mean come on!!!

99% of bikes in run of the mill LBSs look like this:

Why would they be worried about specific time trial gear? I mean if you tell them that you want a carbon wheel with aerodynamic spokes they'd probably know what you are talking about.

99% of bikes in run of the mill LBSs look like this:

Why would they be worried about specific time trial gear? I mean if you tell them that you want a carbon wheel with aerodynamic spokes they'd probably know what you are talking about.

I dont use my 2 aerospokes for any TT's