As I alluded to in my last few posts, I took a Cervelo Soloist Carbon out for a spin a few weeks ago. As it happens, I ran into El Presidente when I was at Bike Authority, and we rode together for a while. He turned me onto the Chippewa Creek Road Race course within the Brecksville Reservation before heading home himself. I tooled around there for a while before heading back to Bike Authority. The climbing was quite nice, though the road with the rollers hadn't been plowed yet, so I didn't get to give it the full workout I wanted, but I still got a good idea of what the bike was like.
I became interested in the Soloist when I found out that, in addition to screaming down the road, it could be set to a more TT/Tri friendly position just by flipping the seat mount. This is especially nice for me, since I race Duathlons and time trials occasionally, but not enough to warrant a specific bike (besides which, I lack the 18 figure income necessary to finance a nice bike for each category). Thanks to the two position seatpost and already aero design of the bike, you only need a set of clip on bars to go own people at a time trial. Or if you don't the bike won't be the excuse.
The first thing that struck me was that this bike is freakin' light. While it's not the lightest on the market, it's way lighter than anything else I've ridden before. Despite this, it's stiff as a board. I tried to get the bottom bracket to flex in the shop the way my aluminum frame does, and it never moved; the BB was as solid as I've ever seen. So far, so good.
The second thing I noticed was how much the Soloist likes to accelerate. Rick took off first on his R3 and I nearly ran him over, so great was the acceleration from the Soloist; definitely way more than I was used to. Even though I was riding a size smaller than I needed (a 56cm instead of a 58), I still had no problem hopping into the big ring and the higher cogs on the back and keeping up with Rick down the hills, up the hills, and on everything in between. The Soloist hugged the curves on the downhills through Brecksville like Michael Jackson would a preteen at Neverland, and responded beautifully whenever I pointed it around a turn. Overall it felt solid, with nary a rattle or vibration, while at the same time remaining light and responsive. Were Elliot Spitzer reviewing this ride, I do believe he would give it at least six out of seven diamonds.
The only downside I noticed to the Soloist was that it comes standard with DuraAce. While that's a plus for most people, I've been riding Campy for the last three years and I'm used to the shifting mechanics of Ergopower levers; in addition, my spare parts, kit specific tools, and other wheelsets are all Campy. Fortunately, Bike Authority has assured me that they can outfit whatever bike I decide to get with anything I want. They, of course, suggested Record, DuraAce or Red, and such a bike certainly deserves the best gruppo money can buy, but we shall see what the pricing comes to and what my budget allows. The next step is for me to try other bikes, including at least one other carbon model of a different brand (the Soloist was my first ever all-carbon bike), as well as try the aluminum Soloist. The aluminum model has the same geometry as the carbon, but it weighs 20% more and costs 40% less; given the already light weight of a carbon Soloist, 20% ain't much. Once that happens, I'll post my results here, hopefully in a more timely fashion than with this test ride. Less than 100 hours until I'm in sunny Los Angeles!!
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3 comments:
stay with campy young jedi. you will never forgive yourself otherwise.
Steiner has the alu version and loves it. But if you have the extra $3-4,000, go for the carbon. I seriously doubt it will ever make the difference between winning and 2nd place. But it might make the last 20 miles of a 70-mile ride more comfortable.
JN
Winning a Reynolds 58 aero wheelset competition is not just about constant trainings that you have to go through. You also need to assure that you are using the best bike ever with excellent wheels that will drive you to success and fame. Choosing for a particular bike that you will use during the competition requires a lot of thinking to avoid regrets in the end. You have to check every part of your bike for you to say that you are prepared to start driving and reach the goal. It doesn’t mean that latest models are better than the old ones. Instead, try to read the product description first to have an idea whether you will go for it or not.
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