Originally Posted by pcates
After getting back in racing after a long hiatus i've been thinking about taking the leap to carbon fiber and getting a Cervelo R3. Now the thing is the price of this bike is my budget limit, so that would mean i'd have to forgo anything else like say a set of race wheels or something like a powertap. Would i be better suited to get say the Team Soloist and a nice set of wheels or is a carbon fiber frame worth springing for? As much as i'd like to get a CF bike part of me wonders if its really worth the extra cash to race on one?
I'm on an R3. It's a great machine and I cant imagine riding and racing on a better bike. However, it was within my budgetary constraints. I didnt need to forego other things that may or may not benefit my ability to race successfully more than frame selection (wheels, coaching, misc.). If the R3 is a budgetary stretch for you, IMO, you'd be best suited to spend your $ on the Soloist Team, then spend the difference on (in order of preference to me) 1 - good coach; 2 - good race wheels; 3 - misc. items like groupset upgrade, switching out the stock for a prefered saddle, consumables (tubes, tires, bar tape, nutrition products) stuff like that; 4 - power measuring device.