Crash716

to temp replace the fuji till the warranty comes through on the new frame.

I rented it from Nytro, great guys there very helpful and they fit the bike to ya, highly recommend the rental department at least, and cause i forgot my socks they guy threw a pair in

...ok here goes the bashing!!! ..George here's your shot...CLEAN YOUR RENTAL BIKES...respect the cervelos!!! The drivetrain and bike itself were fithly...

Got it home and cleaned it for like 2 hours almost, I should get a free day of rental for that!!!

ummm...let me see...swapped out the seat (there was a seat for elderly ladies on it) and put my rims on it, mounted the computer, flipped the stem and turned the bars up a hair, raised the seat and off i go.

first impressions....speed...the bike seems to have it in aces...i can't imagine what the carbon soloist is like. every pedal stroke seemed to result in a lunge forward. so yeah...it pedals nice even with the crappy crank on it, it's also a compact which i DO NOT LIKE.

so if you ride in a straight and wiggle the handlebars there is allot of movement in the top tube and headset resulting in what seems to be vague steering in corners..not great for crits...not even close to as stiff as my Fuji...um...what else...yeah it's aluminum so i imagine long rides might hurt a bit more.

Overall it seems quite nice and should do well tomorrow in the race...we'll see...can you say a little prayer for me not to chuck it down the road as i DO NOT WANT TO BUY a used beat up rental for the same price as a nice new shiney soloist!!

Chucklehead

just pretend you're ben for one race, but don't move forward when you get down to laps.

buck65

very interesting...thanks for sharing.

kuwahara

sorry my bad.

thx for the report

DaveSANYYZ

Did you rented a 51cm? That's what my bro-in-law rented a few months ago. It's got a ladies' Terry saddle on it as well as FSA compact; rest ultegra. Other than that, the brakes on those felt quite a bit stronger than the ultegra that I have on my bikes.

markg

I have a hard time believing that! My Soloist at least has the crummy OEM-branded Tektro brakes. It did get a little better when I replaced the pads with Dura-Ace pads, but they still feel spongier than the Ultegra's on my Specialized Transition.

Crash716

I rented one of the 56cm ones. I usually ride a 54 with a 100mm stem and i have long legs, so we put a 80mm stem on there and i am good to go.

The brakes SUCK!! there is nothing there and they are in desperate need of a change, i might go home and throw on a old pair of DA pads as i am sure those will be better.

oh yeah...the bike weighs over 4 lbs more than my Fuji too....not a big deal in a crit but i feel it climbing even with the compact crank.

the bike just isn't nearly as crisp...i can't really explain it..maybe it's cause my other bike has full DA on it but everything just feels better on the fuji, other than the pedalling part.

markg

Interesting thing is that Fabian Cancellara uses that FSA Gossamer crank (NOT compact) on his Team CSC Cervelo road bike because it is stiffer than the FSA carbon cranks.

Yes it's not the lightest bike, but I'm close to 2 bills anyways. And the aero frame is really slippery - I have not been on a bike that picks up speed so quickly on even a small downhill. I just can't justify spending more to upgrade to the Soloist Carbon frame than I did for my entire bike! I still can't understand why the P2C frameset can sell for $1800 but the Soloist Carbon frame costs $2800!

GP

4 lbs (1.81 KG)? Wow, that's a lot.

Crash716

i weighed it last night it was right at 20 pounds...my fuji is 16.2.

the cranks are plenty stiff but shift horrible as they are not well maintained probably, i typically use a DA crank and the shifting is crisp.

I would love to get one of the frames and build it up as a crit bike with sram or something.

jsigone

You should have just borrowed my bianchi, its a solid lb lighter with 1900 gram wheels haha. I'll be down there watching tonight, are you still a 5?

Crash716

with my wheelset and seat it comes in at about 19 ish i think...somewhere around there. I am racing as a 5 still...i can upgrade after tonights race but i am going to do the series as a 5, so i'll be sand baggin.

jsigone

Good to do the series in the same cat. You are going off at 6 right? I should be there about 5:30 or so pending how much traffic is on del dios

Crash716

yeah we head out at 6 pm!!

see ya there bro.

DaveSANYYZ

For some reason I thought you're much taller than me. My C'dale CAAD8 (with dented top tube) is a 52cm. Seems similar sizes to other 54cm by eyeballing. You may want to try it for a spin. Then you would have tried another bike that ppl say is good for crits.

Crash716

Sounds good Dave...i'll be the Crit bike testing S**t for BF!

Chucklehead

what time are you guys showing up? wanna do a quick road ride to warm up? say torrey pines and back.

Crash716

Jules and i are going to get there around 4pm....i don't know about ben as it's in SD and i am sure he won't drive up there with me. I am down with a quick road ride but remember...you start and hour after me now!!

Chucklehead

we go right after you guys at 6:35.

Crash716

i'll give you a call when we get there at about 4!!

Vireo

RIDE ONE! I can't begin to tell you how different (read better) it rides than 90% of the bikes I own.

and here is the story on the FSA Crank

Vireo

Come see me when you return the bike. I'll take care of you.

the 54's and 56's we can't keep in the store. They are rented sometimes twice in a day. Some people take them for weeks at a time. Makes it really hard for us to do any maintenance on them. Not to mention we only have one mechanic that does repairs and he is backed up with customer bikes 3-4 days turnaround time as of today. I apologize for the work you had to put into it. Just come and see me. 8-4pm Mon-Fri

Vireo

Cannondale wants me to ride their bikes in Crits. So I am trying to work a deal for 2 Cadd 9's. Yes the other is for Brandy.

voltman

How about three and lose one off the back of the truck?

DaveSANYYZ

There are racks for 4 bikes... they aren't very secure in holding the last 2 though.

You guys are C'dale dealers now? If so great. I can come to you guys instead.