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I finally have my dream bike!

Mr. Hankey

Mr. Hankey

Monkey
May 13, 2007
280
0
Ohio
I test rode a Cervelo Soloist Carbon two years back, and ever since then I have been lusting for one. Well, I finally gave into temptation a few weeks back, and ordered a NOS 2008 frame set. I built it up last weekend and took her for her maiden voyage on Sunday. It was just as great as I remember. Now I just need to buy my dream groupo to put on it, so I can put this Ultegra back on my Trek. I am thinking Christmas bonus will be spent on Red derailleurs, and shifters. Maybe some KCNC brakes too. I love their cranks, I have them on both of my good weather road bikes. Anyway here she is:


 
James

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Mr. Hankey said:
I test rode a Cervelo Soloist Carbon two years back, and ever since then I have been lusting for one. Well, I finally gave into temptation a few weeks back, and ordered a NOS 2008 frame set. I built it up last weekend and took her for her maiden voyage on Sunday. It was just as great as I remember. Now I just need to buy my dream groupo to put on it, so I can put this Ultegra back on my Trek. I am thinking Christmas bonus will be spent on Red derailleurs, and shifters. Maybe some KCNC brakes too. I love their cranks, I have them on both of my good weather road bikes. Anyway here she is:
Click to expand...
Nice dude!!! I rode an R3SL a while back, and while I wasn't in love, the Soloist seems a bit more "there."
Red stuff will look pretty good on there. What's the weight as is?
How much do you weigh? I will say that the KCNC brakes, while light, are more decoration than actual stopping function. They are completely terrible brakes, at least when it comes to slowing you down.
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,881
4,226
Copenhagen, Denmark
Sweet getting a dream bike is always good. I try not to call anything dream bike as there is alwyas some new around the corner to lust for.
 
Mr. Hankey

Mr. Hankey

Monkey
May 13, 2007
280
0
Ohio
James said:
Nice dude!!! I rode an R3SL a while back, and while I wasn't in love, the Soloist seems a bit more "there."
Red stuff will look pretty good on there. What's the weight as is?
How much do you weigh? I will say that the KCNC brakes, while light, are more decoration than actual stopping function. They are completely terrible brakes, at least when it comes to slowing you down.
Click to expand...


The weight of the bike, is unknown at this point. I am sure it is lighter than my Trek though. The big difference is the stiffness, and the aero aspect. The super light versions seem to be a bit less stiff, but lighter from what I've found, and they leave you about $1500 lighter too. The SLC-SL was the super light version of my bike. It is 200g lighter, but at the expense of some stiffness, despite their claims of it being stiffer. I myself weigh in at 155lbs. currently. I want to get down 10lbs lighter, by race season.

The KCNC brakes from what allot of people say, it is the pads that suck. Once you upgrade them, they get allot better. I am not set on them yet though, I do allot of climbing and descending. I'm also looking at TRPs, and Simkin Designs brakes.

CBJ said:
Sweet getting a dream bike is always good. I try not to call anything dream bike as there is alwyas some new around the corner to lust for.
Click to expand...
That's exactly why I bought this frame. I've been lusting for it for 2 years, and the current model....well I don't like it as much. I prefer the simplicity of the cable routing of the pre 2009 S series Cervelos, and the paint. I waited for two years, but nothing better came around. The 2010 S2(which is the new soloist carbon) is ugly as sin imho, so I don't see anything better coming around anytime soon. Not to mention it is white, and I already have one white bike, and I hate how it looks dirty all the time. I was just happy that our current state of the economy left a 2008 on the shelves for a few years so I could still pick one up new with a warranty.
 
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CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,881
4,226
Copenhagen, Denmark
I kind of did the same. Really liked 2006 Tarmac and got a killer price on a complete used bike.

Amazing you picked up the bike new. And I do agree that is a much better looking version of the bike.
 
Mr. Hankey

Mr. Hankey

Monkey
May 13, 2007
280
0
Ohio
CBJ said:
I kind of did the same. Really liked 2006 Tarmac and got a killer price on a complete used bike.

Amazing you picked up the bike new. And I do agree that is a much better looking version of the bike.
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Ironically the same day I rode the Soloist Carbon. I also rode a 2008 Tarmac SL with Sram Force. It is what made me fall in love with Sram. I like the Tarmac allot, but the BB stiffness of the Soloist was unparalleled with everything I rode. It feels like ever ounce of wattage is going directly to the rear wheel. No loss to flex. That's why I like it allot. If you've ever seen one it is obvious why. The BB area is bigger than any other bike I've ever seen.
 
James

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Mr. Hankey said:
The weight of the bike, is unknown at this point. I am sure it is lighter than my Trek though. The big difference is the stiffness, and the aero aspect. The super light versions seem to be a bit less stiff, but lighter from what I've found, and they leave you about $1500 lighter too. The SLC-SL was the super light version of my bike. It is 200g lighter, but at the expense of some stiffness, despite their claims of it being stiffer. I myself weigh in at 155lbs. currently. I want to get down 10lbs lighter, by race season.

The KCNC brakes from what allot of people say, it is the pads that suck. Once you upgrade them, they get allot better. I am not set on them yet though, I do allot of climbing and descending. I'm also looking at TRPs, and Simkin Designs brakes.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the SL frames are too light, well, at least for someone my size. I have quite a bit of weight on you, I'd like to get down to roughly 200 or so by next season, it's optimistic, but I'll be able to ride all winter here in SoCal. I've been spending my time buying/building bikes, and not enough riding them...

I don't think the problem with the KCNC are just the pads. At 155 you'll probably be able to get away with them, depending on how many hills there are, but honestly there are better brakes out there. I have the machined alloy TRP brakes, and they are pretty damn strong, even for my fat ass. I'd love to rock a set of the new magnesium ones, but I'm cheap, so I'll stick with the brakes I have. My "light" bike needs to use 7900 brakes anyway.
 
ZoRo

ZoRo

Turbo Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
1,224
11
MTL
Nice, but looks oversized! I hope it's stiff as hell. Makes my Marinoni with Columbus tubing look like a kids bike!
 
Mr. Hankey

Mr. Hankey

Monkey
May 13, 2007
280
0
Ohio
ZoRo said:
Nice, but looks oversized! I hope it's stiff as hell. Makes my Marinoni with Columbus tubing look like a kids bike!
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One thing to keep in mine, is the tubes are airfoil shaped for aerodynamics. My 1980s Schwinn Traveler's tubes are actually just as wide believe it or not. It's a tear drop shape, on all the tubes that make them look fat. The Felt AR, and the S series Cervelos are some of the most aero road bikes made.
 
James

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Mr. Hankey said:
One thing to keep in mine, is the tubes are airfoil shaped for aerodynamics. My 1980s Schwinn Traveler's tubes are actually just as wide believe it or not. It's a tear drop shape, on all the tubes that make them look fat. The Felt AR, and the S series Cervelos are some of the most aero road bikes made.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the AR is pretty damn skinny. The downtube really has to flare to at least 2x it's normal width just to fit around the BB...
From the side, big, from the front, skiiiiiiny...
 
Mr. Hankey

Mr. Hankey

Monkey
May 13, 2007
280
0
Ohio
James said:
Yeah, the AR is pretty damn skinny. The downtube really has to flare to at least 2x it's normal width just to fit around the BB...
From the side, big, from the front, skiiiiiiny...
Click to expand...
Exactly, they almost disappear from the front, and back. :thumb:
 
Mr. Hankey

Mr. Hankey

Monkey
May 13, 2007
280
0
Ohio
I rode it yesterday for 40 miles with a friend of mine. It's just as good as my initial test ride felt. Sadly I've gotten a bit out of shape in the last month, but the bike made up for it somewhat. It handles high speed corners ridiculously. It makes me want to corner far faster than logic would allow. The stiffness is great, and it was comfortable as anything I've ever rode. I think that is partially due to the fact I bought a Toupe saddle, and it fits me perfectly. I've never ridden and had zero soreness in that area until yesterday. My legs, on the other hand are sore, and it feels great!
 
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