The worlds most awesome triahlon bike has gotten even better

I am a Quintana Roo ambassador and sponsored by their Norwegian retailer JBS Sport. For the Norwegians looking for a new triathlon bike and find QR interesting send a message to Jonas (at) jbssport.no or send JBS Sport a message on Facebook. 
 

I honestly think my Quintana Roo PRSix Disc is the most awesome triathlon bike in the world. The aerodynamic, the response and the hassle-free use are the main reasons for my claim. It was totally awesome as it was, but I still choose to upgrade it slightly.

The Enve 7.8 SES is replaced by HED Vanquish 8. My disc wheel is the lightest tubeless-ready disc brake disc in the world, the Specialized Roval 321.

The Xlab aero bottle is replaced by the TorHans VR. From a practical point of view I like the Xlab bottle better, but Matt Hanson, tested the TorHans VR bottle to be 2,4 watts faster on an identical frame. Needless to say, aero triumphs practicality any (race)day 😉 Another bottle change up is an Xlab Gorilla XT cage, the strongest bottle holder you can get, in the rear to ensure I don’t lose a bottle. The King cage in titanium is very good, but I did lose a bottle during a rough patch of the road during Patagonman and can’t let that happen again. I moved the cage in front for a BTA solution.

After using countless hours in not succeeding to set up my tubeless setup I gave up tubeless. The main reason turned out to be a construction fault on the front Enve rim making a leak inevitable, but regardless, it was a pain to set up. Now I run GP5000 clincher tires with Silca latex tubes inside. The front wheel has a 25mm tire which measures 27mm and the disc has a 23mm tire measuring 26mm. It might sound a bit strange, but I measured the 25mm tire as wide as 28mm on the Roval disc making it exceed the width of the rim, which probably is less aero. The aerodynamics of the front wheel with a GP4000 25mm is well tested by HED. 

The biggest upgrade is still the gearing. From a Sram Red eTap 2x to the new Sram Red eTap AXS 1x. Less weight, better aerodynamics, and one component less that can fail. Only win-win, at least if you got the power to push a 50t front and 33 rear combo. You can also get a 48t front chain (and soon a 52t).

The specifications are the following:

Colorful as always 😉
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The 1x drivetrain looks so smooth
50t front combined with a 10t cog in the back gives similar size as a 55 front chain in an 11t cog. That gives very good top speed. Combined with a 33t in the back it’s only slightly heavier than a 39/28t combo. On flat courses, I would prefer a 52t chain in front to be more on the higher tooth cogs to degrease drivetrain friction, so maybe I would have that option as well in the future.
The design of chain and chainring prevents the chain from dropping off, something that is not uncommon on a 2x setup.
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The biggest cog is big and the smallest very small. 10-33.
The Sram XG-1290 cassette is crazy expensive but Sram claims that the one-piece x-dome design makes it more durable than titanium. In that case, you can classify it as an investment 😉
Something I noticed after going away from tubular is that the width written on the tire is not the same as actual width. The Schwalbe Pro One 25mm measured 28mm on the Roval 321 disc exceeding the 105 % rule. For aerodynamic reasons the rim width should be at least 105 % bigger than the measured tire width. For that reason I «only» have a GP5000 23mm tire which measures 25mm.
The HED Vanquish 8 might be the best all-round wheels out there if you can handle it in windy conditions.
The GP5000 in 25mm measures 26mm and fit the rim very well. Inside I got Silca latex tubes. Just as good rolling resistance and just as low weight as the tubeless version, but a ton of saved time used on setting up a tubeless tire.
Having a bottle this much vertical improves my aerodynamic. It also put a big demand on the grip of the bottle holder. Xlab Gorilla XT is the strongest I have found.
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From a visual perspective, I believe you can definitely get better aerobars than Morf-Tech Trifold. From a functional and aerodynamic perspective? I haven’t found any.
With this «bridge» between the pads, I have the option to put a bottler holder on top or below. The later setup is ideal for the super-aero position when sitting on the frame, while the other is better if that is not relevant in a race. Like Ironman Texas or maybe Barcelona. The extensions on the holder are made up with something I found in the metal waste and has the potential for a cleaner look.
Together with my 4-year-old son Jonas we choose a sticker for my bike and ended up with a dead pirate reminding me of «taking no prisoners».
In the brake position, it looks like this.
A name tag is very pro-like, don’t you think?
What a beauty 😀
In action, it looks something like this – Photo: Kristin Flosland Olsen/The Arctic Triple
Or this – Photo: Kristin Flosland Olsen/The Arctic Triple

Publisert av

triallan

I am a 33 year old PRO triatlete. My goal is to swim, bike and run as fast as possible, and enjoy the journey. All my adventures and triathlon related stuff is well documented on this blog.

9 kommentarer til “The worlds most awesome triahlon bike has gotten even better”

    1. Beklager sent svar. Dekktrykk er en egen vitenskap. Det er avhengig av asfalt, våt/tørr veibane og den målte bredden på dekkene. I tillegg til vekt på rytter+sykkel selvsagt. Jeg har 90 psi på GP5000 23mm (25mm målt) bakdekk og 80 psi på GP5000 25mm (27mm målt) fremdekk. Dette er på grei asfalt i tørre forhold. og jeg + sykkel veier ca. 78 kg.

      Svar

  5. Very cool setup. Consider trying a 23 mm GP5000 on the front – it will also expand out to match up with the rim width. I have it on my HED Jet Plus 9 front wheel and it made world of difference compared to a 25 mm GP4000. It now cuts through the wind and has much less instability from cross-winds despite the depth.

    Svar

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