SL-4 or Venge

Dick Scruttock

Part time cyclist is looking to build a SL-4 or a Venge. Which would people choose, I know it's aero v none aero but are there any other things to consider. I am shit at hills if that effects things?

Will be on some form of DI2, unsure if it will be dura ace or ultegra. DA is the pinnacle, Ultegra is what shimano learnt from DA, changes to the shifters etc. New DA will be along soon, should I think about building it on 7900 and upgrade when the new DI comes out? Decisions decisions.

waterford123

Lend us a tenner

doubledenim

waterford123 wrote:

Lend us a tenner

Helpful contribution. What a pinnacle of the forum you are.


11 speed is the direction DA is going as seen on the spy shots of the Sky bikes. That said you need to ask yourself the improvements over the current DA (which I don't think will be out until at least the end of the year as mechanical will come first). 11 speed, bit lighter? Lighter changing etc etc

Make no bones about it DA both mechanical and di2 is dropping in price.

There will be no point buying 7900 mechanical and expecting to upgrade to 9000 di2 as you will still need to swap out the entire groupset as 9000 is likely to include new chainrings, brakes etc making transmission only upgrade impossible.

So, if you can manage on 10 speed Di2 like me then that's your answer but I would urge you to shop around

ShutUpLegs

Rick Draper wrote:

Part time cyclist is looking to build a SL-4 or a Venge. Which would people choose, I know it's aero v none aero but are there any other things to consider. I am shoot at hills if that effects things?

Whichever one you can get away with the least amount of spacers

waterford123

You're of course right. It wasn't a helpful comment. I'm so sorry to anyone I offended with my off the cuff remark. Hopefully if I prey for redemption my worthless soul will be saved and as I reach the gates of heaven I shall be welcomed in with open arms. Whilst there I shall take the advice of Saint Peter who will no doubt say
"Stay of off forums my child"

ShutUpLegs

waterford123 wrote:

You're of course right. It wasn't a helpful comment. I'm so sorry to anyone I offended with my off the cuff remark. Hopefully if I prey for redemption my worthless soul will be saved and as I reach the gates of heaven I shall be welcomed in with open arms. Whilst there I shall take the advice of Saint Peter who will no doubt say
"Stay of off forums my child"

What you should of said was 'Lend us a tenner for a new set of golf clubs'

speshsteve

I'd go sl4, i'd rather have a climbing focussed bike then aero however the only way is to go have a look at both I guess.

gsk82

i've just bought a canyon cf slx 9.0 sl after deciding that aero wouldn't really benefit me, i just don't ride fast enough or pan flat routes very often.

so on that basis i wouldn't even go electronic based solely on weight. that and ultegra di2 is huge and very ugly. i also expect electronic gearing will be twice as good in two years and anyone who has it now is risking feeling let down.

okgo

Read cervelos 'col du tipping point' aero is best in nearly every situation unless the hill is over 8% or so.

I like the look of both frames. But if money were not an issue I'd buy a venge. There's a nice 56cm black one on eBay for 2k

northpole

Unless (and maybe even if) you are an out and out pro racer, I cannot believe the venge aero properties will make any difference to most riders - your body shape presents a much greater aero problem than the frame ever could. I'm sure both frames are great and, shallow as this may sound, if my heart was set on Spesh, I would decide on the basis of which fits better (not sure if geometries are different) and which has greatest visual appeal.

Re Di, at this point in the electro gear life cycle, it may be an idea to have a look at the eps models available from Campag - unless you are decided on Shimano come what may. Another shallow view but I still cannot get over how awful Shimano have made the ultegra di2 look. No matter how good it may work, that design would never make it onto my bike!

Peter

okgo

Read what I just said. It applies to any half decent rider. Stop thinking you know what you're on about and read the report done by professionals. It's on their website and will show you that aero frames are the best bet for most riding. Cervelo head honcho says the only time you should deviate from aero is if you're riding on the cobbles which is what the R series are for.

cougie

Cervelo may have a teeny bit of interest in these studies ?

Look at a rider on a bike from the front. The rider is the vast majority of the surface area.
Whilst yes you may be able to make one road bike slightly slipperier than another - there's no way the rider would be able to tell any benefit.

If this was the case then it would be one set of bikes dominating racing. It's not. It's the rider. put cav on any pro bike and he'll win.

Someone was on this week talking about his venge. He's selling it as its too much of a performance bike for him. Great for pros but not for mortals ?

okgo

Frankly I found his reasons for selling a tad hard to believe. The sl4 is a pro level bike. Same as the venge. No bike is that amazing that you feel you're holding it back ffs. It only goes as fast as you pedal it!

Anyway the studies are there. Aero is best inmost situations. Yes the rider is the main bulk but why not take a little extra help if you can get it via an aero frame. Same reason you see people with deep wheels. Would you be telling them to forget about It and get a more aero position? Unlikely. And they may not be able to tell, but the watts saved speak for themselves. And you can't argue with that. All about the little things. Same reason cav swapped his helmet for a mon vented one for the sprint the other day. You'd be saying you can't tell the difference. Others can.

P_Tucker

Whichever one you think looks better

greasedscotsman

cougie wrote:

Cervelo may have a teeny bit of interest in these studies ?

Cervelo make non-aero bikes as well. Their most expensive frame, the R5ca isn't an aero frame.

greasedscotsman

P_Tucker wrote:

Whichever one you think looks better

Or track down a shop where you can have a test on both of them. They are both quite expensive frames, I wouldn't just pick one based on what someone says on the interweb.

mroli

Dude - it looks like you are buying a bike for enjoyment and the pleasure of owning it than the performance. In which case, get thee to a high end bike shop and have a play around. Then get what ticks the boxes. Only way to do it.

bristolpete

okgo wrote:

Frankly I found his reasons for selling a tad hard to believe. The sl4 is a pro level bike. Same as the venge. No bike is that amazing that you feel you're holding it back ffs. It only goes as fast as you pedal it!

Anyway the studies are there. Aero is best inmost situations. Yes the rider is the main bulk but why not take a little extra help if you can get it via an aero frame. Same reason you see people with deep wheels. Would you be telling them to forget about It and get a more aero position? Unlikely. And they may not be able to tell, but the watts saved speak for themselves. And you can't argue with that. All about the little things. Same reason cav swapped his helmet for a mon vented one for the sprint the other day. You'd be saying you can't tell the difference. Others can.

That seller was me and unlike a lot of people on various bike forums I invested in one, found it was not the bike I expected nor wanted so I sold it. Yes, I feel that the bike was too good, too stiff and too big as I have said to others that the 14mm extra stand over which in turn makes the frame good at what it does, actually made it feel massive, too big, not for me.

I have since replaced it with an SL4 and the two bikes are chalk and cheese. I much prefer the SL4. I did a solid 100 miles in it yesterday where as the Venge was a sufferfest after 40 miles. And I speak from experience, not fantasy. I never said it was holding me back, you plonker, I said it was too much bike, better than my riding allows and I felt it was unwarranted. Massive difference.

Cheers.