Tavelo Arow vs Quick Pro AR:ONE vs T1550 Gen 2 vs C5 Aero

[j4m1eb]

Hey all, first post so please be nice.

I've been going round in circles for weeks on what frame to get.
A bit of background, I'm 169cm/70kg race crits and road bike TTs, don't live near mountains. Currently ride a 2020 Propel disc with 13cm stem and 32cm bars and can get a good areo postion and do okay in races.

So as per the title I'm in a toss up between 4 frames, ideally I'd like to get my new build down from my current Propel (7.8kg no pedals)
I have new wheels coming already that should save around 200g off the propel and could/will change to carbon crank, save another 200g?

I can't find the weight of the propel frame and fork anywhere to make an informed decision on whether any of the above would be better.
I love the look of the Tavelo TBH, but youtube makes the AR:ONE sound great too.

Happy for hot takes and or experience of the above

[toxin]

Non-SL propel is a little under 1000g for the painted frame and 400 ish for thr fork

T1500 and its derivatives aren't the most serious aero bikes, I'd only go there if the geo really suits you. They tied a bit more with the c5 aero, but still nothing special

Tavelo design is sound, if you're ok with some very tight tolerances

If going for Quick, might as well wait a couple weeks for ER:One

Might even be able to get an xds AD9 here at some point

[Sander2177]

Non-SL propel is a little under 1000g for the painted frame and 400 ish for thr fork

T1500 and its derivatives aren't the most serious aero bikes, I'd only go there if the geo really suits you. They tied a bit more with the c5 aero, but still nothing special

Tavelo design is sound, if you're ok with some very tight tolerances

If going for Quick, might as well wait a couple weeks for ER:One

Might even be able to get an xds AD9 here at some point

Waiting to see the ER: ONE to have seen a few posts looks good so will be very intretsed to see the specs! oh and the price but i suspect it will be that same as the AR: ONE

[Takiyaki]

If you dont have a lot of hills and are doing stuff like crits and TTs Id almost say to go all in on aero and forget about weight

And as interesting as higher end Chinese frames are...... IMO $1500+ on one is tough when a used big brand frame will cost the same and basically not lose value.

[toxin]

Waiting to see the ER: ONE to have seen a few posts looks good so will be very intretsed to see the specs! oh and the price but i suspect it will be that same as the AR: ONE

It will be more expensive. It's ~130€ more expensive in china and over 300€ more on Cyclegears, who are otherwise comparable to Panda Podium

[j4m1eb]

Non-SL propel is a little under 1000g for the painted frame and 400 ish for thr fork

T1500 and its derivatives aren't the most serious aero bikes, I'd only go there if the geo really suits you. They tied a bit more with the c5 aero, but still nothing special

Tavelo design is sound, if you're ok with some very tight tolerances

If going for Quick, might as well wait a couple weeks for ER:One

Might even be able to get an xds AD9 here at some point

Thanks, that's all very good info. I did see that the ER:ONE was on the horizon but hadn't seen it was that soon.

Isn't that propel weight for the current model? I have the previous one and assumed it was heavier.
I'd keep the propel if it wasn't for the crazy stem.

[patliean1]

Tavelo Arow, T1500 (1st Gen), and 2023 Propel Advanced Pro owner here...

As a legitimate racer, what aspects of your 2020 Propel are you looking to improve upon that one of these newer frames would potentially offer?

I've been summoned against my will to jump back into a season of crit racing for 2025. We shall see. But my weapon of choice is the Tavelo Arow. The geometry works exceptionally well for me, and there is now a Tavelo dealer here in the US whose main focus is supporting the various race teams/athletes using the frameset.

I love the 1st-gen T1500 for it's stiffness. But a few elite racers have mentioned it can be a jarring ride from their perspective. I'd be curious how much Winspace has softened the ride (if any) with the T1550. I doubt it. The Propel is my favorite aero bike of all time. But the Tavelo Arow is basically half the price for very similar riding dynamics, but a more agreeable ride over bad pavement.

Knowing what we know now with all these brands. If I could start all over again would I look into the new QuickPro ER:ONE aero frame over the Tavelo Arow, Winspace, and Propel as a dedicated race bike? The geometry is oddly similar to the Tavelo in my size. It's a very close call to be honest. But the ER:ONE looks great.

[j4m1eb]

As a legitimate racer, what aspects of your 2020 Propel are you looking to improve upon that one of these newer frames would potentially offer?

Hey Pat, glad you've replied as it's your youtube that has sent me down this rabbit hole.
Just getting a pair of wheels from Peter.

TBH I love the old propel, the only real issues for me are the lack of tyre clearance on the rear and the awful stem setup. I managed to get a defy stem to fit a round bar and have some 32cm Chinese bars.

I am still in 2 minds as 2 keep the Propel and fit a carbon crank and new wheels and just carry on as I had it custom painted a couple of years back and it still looks great.

The Tavelo looks like a great alternative if just for the sake of changing bikes. I love the look of Jesse's and my club kit is a white to orange grad so the bike would look great.
I know I know, but I'm a graphic designer so these things matter. Just a little put off by the BB.

In some respects I also just want to do something different as there are too many Tarmac owners around where I live.

Of course the other option is buy the 2025 Propel frame, but it just feels like having the same bike?

Thanks for your insight.

[toxin]

Didn't notice you had the previous gen propel. The current isnt much of an upgrade over last gen. Weight difference is tiny for non-sl and it's not very fast either. Like many, they tried to follow in SL7's footsteps and build a bike that is light and fast and weren't overly successful at either