sheddle

What actually are the current groupset prices? Campagnolo doesn't have any listed MSRPs I can find on their sites, and it's surprisingly hard to find reliable data from online dealers.

tomato coupe

Cervelo owners are typecast because it's true; they are, in fact, all owned by people in miscellaneous trades.

aclinjury

ahem! I may not be in the 20s, but yeah I've dropped more than a handful of cat3 crit racers in the mountains, on my Meivici!

Sy Reene

A Di2 Ultegra groupset, which accomplishes the wishes of cyclists to multi-shift with one push in similar manner that Campy Ultrashift has offered for a while, is a little more expensive than a Chorus groupset (using Merlincycles.com as reference).

trainsktg

I have two. A 2008 (I think) P2 with DuraAce mech. (bought used two years ago in Spokane WA off Craigslist for $500) and a 2015 S5 with D12 DuraAce (bought used last year in New Albany OH for many times that). I’m an electrician but trade, although these days I keep a desk in place. The S5 is demonstrably faster that my regular go-to bike, a 2015 Giant TCR (got that one new in Reno).

Keith

Garfield Cat

For dental work, its about cosmetic dentistry where its mostly (but not all) an all cash payment(s). That is the motivation for fast service.

For lawyers, depends on specialty. If personal injury (on contingency), its how fast settlements can be reached.

Thus, is Cervelo "cosmetic" or "contingent"? LOL

livedarklions

Well, speaking for my profession, you go with the bike that can draft on the ambulance.

Garfield Cat

Oh yes, you go with the attorney types that are ambulance chasers!! LOL

Hiro11

I think Cervelo's are great bikes. Still, I think there are several reasons for this company's decline:
1. They were faddish to begin with. They were the "hot" brand about eight years ago, sold for a premium over other brands, had a lot of unique design elements that now look a bit dated (huge logos etc) and were seen as a rich guy's or triathlete's bike. They didn't change with the times and rightly or wrongly, came to be associated with a slightly dated aesthetic. A backlash of some sort was likely inevitable.
2. They lost their key designer and "Steve Jobs" type figure Gerard Vroomen in 2011. The timing of the brand's slow decline in terms of innovation suspiciously started right around then.
3. They've missed a lot of key innovations over the past few years. They didn't have a true gravel bike until recently. They pioneered the aero road bike but quickly fell behind the bigger brands in terms of (the dubious) integration and hyper-clean aesthetics of modern bikes. It's debatable if the integrated/complicated likes of the modern Madone and Venge are truly "better" but the market certainly liked them.
4. They were very visible in the pro peloton ten years ago with prominent teams like CSC, Cervelo Test Team, and Garmin. New they're only an equipment sponsor of Sunweb, one of the most nondescript World Tour teams.

Litespud

And since I don’t speak Italian, I also don’t understand what Italian bike owners say.....

skidder

The above basically has it covered. They were used by the top pro cycling teams and individuals on those teams, so they got a lot of attention. Back on the homefront: It was not unusual to see someone who was a very average rider show up for a group ride with a brand new Cervelo and wax on about how much faster they were gonna be from now on. The eye rolls and guffahs were plenty from those who had to put up with that fantasy banter.

wolfchild

I bet majority of Cervelo owners also play golf, buy overpriced health foods at Whole Foods and own a Tesla or some other exotic luxury automobile.

TakingMyTime

This thread is funny

trainsktg

That would be an interesting poll. Me, I can’t stand pasture pool, shop at Kroger and own among other rides two 4-dr pickups and a 4.0 Wrangler.

Keith

puma1552

I didn't even know Cervelo as a brand had "declined" or been passed up in trendiness by others. I just thought they made good bikes like all the other higher end brands.

HarborBandS

I would add that it's also just a lot easier to find Trek and Specialized dealers in most parts of the country. I don't think Cervelo has much of a LBS footprint.

sheddle

I mainly figured they had transitioned towards the triathlete market since those guys still love them some Cervelos, especially the UCI-illegal models.



I always find it kind of fun about whether or not a pro tour team affects a bike's reputation. Generally with the exception of TT bikes, I figure that most pro team road bikes are roughly equal in quality- it's very rare that you actually hear complaints about one (the last one I remembered was AG2R's "Eddy Merckx" bikes which were changed to rebadged Ridleys after the team complained, and Aqua Blue's attempt to run SRAM 1x on a pro team).

As someone who likes Bianchis, it was nice to see one of them win a Grand Tour, and the very traditional-geometry Argon 18 Gallium is one of my favorite looking bikes currently used by a pro team.

NoWhammies

As a Canadian, I was happy to see Argon 18 bikes on the pro tour. My very firs road bike was an Argon 18. I remember riding the bike around my city and hardly seeing any other Argon bikes. Now? I seem to see them everywhere. I don't know if their presence on the Tour has helped broaden their appeal or if it just's the overall growth of cycling.

sheddle

Hah, from your profile, you've got a BH too. I had a hankering to get one of those simply because I have literally never seen one here, and also because the Basque are cool.