Simplon Pavo III

[liam7020]

I sold my Scott Addict and a cyclocross bike to buy this little beauty. Didn’t want to spent silly money on the frame which will be used for road racing, sportives and maybe the odd trip abroad. The Campag Record equipment and Fizik seatpost are also new but the rest of the components were already in my garage stash. I opted for a compact chainset mainly because I’m a spinner rather than a pusher and it’s also useful for sportives and foreign trips when you’re not quite sure what’s around the next corner! I built the wheels myself with Planet X 50mm rims, Dati hubs and Sapim CX Ray oval spokes – reasonably light at 1280g and sufficiently rugged for racing on some of the dodgy roads we have here in Ireland.

The frame is a size 55cm and the weight is exactly as advertised on the Simplon website at 840g, with the cut fork coming in at 324g. The total bike weight as pictured is 6.24kg with the Planet X race only tub wheels. For general riding and sportives I’ll be using a pair of IRD Cadence Aero rims again built up with Dati hubs and Sapim CX spokes which will increase the weight by approximately 140g.
I haven’t actually had a chance to ride the bike yet. The evening after I built it up I was out kicking football with my daughter when I tore a quad muscle – not a good injury for a biker! And now I’ve got a bloody chest infection so it might be a week or so before I get a chance to take the Simplon for it’s first run. Enjoy.

BUILD LIST
Frameset – Simplon Pavo III (55cm)
Shifters& Derailleurs – Campag Record 11
Rims – Planet X 50mm carbon tubular (20/24)
Hubs – Dati Superlight
Spokes – Sapim CX Ray with alu nipples
Tubs – Vittoria CX Evo
Skewers – tune DC14
Cassette – Campag Super Record 11 (12-25)
Chainset – Fulcrum RS (50/34)
BB – Fulcrum BB86
Pedals – Look Keo Blade Carbon Ti
Chain – KMC SL 11
Saddle – Prologo Zero Nack
Seatpost – Fizik Cyrano carbon (27.2mm)
Brake callipers – TRP 920SL
Bars – 3T Ergonova (42cm)
Stem – 3T ARX Team (110mm)
Bar tape – Lizard Skin DSP
Headset – Acros Ai69
Headset spacers - FSA
Cages – Zipp carbon

[vladoo]

You have the best carbon bottle cages ever. Enjoy your ride asap.

[Monkeyboy3333]

have you rideen the px50's before? Any good?

[liam7020]

have you rideen the px50's before? Any good?

Raced those wheels last year. Just bought the rims from PX and built them up myself, for the money I couldn't find fault with them. The rims are undoubtedly Chinese but they are nicely finished and were very easy to build up. When I was assembling the Simplon I threw the wheels into the jig just to check the trueness and they were fine. Definite thumbs up!

[Valbrona]

Your levers seem too high. Having trouble reaching ... try a shorter stem and/or some short 'n' shallow bars.

[Blitzenbuddy]

Nice ride...looking forward to your ride report.

[liam7020]

Nice ride...looking forward to your ride report.

Thanks for that. It's looking like it might be a while before I actually get to ride the bike. My physio tells me that this quad tear is a bit more serious than she first thought and it might be another month..... Not a happy camper!

[Fatbiker]

I sold my cyclocross bike

[liam7020]

Your levers seem too high. Having trouble reaching ... try a shorter stem and/or some short 'n' shallow bars.

Nonsense. The levers are fine – like so many others you’re confusing form and function. I positioned the levers for the long haul rather than silly aesthetics. Check out the numerous lads who ride in the pro peleton with a similar lever position. Here’s a few examples:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/photos/pro-bike-jurgen-roelandts-ridley-fenix-classic/259811
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/gallery/pro-bike-gallery-tyler-farrars-cervelo-r5_286874
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/gallery/pro-bike-gallery-luca-paolinis-pink-canyon-ultimate-cf-slx_285506
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/03/news/pro-bike-filippo-pozzatos-merida-reacto-evo_279731
http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/photos/?id=/photos/2007/mar07/dwars07/Tom_Steels

Now if it’s good enough for Jurgen, Tyler, Luca, Filippo, Tom et al then I guess it would certainly be ok for an aging plodder such as myself, don’t you reckon?

[jbaillie]

Yup, and the US National CX champ (and pro Road Rider for Jelly Belly) Jeremy Powers runs his levers even higher: http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/articl ... o-30381/10

Your bike is stunning. Loud, but in a good way.

[liam7020]

Yup, and the US National CX champ (and pro Road Rider for Jelly Belly) Jeremy Powers runs his levers even higher: http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/articl ... o-30381/10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your bike is stunning. Loud, but in a good way.

Thanks for that. Wish I had even half of J Pow's power output!

[Krull]

Hi,
nice bike, settings look really consistent.

btw.: great picture-quality!

[mrcarbonfibre]

Beautiful ride you've got!
Nothing wrong with the lever height, exactly how I'd have them!
Damn good photos aswell. Any upgrades for the future?

[ultyguy]

Nice ride, I really like Simplons, business and purposeful

[PSM]

The M10?