Creo SL Comp Carbon EVO vs SL Comp Carbon?

The GRX 800 Series is supposed to be comparable to Ultegra. I think the E5 Creo has a mix of 800 and 600 level GRX components, so I would guess it's a mix of Ultegra and 105.
 
So I rode the Creo Comp Carbon yesterday with the tires from the EVO (38s). I did a 36 mile ride with two good climbs, one about 4.5 miles, the other 7.6, 3,200 ft climbing altogether. Didn't like the ride near as much as with the road tires -at least not going uphill. Downhill it was bomb proof. Uphill I found it harder to keep up a decent cadence and I used higher assist settings than I did last ride on the bike with the tires it came with. Bought it the way it came - with the 28s. Maybe it's just the roadie in me, I don't do that much riding off the pavement and I am not used to the feel of the big tires. Maybe, if I find myself wanting to go off road more as we get into the season, I will invest in some 32s and see how I like them. For now, I'm happy. :)
 
NBS sounds like your preferences are similar to mine. I have wondered what width I'll replace the stock tires with when I wear out this set, but that will take a while. I split my mileage among a number of different bikes so I would guess it's going to take a couple of years before I wear out the tires.

Part of me wants to go with 25s, but then I think maybe 28 or 32 might work. During summer when I ride my Cervelo a lot more I'll be better able to compare. Right now I'm riding the Creo and my Juiced CCS for commuting. With the wet weather we've been getting the Juiced has been seeing more duty lately.
 
I'm back from my test ride I did two rides-one one the Creo Comp E5 aluminum ($6000) and the second ride on the Turbo Creo SL Expert ($10,000). The Expert had a carbon frame, carbon wheels, and Di2 shifting.

The first ride was on the aluminum model. I found the bike to be pretty stiff, but not much stiffer than my Defy Advanced Pro 0. With the front stem shock the front felt fine. The stiff feeling came entirely from the rear.
The second ride was on the carbon model. I could feel the stiffness difference right away. The back end felt more compliant and not as jittery.

What surprised me the most about the two bikes is the difference in power on a very steep hill I went up.
If I had ridden up this hill on my carbon road bike I would have had to stand up in the saddle. With the Aluminum Creo I didn't have to get out of the saddle, but it was far from an easy ride. I knew I had climbed a hill when I got to the top.

When I tackled the same hill with the Creo carbon it felt like the motor had a bit more power. Since the motors are the same I suspect the felt difference was due to the 3 or 4 pound weight difference between the two bikes.
The weight difference definitely made a difference on the steep hill, but wasn't as noticeable on the hills with less of an incline.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with the bike's power on the hills. I guess I was expecting more "oomph", especially the really steep hills. I understand why Specialized went the way they did, but I wish it had a bit more power.

I also didn't like the button for changing levels. One time when I reached over to change the power level a gust of wind hit the bike, causing me to swerve. I thought, "Crap, don't crash this $10,000 bike!" I was wearing fairly thick gloves and I found it hard to press down on the button to switch levels. I'm MUCH prefer a switch up by or on the hoods.
 
I had the same issue with the button the first time I rode it, hated it’s location on the top tube. But in researching other models I found they all do the same thing. If you think that’s annoying, try an Orbea, which has just one button to cycle through all the power modes - including off! I was in Turbo nearing the top of a very steep (18%) hill and when it flattened out a little decided to see how it would feel at the middle setting. But the next push wasn’t eco, it was “off” - yikes! that was a shocker. Practically stopped dead and tipped over. Made it easy to cross that one off the list. You can cycle to “off” on the Creo too, but you have to keep your finger on the button longer than to go between the other 3 modes. Much easier IMHO
I also agree that a little more assist would be nice, but I wanted a bike I could easily wheel around and get in and out of the car so I guess that’s the trade off.
 
Deacon Blues said:
<snip>

What surprised me the most about the two bikes is the difference in power on a very steep hill I went up.
If I had ridden up this hill on my carbon road bike I would have had to stand up in the saddle. With the Aluminum Creo I didn't have to get out of the saddle, but it was far from an easy ride. I knew I had climbed a hill when I got to the top.

When I tackled the same hill with the Creo carbon it felt like the motor had a bit more power. Since the motors are the same I suspect the felt difference was due to the 3 or 4 pound weight difference between the two bikes.
The weight difference definitely made a difference on the steep hill, but wasn't as noticeable on the hills with less of an incline.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with the bike's power on the hills. I guess I was expecting more "oomph", especially the really steep hills. I understand why Specialized went the way they did, but I wish it had a bit more power.

<snip>
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing your experiences. How steep is the hill (% grade), elevation difference, and how long is it? Finally, did you use the default preset in Mission Control?
 
Sorry, I must have missed it. The GRX seems ok, but I'm spoiled by Di2. Three of my bikes are Di2 equipped and I am thinking of upgrading my Comp EVO to Di2.
 
Specialized could allow more power on the climbs but chooses not to. The power is limited to match your output so even if the motor can output 240 watts, if you can produce a sustained 240 watts you won't get full power. If they changed the software to allow say 150% or 200% of the rider's power up hills then that would make a difference, but then of course the small battery would get drained really quickly.
 
I was down to the lowest or second from the lowest gear and on full power (level 3). I guess I was surprised at how much energy I had to put out to get up the hill. I thought the motor would give me more of an electrical boost.

The motor was in the default preset and the climb was only about 100 meters in length.

For a comparison I need to ride the same route with my 18 pound Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0.

I guess I should also mention that a couple of days ago I took out another ebike for a test ride. This one had a peak power of 1600 Watts. :p
 
Deacon Blues said:
I was down to the lowest or second from the lowest gear and on full power (level 3). I guess I was surprised at how much energy I had to put out to get up the hill. I thought the motor would give me more of an electrical boost.

The motor was in the default preset and the climb was only about 100 meters in length.

For a comparison I need to ride the same route with my 18 pound Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0.

I guess I should also mention that a couple of days ago I took out another ebike for a test ride. This one had a peak power of 1600 Watts. :p
Click to expand...
Maybe the Creo SL is not ideal for you if you want more assistance, it was designed that way. The marketing of "It's you, only faster" works for me. A rider still need to put out power, and that's why I love it and has become my exercise machine. I regularly (once a week) climb a route with 28.8% grade and I'm on Sport mode only for that section of about 2km (80% on Eco), no need for Turbo for all routes I've done since buying the Comp EVO.

Good thing there are a lot of choices out there for specific needs or wants. Good luck ;)
 
You're probably right. After riding the Creo I think I'd be happier with something like the Bulls Desert Falcon EVO. Unfortunately, it's not available in Canada.
 
Another thing to remember is the Creo REQUIRES 70rpm cadence to produce full power. Lower cadence greatly reduces power. Unlike my Vado which has lots of low end grunt :)
On a Creo test ride I noticed that if you let the cadence drop to 60 or even 50 on a climb, you loose ground FAST. I usually ride around 70 on flats and often drop to 60 on climbs. I need to modify this behaviour when I get my Creo.
 
rob_s said:
Another thing to remember is the Creo REQUIRES 70rpm cadence to produce full power. Lower cadence greatly reduces power. Unlike my Vado which has lots of low end grunt :)
On a Creo test ride I noticed that if you let the cadence drop to 60 or even 50 on a climb, you loose ground FAST. I usually ride around 70 on flats and often drop to 60 on climbs. I need to modify this behaviour when I get my Creo.
Click to expand...

Now that I think about it that happened to me. I wasn't pedaling very fast going up that steep grade, thinking the motor would do a lot of the work.
 
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