zerogravitas
Senior Retro Guru
Having very much enjoyed Blackbike's thread on building up his TT frame I thought I would share my current journey to a similar goal. I know, I know, "you already have two unfinished project threads" I hear you shout - well, this one is already a rideable bike so it doesn't count. 
Here I plan to explore a bit of the history of the brand and the frame, alongside documenting my restoration and upgrade efforts. Then there will be experimentation with getting my riding position dialled in and of course my experiences riding some TTs!
Most of my other vintage builds just have the goal of being beautiful bikes that ride well, with fitting components. So it is fun to have a project that will have a very clear focus on speed with measurable results! It will of course be as beautiful as I can make it.
I have dabbled with TTs on my road bikes in the past but always wanted a full TT machine. Speed is addictive and the world of TTs is appealing in both the obsessive level you can take every element and also in it's accessibility. With a young family I have no time for road racing or crits, but there are plenty of TTs I can ride, competing to better myself over time.
Here is the bike; a Cervélo P3 from 2003. Cervélo are of course a massive name in road cycling these days, with Visma riding their frames in the Grand Tours and every other dentist being perched on an R5 or S5 with too many spacers. I am a fan, but particularly of their earlier days when Gerard Vroomen and Phil White built the company up, breaking into the triathlon scene in a big way with many innovative ideas in geometry and frame design. My much upgraded Soloist Carbon from 2008 (Team CSC era) is still my main fast road bike, a frame that was hugely influential on the move to aero optimised road frame design through the 2000s-2010s.
I was lucky enough to be given the P3 in the guise you see above by my fantastic neighbour Jason. He raced it for many years in Singapore and Hong Kong, before moving to the UK. It's over 20 years old as I write, but is still stiff, aerodynamic, and with excellent geometry for me and plenty of potential to make a very fast bike. One of the challenges I love in rebuilds and restorations is trying to make the best version of something I can; with some well chosen upgrades, a little restorative work I am confident this chunky old thing will fly.
As I began I had a few choices; I stuck with the 10 speed Ultegra group to begin test rides; it is reliable, works well and has a good enough spread of gears to suit most terrain I'll encounter locally. I stripped the rear derailleur down and rebuilt it as it was a bit sticky but now its smooth and works well.
The Bontrager tubular wheels have come off and I've swapped in my old FFWD F6Rs, a clincher wheelset with a more modern D shaped aero rim profile that I loved on my road bike. Eventually I would like a disc wheel for the rear but that will be after I have some more proper riding under my belt.
I swapped these Shimano pedals for my favoured Look Keos.
The cockpit is one of the biggest areas for improvement - the old round section basebar and relatively wide armrest position will all be upgraded in time. For now though, it is perfect to get used to riding in the aero position and to start playing around with extension positions.
The final big change I had to make was to the post/saddle: Jason is a tall rider at about 6'3" - I am 6ft so had to bring the post down a good distance. The P3 has a long top tube, and this is a 58cm frame so I am running the seatpost clamp flipped into the forward position. Jason's old saddle is an ITM Adamo split nose which was pretty tired but decent enough to try out to see if I liked the style.
After the initial tweaks I was ready to take it out for some test rides, with the bike now looking like this....
More coming soon.
Here I plan to explore a bit of the history of the brand and the frame, alongside documenting my restoration and upgrade efforts. Then there will be experimentation with getting my riding position dialled in and of course my experiences riding some TTs!
Most of my other vintage builds just have the goal of being beautiful bikes that ride well, with fitting components. So it is fun to have a project that will have a very clear focus on speed with measurable results! It will of course be as beautiful as I can make it.
I have dabbled with TTs on my road bikes in the past but always wanted a full TT machine. Speed is addictive and the world of TTs is appealing in both the obsessive level you can take every element and also in it's accessibility. With a young family I have no time for road racing or crits, but there are plenty of TTs I can ride, competing to better myself over time.
Here is the bike; a Cervélo P3 from 2003. Cervélo are of course a massive name in road cycling these days, with Visma riding their frames in the Grand Tours and every other dentist being perched on an R5 or S5 with too many spacers.
I am a fan, but particularly of their earlier days when Gerard Vroomen and Phil White built the company up, breaking into the triathlon scene in a big way with many innovative ideas in geometry and frame design. My much upgraded Soloist Carbon from 2008 (Team CSC era) is still my main fast road bike, a frame that was hugely influential on the move to aero optimised road frame design through the 2000s-2010s.I was lucky enough to be given the P3 in the guise you see above by my fantastic neighbour Jason. He raced it for many years in Singapore and Hong Kong, before moving to the UK. It's over 20 years old as I write, but is still stiff, aerodynamic, and with excellent geometry for me and plenty of potential to make a very fast bike. One of the challenges I love in rebuilds and restorations is trying to make the best version of something I can; with some well chosen upgrades, a little restorative work I am confident this chunky old thing will fly.
As I began I had a few choices; I stuck with the 10 speed Ultegra group to begin test rides; it is reliable, works well and has a good enough spread of gears to suit most terrain I'll encounter locally. I stripped the rear derailleur down and rebuilt it as it was a bit sticky but now its smooth and works well.
The Bontrager tubular wheels have come off and I've swapped in my old FFWD F6Rs, a clincher wheelset with a more modern D shaped aero rim profile that I loved on my road bike. Eventually I would like a disc wheel for the rear but that will be after I have some more proper riding under my belt.
I swapped these Shimano pedals for my favoured Look Keos.
The cockpit is one of the biggest areas for improvement - the old round section basebar and relatively wide armrest position will all be upgraded in time. For now though, it is perfect to get used to riding in the aero position and to start playing around with extension positions.
The final big change I had to make was to the post/saddle: Jason is a tall rider at about 6'3" - I am 6ft so had to bring the post down a good distance. The P3 has a long top tube, and this is a 58cm frame so I am running the seatpost clamp flipped into the forward position. Jason's old saddle is an ITM Adamo split nose which was pretty tired but decent enough to try out to see if I liked the style.
After the initial tweaks I was ready to take it out for some test rides, with the bike now looking like this....
More coming soon.
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I now have some great photos/data to work on position and pacing ready for the next. If I have time I would like to ride one or two more solo events before the season ends.
