Can the QUINTANA ROO Service Course road bike be the new starting point for newer Triathletes?

So when I was looking at choosing a bike as a “new beginner option,” one bike sort of stuck out. Last year, in Kona, my good buddy Anthony Chan road up to the top of Mauna Kea. He had the Quintana Roo SR and slapped some aero bars on it. At home it was his daily commuter bike. He lived about 20 miles from work, and biking to and from work most days he would get in a lot of extra miles. He also traveled a ton for work, and he loved traveling with a road bike instead of a TT.

Watching him unpack the bike and throw on the aero bars reminded me of just how universal the right road bike can be for athletes.

With all the new beginners in the sport I wanted to take a look back to my roots in triathlon back in 2001. What was my journey like? How, and what, helped me stay interested and engaged? Also, more importantly, how did I afford all of this stuff? Now I know this build is NOT a good example of affordable stuff. But the bike it self is, and with this build I’m multi-tasking other things I need to get reviewed, so don’t kill me just yet.

I did my first triathlon on a road bike. (A Felt.) I did my first IRONMAN on a road bike. (An Aegis.) It wasn’t until a couple of solid years into the sport that I purchased a used tri bike from my buddy, Aaron Asay. (That was a Cannondale.) It wasn’t until a couple of years into the sport, when I was really hooked, that I became a multiple bike owner.

The industry is finally starting to come back to its roots with affordable bikes for the people that want, and need, them. For a while this shit was totally out of control. And, even now, some of the price tags are still, in my opinion, insane. But, like I have said before, if a company has a client that wants to buy it, you can’t knock ’em for selling it. But, I can, and I will knock the company for not having any other options for the rest of the world.

While building up a new bike frame is always fun, it’s also a chore. It’s a lot more complicated than just ordering a bike that is 95% ready to go.

But, once they are set up, you can finally get to the point of the mission. Ride … and ride I have.

According to STRAVA since the end of June I have put eight rides on this bike, for a total of 196.55 miles and 16,014 feet of climbing. Now I know thats not a massive amount of miles, but considering I’m currently testing four other bikes and pretty busy in life, it’s a sold amount of time on one of these frames over the time period. And I think it’s a fair shake at the first thoughts of a review. I have also tested out three head units, and three different sets of wheels on this bike. So, a good amount of time has been spent on this bike. I have ridden in Florida on nothing but flat roads, (so I have traveled with this frame) and in Salt Lake City on some of the biggest climbs near my house.

In thinking of a stating point “new bike” review, I chose the Quintana Roo Service Course. The SR series is what QR considers its ultimate all-rounder. They have two options: the SRSIX and the SRFIVE. The difference is that the SRSIX is a lighter carbon, which means it costs more and is a little bit lighter.

According to QR, the Service Course bike is inspired by their TT bikes. It’s got a much more forward moving design, and the slight geometry differences, combined with the aero fork and head tube, makes this bike want to go forward fast.

Because the geometry for both SR series frames is the same, the choice was between the SR and the SC models. So, let’s dive into some of the numbers around my choice.

Geometry

(Side note: Anytime you try to compare a road bike and a true tri bike the aero geeks are going to bring out their pitch forks. So, with that said, let’s see what I’m working with.)

These photos will give you an idea on what Im talking about.

PR SERIES

Service Course

These chart will also hopefully help you visualize the data that we are working with.

Choices..

So, understanding that for the most part I’m dealing with almost the same set of measurements for the road bikes, the reason I chose the Service Course was based on the aerodynamics of the front end. If I’m going to have a decrease in wheel base (compared to the TT bike), I want to have the best aerodynamics that I can get, not just for CDA but for stability as well. So the increased fork and head tube flare is a good thing. I also have more adjustments in my tool box with the front end head tube. (The way that they measure these includes a aero spacer.) So, 17.1 mm isn’t 100% accurate if you don’t need the aero cap that isn’t required for a couple of TT base bars I’m looking at. And, let’s be honest, if I’m going to slap an aero bar setup on this sucker, I want it to look fast AF. (Like everyone should.)

Service Course on the left (Yellow)

Remember, the point of this is to help people understand that when making a big purchase, they can buy something that they can “move into.” So, in other words, as you progress in the sport, you have a great baseline piece of equipment that, with little upgrades here and there, can progress with you.

The Build I started with

I know, I know. Top of line groupset, $699 handle bar and a super expensive saddle isn’t what the average beginner would buy, but when starting out, I wanted to get as close as possible to an aero setup as I could with my initial build. I still needed to make that work while doing a lot of product testing on this bike that had nothing to do with a TT position. So, I slammed the seat a little forward, and added the CADEX Aero Integrated Handlebar, which I ordered long just for this purpose. (420 mm width, 130 mm length.) The QR was one of the bikes I could get this bar on, and the -10 degree, 130 mm length stem isn’t anything I would normally ride in the mountains (which is where most of my rides are), so for this build, and test, it was nearly perfect.

What this handle bar setup gave me was the reach I needed to be forward. Now that I have a better understanding of the bike, I can start to build out my aero bar set up options. (I have two in mind.)

So far I’m pretty sure I made the right choice of frame and frame size, but that will become 100% clear during phase 2 of this build. So far, though, the math checks out.

The bike itself is great. It’s super comfortable and fast. It is what it claims to be, an aero bike. It’s thicker/stiffer bottom bracket, aero front fork and down tube wants you to go fast in a straight line.

I can easily see why this setup will work well for triathletes, and also be a great option for sprinters on the UCI cycling scene. This is NOT the bike you want to buy if you live in a mountain town and mostly ride hills (like me). The Service Course is meant to go fast – and we will make it go fast. 🙂

And you can get this bike for just under $3,400. You can even get into the PR series for under $3K. So, if we want to talk about something that someone can use for a couple of years, and add on as needed, I think this is a great option.

What’s next?

It’s time to change the saddle, so I can get a little more forward, and start doing some fun stuff with the front end. I’m going to show you everything from the most basic set ups, to the stupid silly. And we’ll also explore how we can make this look like a pro’s bike that is ready to win some big races.

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