Getting a "hill" bike - and afraid I won't ride my new Cervelo p2c!

Willis, I'm not familiar with the particular bike other than reputation, but why not just 'slacken' the angles of the Cervelo a bit?  Get some cheap road bars and brifters and a different stem.  Push that seat BACK on the rails, swap cassettes and presto/chango, a road bike that is 'doable' on the hills.  And it only cost you around $150.00.   Good Luck!

OR-Buy the new bike.  $650 for 105 group stuff is pretty good.  Studies have shown that the formula to determine the correct number of bikes you should own looks, mathmatically like this.....

If X= number of bikes you own now, then...X+1=correct number of bikes.

Cheaper to put a compact.   Cheaper still to put a 12/27.  As Daremo said in the other thread, you won't necessarily be going faster with a compact, just spinning higher.   So I am not sure the new bike is a panacea to make you keep up with your buddies.

IMHO, there's nothing wrong with climbing for a while at 50 rpm in a training ride.  

But if you've got the $$ to spare, a new bike is always good.  No opinion on the bike.

Would I do it?  nope.  I'd buy a Specialized Tarmac

ETA I ride a Litespeed tri bike up those same hills.  Not sure what the aero bars have to do with it, since I don't climb in aero , gearing can be fixed with compact and/or 12/27.  Fit is a bit differentthan a roadie, but I am not convinced that is what's keeping you from keeping up.  I think it's more time /experience in the saddle.   That's just MHO though

I agree with the helpful points above - thanks. I'm aware that I will likely derive no speed benefit from going to easier gearing. I will, however, probably would be able to ride some of those hills (up to Saddle Peak Rd for example) without needing to go all-out and dying near the top. In my current state, I'm actually afraid to ride up that route unless I'm in peak form - it's wayyy too hard for me on my 12-25.

I like the idea of going 12-27. That extra gear will probably help me a LOT; I'm on the 25 for pretty much the entire steeper hill climbs around here, so I suspect the 27 would get serious use from me.

I think I may need to "go cyclist" for awhile to get a lot better, although my x-over ability from running is definitely helping me big time. As is, even with my mashing, I easily dropped all non-cat riders on the last long hill climb, but the 10 cat racers in front were totally out of my league. I was toast after 3 hrs, but those 10 guys went on to do 40 more equally hilly miles. Yowzas. 

Personally I think it would be morally wrong to persuade you NOT to buy a new bike . It looks like a great deal too. And you will still ride your Cervelo in races and probably on some flatter training rides. However, if you find yourself not riding it, PM me and I'll be happy to take it of your hands......

If you buy that bike and like it, you'll only want to upgrade to a kick a$$ road bike worthy to park next to your Cervelo.  I'd recommend saving your ducats for a bike you lust after, especially since you seem to really enjoy riding with the roadies and will soon be able to hang with them on rides.

 Get a 12-27 and try it out.  Still not enough? Get a compact.  You can always sell the parts later on and end up with a minimal outlay for this stopgap measure until you get a road bike.

Well, I'd never tell anyone not to add another bike to their stable!  You can never have enough of them in my opinion (I had 7 at one time).

And the idea of an inexpensive roadie is certainly not a bad thing.

But will you be able to climb better with it?  Looks as if the gearing is right where your P2 is, so in that case probably not.  Would you be better served changing out your gearing on your tri bike?  Probably.

Again ........ an extra bike is not a bad thing!!!  And if you are doing more road riding and even .... gasp .... get the thought in your head to do a road race or a crit. then having a road bike is a must!

My only concern is the size ...... I know you talked about that in your thread in the Gear forum.

If you enjoy group rides, get the road bike.  It's a better choice for riding in a tight group since you want to stay out of aero anyway.  Having the drops as an option (in addition to the different gearing and all that) is useful. 

Then again, I'm like some others and have several bikes.  I love my road bike best, it's easily the most comfortable. But I bought a tri-bike last summer and use it for solo rides and races.  I have a new single speed I'm looking forward to riding for casual, short, jaunts and it's infinitely "cooler".  I also have a beater that I rode mostly for commuting, because I didn't care if it got stolen and it has racks and other commuter-friendly parts.  If you can afford it, new bikes are always a good thing.

As someone with 5 bikes, I am not the right person to ask.  My wife pointed out I was 2 bikes short of having a different bike for each day of the week.

When I told her she just gave me permission to buy 2 more bikes, she back pedaled at an impressive rate!

Back on topic, if riding a road bike is fun for you, go for it.

:::Looks in garage::: I'm in the philosophy of if you use them, you can never have to many bikes!

Well, I emailed Nashbar, and they recommended a small size for me on that bike - and the only size left available is the x-small. Rather than risk it, I'm going to pass on this otherwise ungodly good deal and probably get a 12-27 for climbing. 

It's amazing how fast these bikes multiply, though! I've already got a mtn bike/commuter, and my Cervelo. If I add a road/hill bike and a fixie, that would be 4. I'm going to try to keep it simple for now though - well, until I move into a bigger place! Fortunately, my finances are good, but I do find it really, really hard to pass up spectacular bargains on great hardware like this one. 

You can never have too many bikes...no really. Don't have too many bikes, draw the line at three...okay, maybe four, if you commute too.

A road bike is, some would say an essential addition, especially if you are doing roadie group rides....However! riding more of your tri bike will make you a better rider on your tri bike. Hills should not be a problem. Get a freewheel/cogset with a 27-tooth cog.

I rode my Cervelo Dual and some friends rode their P2Cs through the Canadian Rockies during a three day 110km/day ride. Perfect training for Ironman Canada.

Yes, of course road bikes have the advantage on the hills, but think about who was smiling more when we were riding uphill against the wind!

Oh, and on the mountains the roadies were most greatful and obliging to have the tri-riders pull more than their share on the paceline.

You can still do paceline on a tri bike, just stay off the aerobars and try not to make the roadies nervous...