So I’ve done a few 1/2 IM and 1 Full IM (two if Maryland goes down this year). Next year I plan on only doing Olympic Tri’s and starting to try Crits. Right now I ride a Cervelo P2 and my old Felt needs to be replaced.
What’s a good (don’t get divorced) Road bike for Crits?
Thanks
Check out the Specialized Allez Sprint.
Also, FWIW, Giant bikes come with a 2 year replacement warranty on top of the regular lifetime warranty.
I’ve been researching this lately too.
The Allez sprint seems like the way to go. Justin Williams is riding one at the moment as well. That marketing works for me.
Also Cameron Mason recommends it.
A used CAAD frame or older super/system six are solid bang for your bucks.
FWIW, the Allez Sprint is so popular with people who suddenly need a “crit bike” that you can probably get a Tarmac SL6 with time brakes for less…
I’m still baffled as to why anyone needs a different bike for crits. If you race bikes, you crash. I’ve never found race format to make much of a difference, but maybe that’s just me 
Its not that I need a special bike or “crit” bike. All I have is a TT at this point.
Right. Get a good all round road racer. I like the Allez too, but think it’s a bit over hyped. I wanted one myself, but ended up on a Tarmac SL6 for less money and same spec (Albeit used with ~150mi on it, but flawless and $1500 under retail). Zero regrets. My favorite bike I’ve owned.
If you’re on a budget and are buying new I’d go towards alloy, can’t go wrong with a CAAD/Allez/etc. If you’re willing to look used then it opens things up a bit. Honestly, bikes are so good these days the options are wide open.
I’m all about buying second hand. Seems the people with the nicest bikes ride them the least. $1500-$2500 gets you a lot of bike and if you go rim brake, some nice carbon clinchers can be found for cheap.
One can also buy a used Allez if they wanted to go the used route.
Maybe you have a $12000 bike and wouldn’t mind have a $2500 one for races?
Don’t you mean Cam Nicholls?
Sounds like old felt would be ideal, freshen it up with new cables, chain and cassette, and invest in some good tyres.
No…
I thought that was quite an informative video.
My apologies.
Kind of my point. I was used Allez shopping and got an SL6 for less. I’m sure I’d like an Allez, they just seem overpriced to me for what they are. (It wasn’t the carbon that swayed me either. I raced a first gen Cervelo Soloist alloy for years. Even after I was offered a Tarmac to race a while back. Geo was spot on for me.)
If you’re dropping $12k on a bike I’m guessing you can afford repairs if you lay it down, especially if you’re then buying a $2500 second “race” bike. If not, maybe you shouldn’t have spent quite so much in the first place.
If a new bike isn’t out of the question, check out giant with their carbon confidence guarantee. Not a bad deal if you race crits.
I mean if I pull the trigger on a new SuperSix Evo Hi Mod you can be damn sure I’ll race my Cat4 crits on my 2008 SuperSix 1 rather than the new hotness. I’ve seen (and done) too much stupid crap in crits… My couple of longer road events were tame by comparison.
But agree, I wouldn’t buy a bike just to race in my crits, at least not a new one, anyway.
I’m with you on this. I looked around for months for a used Allez Sprint and everything was on the expensive side. I ended up buying a 2015 Cervelo S3 frameset and put a used Shimano 105 on it. All said and done (other than a wheelset) I spent just a little over $800. Hundreds cheaper than going with any of the Allez’s I came across. Probably a bit faster as well
Trek Emonda ALR.
I bought one thinking I would use it only for crits. Fell in love and now my Madone is for sale.
It’s cheap, stiff and fast.
I would say a good alternative is the ribble endurance slr, the frame can be bought for 1750€ in disc or 1550€ on v brakes, as an alternative to the allez. On that price bracket you can also choose a Winspace and pick up some of those wheelsets that have been coming back with super positive reviews