Argon 18 nitrogen experiences.

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Totti
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:48 pm

by Totti

Hey everybody,

i want to buy the Argon 18 Nitrogen. Did anyone got a ride on it or have one? What's your opinion and experiences about it?

Or should i buy the Gallium Pro? Which one would be better?

Any good/bad things about this bike is welcome.
Thanks

by Weenie


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RChevalier
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:27 pm

by RChevalier

Hey Totti,

I have the 2014 Gallium Pro, and the first thing I'd tell you considering this is WW, is that while the frame is super light, the 3D headset feature that it comes with is an absolute pig. My XS frame came in at 822g for the frame with all the bolts and dropout, braze on mount, grommets, etc. The 3D headset, which consists of sleeve , 10mm spacer, and 20mm spacer is over 70g. Combined with the FSA bearings and topcap+compression plug that it comes with, it came in at 204g for the overall headset. You can of course shave all that down significantly (down to 86g). My understanding is the 2015 frames have shaved some weight from the 3D headset but not sure by how much. Seems odd that they would take an otherwise very light frameset and weigh it down with a fat headset system.

I've never had any experience with the Nitrogen but it looks like a nice frame.

tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

How do you like the lower BB drop, is it noticeable? How about other aspects of the ride, comfort, stiffness, etc?

shimmeD
Posts: 544
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:52 pm
Location: eNZed

by shimmeD

I ride a custom steel with a bb drop of 75mm (I also ride 165 cranks).
To me a large bb drop makes sense with a lower centre of gravity. Cornering is not an issue. Only challenge is higher stack, if you want a big seat-handlebar drop.
There is a lack of production bikes with bb drop of more than 70mm, for the discerning :wink: cyclist.
Less is more.

tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

Being tall, I do like the idea of a lower center of gravity. I suppose as long as you know how to corner pedal strikes aren't a huge deal. You'd just have to learn that fine line of what you can pedal through or not for that given setup. The nitrogen looks like a sweet frame.

shimmeD
Posts: 544
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:52 pm
Location: eNZed

by shimmeD

IMO pedals are also getting better in terms of better cornering angles; lollipops do pop to mind too easy.
Less is more.

jrayner4
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:02 am
Location: Shanghai, China
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by jrayner4

I have had a nitrogen for 2 months now. Upgraded from a TCR advanced. I am very pleased so far and was planning to post pics at some point with weights. I use either Bora Ultra 35s or Enve 6.7s. I can try to answer any questions especially as I am now back on familiar roads with it.


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Rex
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:22 pm

by Rex

I'm currently building a Nitrogen, just gathering the pieces together.

Totti
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:48 pm

by Totti

Hey,

what can you say about the Brakes? I've heard that they are really Bad in rainy weather?

spandexboy817
Posts: 172
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:55 am

by spandexboy817

I have actually had both frames a 2014 Gallium pro xl,a gallium pro L, and a 2015 Nitrogen XL. I had a decent amount of overlap this season with the large Gallium Pro and the Nitrogen so I got to take my pick. First off, the newer (2014 on) gallium pro was a huge upgrade from the old one. It dropped a TON of weight (like 200+ grams for the frameset and seatpost), ride quality got even a little better, and the insane stiffness in the front end and bb stayed around.

The nitrogen is definitely an aero bike and I have mine set up like one with ENVE SES cockpit (hoods at 39cm, drops at 44cm) and run 6.7s or 8.9s. The bars are a little funky for climbing out of the saddle on the hoods, but im a fat crit racer, so I try to stay away from those. They took a while to get used to, but I LOVE them now. You can get pretty tight and aero with them. I did choose my gallium pro for a handful of races earlier in the season that had a significant amount of climbing or really crappy roads. The ride quality on the nitrogen is nowhere near the gallium pro, but is still leaps and bounds ahead of my old cervelo SLC-SL which is really the only aero bike I can compare it too. I think stiffness on the nitrogen also takes a little hit, only on the front end. The aero fork is a bit flexier and I can get a little bit of wheel rub on the brakes when cranking on it (I am 180lb cat 1, so not a little guy by any means). I do wish they would beef the fork up a little to deal with this. BB stiffness still feels really, really solid.

So I guess it depends on what you really want to do with it. Neither bike clears 28mms properly on wide rims which is a bit of a bummer, but I also did an insane 80 mile gravel grinder on my nitrogen with enve wheels because why not? I did get a lot of double takes on that one. It held up totally fine and I have been racing the crap out of it this year (62 races so far and about to do the Gateway cup and a 14 day stage race in China which will put it up to 80!) and I am a huge far of it. It rolls really well. Like really really well. It probably isn't the most aero bike out there, but it delivers a very good combination of aero, stiffness, and ride quality that a lot of other aero bikes just dont have.

The integrated-ish trp brakes work quite well. Kind of a pain to set up (especially with the SES bars, holy crap), but they work well enough (not on par with shimano/sram offerings, but not super far off). Seatpost provides a good amount of versatility to the point where one of my silly teammates even races tris on it and just flips the seatpost head.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to answer.... Just rambling now...

defride
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri May 09, 2014 4:26 pm

by defride

Well timed thread for me, hope you don't mind me chipping in?

Great reply spandex, nice to hear a comparison from someone well versed in both bikes.

I've just ordered a 2016 Gallium Pro frame. Debated on the Nitrogen, the new Nitrogen Pro is a stretch to far.

From your description it sounds like I've made the right choice, my riding is mostly short, mile to mile and a half steep climbs in rolling hills, more sportive at the front of the field than racer though I'll likely do a little racing next year, mix of road and possibly one or two crits. I could convert the order if there was a good reason to go with a Nitrogen, based on my description do you think there's any reason why I might want to?

jrayner4
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:02 am
Location: Shanghai, China
Contact:

by jrayner4

I have not any real issues with the brakes. So I wouldn't let that put you off. Pads and rims seem to have more influence on stopping.


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Rex
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:22 pm

by Rex

Thanks for that review spandex, really encouraging.

I put my order in for some Zipp SL-70 Aero bars to match my Nitrogen so hopefully I won't have cable issues.
What in particular was the problem you had with the SES bars? I've heard they're a tight fit for brake + di2 internal cables?

Did you notice the drop in BB ?

by Weenie


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Totti
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:48 pm

by Totti

Thanks for the great review spandex. It was very helpful.

I live in the Alpine foreland. So on the one side there are big mountains with steep climbs and on the other side the roads are up and downs. Which bike could you recommend? My other choices would be the Cervelo R3 and the BMC Timemachine TMR01. But the Argon 18 looks like a good combination of both worlds. Is it right?

Could you post some pics of the Bike?

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