Guerciotti Eureka SHM50 Team CCC Polsat Replica Review

Posted in: Blog, Cycling | Sep 27, 2015 at 3:15 PM

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UPDATES

The Ursus Miura wheels have now arrived. So please click on this link for the review of the bike with the Miura wheels.

INTRODUCTION

I was riding Trek Madone 7 for about a year and a bit and was looking to get a new bike. Speaking to some people in the forums, there is actually not much difference between top-level frames from any brand. It all comes down to geometry and legs. Therefore, I wasn’t looking to spend crazy money anymore on the new bike. My criteria was:
– $5-6k max;
– Top level groupset specifically SRAM Red or Dura-Ace 9000 Mechanical;
– Mid-depth wheels 35-40mm max;
– Top-level frameset.

I’ve been looking around at the popular brands like Cannondale, Specialized, Pinarello, etc and unfortunately, with the combinations above, these brands are way outside of my price range. Either you get cheapo wheels with top-of-the-range (TOTR) groupset or you get mid-level frame with mid-level groupset and wheels. I have also been contemplating to get second hands but I realise that it’s not me. Throughout my past experience in buying/selling items (not just bikes) that I’ve never been happy with settling for second hands.

So my journey continued. As the saying goes, good things come to those who are patient. So I then somehow stumbled upon this brand: Guerciotti Eureka SHM50 offered by Bike Force Docklands. It’s supposed to be a $9k+ bike and they had a 1/2 price promotion running. Brand new, top-of-the-range frameset used by Team CCC Polsat, Dura-Ace 9000 Mechanical with Ursus Miura carbon wheels all for $5,500. Plus, it’s orange colour which corresponds to my business’ corporate branding (and if you notice, my Trek is also orange/black themed).

My eyes were caught to the advertisement and it get me started on my research. Unfortunately, there is somehow not much reviews on the brand let alone the Eureka SHM50 model. Lucky I already had the discussion with the people in the forums prior that all top-level frames – given we have the legs and good geometry fit – will help me producing a great performance. So long story short, I took the risk and made my purchase.

As per writing of this blog article, I have owned the bike for about 2 weeks now and have had a chance to take it to a long hill ride of 172km with 2243m elevation. This is my long review of the bike which hopefully adds a bit more information about the brand/model.

PS: I’m also preparing for Tasmania Cradle Mountain Peaks Challenge that happens in a month time at 1st of November and I’ll be using the bike for it.

PURCHASING EXPERIENCE

This is the first time for me to purchase my bike over-East. Normally I would buy from a local bike shop. I dealt with Mel (the manager) from Bike Force Docklands and have had a pleasurable experience. She and her team replied to all of my emails promptly. One of the people I dealt with initially Reuben resigned half-way and Mel took it over immediately. She replied to my emails and questions very promptly.

There were shipment delays from Italy of the clincher wheels that were supposed to come with the bike and Mel communicated it well to me. I also requested a cut-out saddle instead (which was not the saddle that came with the bike) and Mel was happily switching it over for me.

When the bike arrived in Perth, one of the bar-tape caps went missing. I contacted Mel and she sent a couple of new ones over.

The bike build was also perfect. All cables were cut neatly and most importantly there has never been any miss-shifts or anything like that since the day the bike arrived.

Overall, I’m very happy with the experience of dealing with Bike Force Docklands and would definitely recommend them to my friends.

BIKE SETUP

– Frame: Guerciotti Eureka SHM50 with Team CCC Polsat colour
– Wheels: Campagnolo Shamal Ultra G3 – yes, I haven’t received the Miura wheels yet so I’m using the wheels that I put on my Trek Madone. This should hopefully give an as-close-to-apple-to-apple comparison with the Madone.
– Stem: 100mm Deda not sure which model
– Groupset: Dura-Ace Mechanical 9000 with Ultegra brakes instead of the Tektro
– Handlebar: Deda 42cm not sure which model
– Crankset: Dura-Ace with Rotor Q-Ring QXL chainrings 34/50
– Cassette: Dura Ace 9000 11-28
– Pedal: Crank Brothers Candy 2
– Tires: Michellin Pro 4 Endurance 23mm
– Total weight including rear and front lights and pedals: 7.5kg

RIDER PROFILE

– Gender: Male
– Height: 170cm
– Weight: 74.5kg
– Never race, currently preparing for Tasmania Cradle Mountain Peaks Challenge
– FTP: 220watts according to indoor trainer
– Commuting daily to work ~40km/day + long hill ride on Saturday or Sunday
– Total weekly distance: 200-350km

FIRST RIDE REVIEW

My first ride of the bike was commuting to work. And oh man, this bike is very stiff. I would say that this feels stiffer than my Madone. What I like about it also is the geometry which fits me a lot better. My position is a lot more aggressive than the Madone. I like the straight horizontal top-tube on the Eureka compared to the Madone that tilts up a bit more.

Am I faster? Absolutely not especially the rider hasn’t increased in power; but what the Eureka gives me is the ability for me to push more and provide more power to the crank. Spinning on the flat at 90-100rpm feels a lot easier than my Madone. Could this also be caused by the Rotor QXL chainrings? My Madone runs on SRAM Red round chainring. On my Madone, even though it has been dialed using the exact same Retul Fit measurement, I feel that riding quality isn’t as good.

Climbing and standing on the bike feels a lot better than my Madone. The Eureka feels “thinner” than the Madone. This is amplified especially during climbing and standing. With the Madone it feels a bit bulky. My Madone however is lighter than the Eureka. Madone’s build (including Speedplay Frog titanium pedals) is about 6.7kg. Seems like not much but during the climb I can definitely feel the difference.

The Eureka I notice puts the weight distribution more at the back while the Madone is more centered. So when climbing it may feel a little bit slow on the Eureka; and the heavier weight doesn’t help either. The Madone however feels bulkier so it can feel a bit sluggish, too. Therefore, in terms of climbing quality I still prefer the Eureka than the Madone.

Talking about comfort, Madone is indeed more comfortable than the Eureka. If Madone is 7/10 in terms of comfort, I will say the Eureka is 4-5/10. The Eureka is very efficient machine with no giveaway of comfort whatsoever. If you’re riding on chip-sealed road you will feel every bit of the vibration going through your arm. But on the positive side, the Eureka feels stiffer than the Madone hence giving you the sensation of wanting to give more power to the crank.

Most importantly for me, if you have read my review on Madone 7 on this article here, the Eureka frameset somehow is not much affected by the wind as the Madone! I can ride hands-free no problem while the Madone it’s just not possible. On the Madone, if you’re riding with one arm, you can feel the frame somehow is buffeted by the crosswind.

So in conclusion of my first ride impression on the Eureka, for a good all-rounder the Eureka is still the winner. Please keep reading if you’re interested in the long hill ride experience on the Eureka compared to the Madone.

LONG HILL RIDE REVIEW

So I have now taken both the Eureka and the Madone on the exact same routes:

– Madone – https://www.strava.com/activities/343521903
– Eureka – https://www.strava.com/activities/400260709

Both rides were done using the exact same wheels: Campagnolo Shamal.

Now, before I continue on, please be aware that I’m reviewing solely on the bike and not on the performance. On the Madone I was riding with a friend who was not as strong so I had to wait for him for a lot longer. Therefore, performance may be slow.

With the Eureka, I went for the ride on my own so I could stop and keep going as I liked without waiting for anyone. Therefore, performance may show that I was a lot faster.

The longer I ride the Eureka, the more I fall in love with it. I would say that this bike will stay in my stable for a long period of time. The geometry fits me the best. I’ve had various top-of-the-range bikes from S-Works TArmac, S-Works Roubaix, Giant TCR Advanced, Merida Reacto 909, etc and none of them fit me best like the Eureka. On the Eureka, I started to get sore neck and shoulder at the 8th hour of the ride while on the Madone from the 4th hour I started feeling it. You may say that if the bike is fit properly I wouldn’t get any sore neck. Trust me, I’ve done Retul Fit and both are dialed to my measurements. It’s me who is not flexible. However, on the Eureka at least I don’t suffer as early as the Madone.

Both rides took at least 8 hours to complete. With the Madone it took a bit longer due to me waiting for me friend. Yeah, the whole ride was about 1 hour and 18 minutes in difference. But if you look at the heart rate and power output, it was about the same.

My initial review on the Eureka remains. The bike is not as comfortable as the Madone. The route I did was 90% chip-sealed road so the vibration was more amplified on the Eureka. However, as mentioned earlier, with the Eureka I was able to put down more power. And for the same route I was faster on the Eureka simply because the bike geometry and my body positioning allows me to put down more power. I truly felt it on the day that I must have got some PRs along the way simply because I felt faster compare to my Madone.

I haven’t mentioned anything on descending. I have to say the Madone feels more stable on the descend compared to Eureka. And if I freewheel on both, the Madone would have been faster. I’m sure of it. The Eureka however, allows me to put down more power on the crank. I don’t know if it’s the chainring but on Madone I spent more time freewheeling while on the Eureka I wanted to just keep spinning and spinning. As you can see on both rides, I was faster on the descend purely because of this reason. My legs just wanted to spin more on the Eureka. I truly give credit to the geometry of the bike.

Climbing especially on a long one feels slower and slightly heavier on the Eureka. But the bike feels “thinner” than the Madone so if you’re standing a lot (which I am) it actually feels better. Am I any faster? Well, if you look at the stats I was indeed faster on my Eureka. But this could be because I was waiting for my friend while I was riding on my Madone. I should give Madone a go on a solo ride with the exact same route to really know the performance difference. In the meantime however, I can say that Madone feels lighter but bulkier on climbs while the Eureka is the other way around. My point is, I don’t feel that riding Eureka decreases my climbing performance.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, for an all-rounder bike, I still prefer the Eureka compared to the Madone. The main thing for me is how I can put down more power – hence I can be faster – on the Eureka compared to the Madone. Yes the Eureka may not be the lightest bike around, but the performance gain you’re getting is way more than the Madone. And as I mentioned earlier, this bike will most likely stay in my stable for a long time. My long-time search for “The One” has kind of stopped here.

PS: I can’t wait to ride it with the Ursus wheels and see if they will increase the performance.

PHOTOS

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