Turbo CREO Comp SL - XS (Updated pics)

[taylorpetie]

My wife's new CREO Comp SL, size XS. Wife loves the bike, mainly because she can now ride with me on longer climbs (and even beat me up the climbs). She uses mode 1 for flats (25% assist and 35% peak) and mode 2 for climbs between 4% and 15% grade (35% power and 50% peak). At 15% grade, she's maintaining 6MPH (9.6kmh). Even with the assist, her heart-rate is still in the 140-150bpm. I enjoy it mainly because she gets to ride with me on routes that I normally would go solo.

Some pics of her bike. Installed Di2 shifters, Di2 XT derailleur, short reach handlebar, s-works seatpost 0-offset, and Terry Butterfly Ti saddle.

 

[Mcm767]

We are twins lol. I got the same bike and could not be happier. If I had known how much I loved this bike I would have got the expert. I do plan to upgrade to Di12 and some carbon wheels down the road, but the bike stores here are swamped for now. Only upgrade for now is a Fizik seat only because I am used to it.

I'm 61 years old, 6'1, and 210. I was a strong B group rider. In December I had a partial knee replacement and the doctor cracked my tibia. It had to be fixed by a new surgeon with a total knee replacement in February. I still cannot stand up in the saddle and hammer yet, but its coming along. I am using mountain bike pedals for a few more weeks as I am not ready for clip ons. Since I got this my knee extension has gotten to zero. It had been stuck at 3-5 degrees in rehab. Its done wonders for my flexibility. As well as my mental state as I had been a little frustrated. Its been a tough road and this puts a big smile on my face just looking at it.

A few random thoughts:

Any doubts I had about range and power quickly disappeared. In Sport I can easily do 22-24 mph on flats which is my happy zone. I love my Trek bikes but their version of this bike had a 20 mph limit. I do 20- 25 miles a day and range is never a worry. I could probably get 40 miles with a 10% reserve in the hills. I got the extra battery for when i start doing rides over 40 miles. If you are a healthy rider you could probably beat Lance Armstrong easily.

Love the light weight. I can drag this around and toss in my SUV like my Madone.

The mode select on the top tube is not a problem as for me it is set and forget. Sport mode is versatile and fine for 90 percent of my ride in rolling hills. I may go to turbo at the bottom of a long hill. And may go to eco in flats to get more exercise. But Sport mode is a blast. Maybe they can find a way to put it in the left shifter and still keep the stealthy look. But not a problem the way it is.

I have the Garmin Edge 530. It picks up three sensors on the bike. One for the bike and two more for power and cadence. I set two of the fields for battery remaining and power. The ride summary actually takes into account assist level for calories burned.

Quiet motor. Seems quieter that the others I demoed. A lower pitched hum and I cannot hear it when am in the 20s. Only the wind noise.

Disc brakes are smooth. Bike shop said no reason to upgrade as they are as good as Ultegras. The stem shack absorber is perfect for the lousy roads in Atlanta. A shock in the seat post is not necessary as it might take away from the stiffness. Plenty smooth.

The only nit I have is the gearing. Most of the time I am in the smallest cogs. I may get around to getting a ten tooth rear and maybe a larger front chain ring if it is doable. But so far it is fine.

Thanks to all who posted here and helped me with this choice. Again, I could not be happier. Worth every penny....Mike

 

[StmbtDave]

A shock in the seat post is not necessary as it might take away from the stiffness.

Take a look at the S-Works carbon seat post. It has an elastomer insert that gives a bit of shock absorption while keeping the stiffness.

 

[NBS]

We are twins lol. I got the same bike and could not be happier. If I had known how much I loved this bike I would have got the expert. I do plan to upgrade to Di12 and some carbon wheels down the road, but the bike stores here are swamped for now.

Mike I feel the same way. If I had known I absolutely would have gotten the Expert as I said to the owner of my LBS as we were having a conversation about upgrading the wheels, which is an issue at present (there is a fair bit of discussion of this topic elsewhere on this forum). I changed out the saddle and got new brake pads but that’s it so far. I have a sweet Trek Emonda that I try to ride at least once a week (mostly out of guilt) but every time I start to climb something on it I wish I had my Creo. I am afraid it is going to end up being a really nice trainer bike
Curious how much use others are getting out of their other bikes.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I mentioned on another thread that before the pandemic I got a chance to ride the Creo Comp E5 and the Expert, back-to-back.
What surprised me the most was that the Expert was noticeably faster up a really steep hill. I didn't think the Comp E5's weight gain (around 4 pounds?) would make that much of a difference.

I loved the Expert's Di2 shifting (I have the same system on my Giant Defy) and really appreciated the Future Shock.

Does anyone know if the Comp E5 comes in red in the US?

 

[abercrombie]

Cool thread, she's a beauty. Seriously thinking of getting the Creo Comp SL in a small or XS. Have a Giant Quick E+ and while I love it, it's just too heavy to carry up to my 2nd story apartment. Plus, with it being heavy it's not nimble nor is the stiff aluminum very comfortable over long rides.

 

[Carolech]

My wife's new CREO Comp SL, size XS. Wife loves the bike, mainly because she can now ride with me on longer climbs (and even beat me up the climbs). She uses mode 1 for flats (25% assist and 35% peak) and mode 2 for climbs between 4% and 15% grade (35% power and 50% peak). At 15% grade, she's maintaining 6MPH (9.6kmh). Even with the assist, her heart-rate is still in the 140-150bpm. I enjoy it mainly because she gets to ride with me on routes that I normally would go solo.

Some pics of her bike. Installed Di2 shifters, Di2 XT derailleur, short reach handlebar, s-works seatpost 0-offset, and Terry Butterfly Ti saddle.

View attachment 56336



View attachment 56338
View attachment 56339View attachment 56340

View attachment 56341

beautifull!!! Enjoy it! I just got my Expert model today!!

 

[mikemcm]

My wife got the Expert SL, size small. Loving it for the same reasons you are. Swapped out the 28's for 38's was the only change. She never got to go out on the long fall gravel rides with me as there are too many hills and too many km's using her Diverge. Creo has been perfect.

 

[matt-h]

My wife has that exact bike on order (in blue--I was hoping she would pick the black as that would match my bike).


Curious about water bottle use. When she tried the demo, she really couldn't pull her water bottle out without difficulty. I think she will need to use a shorty bottle. And it's not clear if even a shorty bottle will fit in a cage on the seat tube. What's been your wife's approach?

Also, curious why you did an after the fact Di2 install. Was the price difference much less than jumping to the version that comes with Di2?

 

[mikemcm]

My wife has that exact bike on order (in blue--I was hoping she would pick the black as that would match my bike).


Curious about water bottle use. When she tried the demo, she really couldn't pull her water bottle out without difficulty. I think she will need to use a shorty bottle. And it's not clear if even a shorty bottle will fit in a cage on the seat tube. What's been your wife's approach?

My wife has the size small. I had to put in side access cages in the creo to fit water bottles. A 21oz can fit in the down tube but need an 18oz or less for the seat tube.

 

[NBS]

I have a Small and I use a standard 20 oz bottle on the down tube in a standard bottle cage with no problem. I can fit the larger 24 oz size on the down tube with a side access cage but its a bit awkward so I really only use it on longer rides where I need extra water and then I stop and use it to top off the down tube bottle. A 20 oz bottle works just fine in both cages, however.

 

[matt-h]

Thanks @mikemcm ! I had not known about side access cages. Turns out Specialized makes a couple (S works $70 USD, composite $25)

 

[mikemcm]

Thanks @mikemcm ! I had not known about side access cages. Turns out Specialized makes a couple (S works $70 USD, composite $25)

i also got one with right access and one with left access. that way access is from the right side for both cages because one is rotated 180 degrees from the other.

 

[taylorpetie]

My wife has that exact bike on order (in blue--I was hoping she would pick the black as that would match my bike).


Curious about water bottle use. When she tried the demo, she really couldn't pull her water bottle out without difficulty. I think she will need to use a shorty bottle. And it's not clear if even a shorty bottle will fit in a cage on the seat tube. What's been your wife's approach?

Also, curious why you did an after the fact Di2 install. Was the price difference much less than jumping to the version that comes with Di2?

Hi, at the moment, my wife only uses the cage on the seat tube for Starbucks green-tea frappuccino medium size cup She mainly uses the downtube cage for her water bottle. But, if you notice in the picture, i had to move the cage down a bit to fit 20oz size. I've been the one carrying the extra bottle if we go out on 50+ mile rides. Eventually, I will need to swap out the seatpost bottle cage for a side access cages...and it would have to be a short bottle.

Regarding Di2: I had an extra set from 2 years back and so in some ways (after some depreciation) there was no additional cost for installing Di2 Plus, the wife didn't like the colors with stock Di2 Turbo Creo.

 

[jodi2]

As I personally don't like Di2, especially with just one shifter, the Comp was the better choice for me. The wheels of the Comp are disappointing, heavy and not very strong for my weight and gravel use. I do better with a Comp and some individual 28 hole wheels from a good wheel builder than with the Expert and still 1000-1500 € below the Expert.
If the Roval Carbon Wheels AND the Di2 suits someone, Expert maybe the better choice.

@taylorpetie Is the shorter stem one of the specialized Future Stem Pro Line or a different one and if so, how did you mount it, as it's not standard 1 1/8 inch?

 

[taylorpetie]

@taylorpetie Is the shorter stem one of the specialized Future Stem Pro Line or a different one and if so, how did you mount it, as it's not standard 1 1/8 inch?

Hi, the stem in the picture came stock with the XS size. However, you can swap out for a different brand/length -- the CREO comes with an adaptor/shim to accommodate the standard 1 1/8 inch stems.

Curious, which wheel builder do you use? I'm looking for one.

 

[jodi2]

>the CREO comes with an adaptor/shim to accommodate the standard 1 1/8 inch stems.

But not in Germany/Europe it seems... :-(

>Curious, which wheel builder do you use? I'm looking for one.

I don't think he's so famous, but I was very happy with his first wheels 1 1/2 years ago. I can give you his name or website, but I guess you won't order from a wheel builder in Germany, would you?
Due to my weight and my gravel use I wanted stronger/stiffer wheels (I guess your wife with XS and on the road does not need this...). A built with some good DT Swiss alloy rims stronger than the db470 would be around 700-800 € with DT350 hubs. But wouldn't save much weight, so I went the expensive carbon way, which adds about 350 € per rim. And DT240, what is quite luxury.
But a light rider for road use can save some weight just with alloy rims like the DT Swiss RR421 and DT350 hubs.
For the rare front axle dimension 12x110 my wheel builder will mix some parts like end caps from different DT Swiss hubs. He says it will not look perfect/one can see that's it's not the original DT240 optics, but it will work and will be light and strong and supported (from him and DT Swiss, maybe not from Specizialized...).

 

[matt-h]

Curious, which wheel builder do you use? I'm looking for one.

I had a wheel built recently, and I really liked the result and the builder. But I'm in the SF Bay Area, and he works for a LBS. Let me know if you want contact info.

 

[taylorpetie]

I had a wheel built recently, and I really liked the result and the builder. But I'm in the SF Bay Area, and he works for a LBS. Let me know if you want contact info.

yes, please.. i'm in SF Bay Area as well. Thanks!

 

[matt-h]

Perfect! Tim Parker at Cycle Sports (Oakland, near Grand Lake Theater). Old school, in the right ways. I also got, when I was looking, a couple other recommendations that looked solid, if you want more.