cervelo soloist team ?

footsie said:

the question is do I opt for campy veloce or centaur components, if I go for the veloce I could probably aford some better wheels sciroco or zonda as opposed to venta
but the centaur is seemingly a better set (most people comare the veloce to 105's and the centaur to ultegra's (some will even compare the veloce to ultegras and the centaur to dura ace)

I personally prefer campy over shimano and the lbs i will buy the bike from is a campy dealer.

secondly compact or regular crankset, I am thinking compact as I live in the mountains ( wont go for a triple) I am used to a regular crankset but feel the compact will allow me to spin up hill easier

I have 105 and Veloce equiped bikes, and Ultegra as well. I would put Veloce as 105 compatible. I think it's weight probably rules it out from being a direct competitor for Ultegra. But it is completely respectable kit and personally I think the money is better spent on better wheels, than going to Centaur. The difference Veloce to Centaur is very small anyway.

Cranksets - I have just moved over to compact cranksets and yes, I wouldn't spec a 53 39 crankset ever again. The front derailleur shift is a little more fussy, but the spread of gears is just 10 fold better than a standard crankset. I suppose some riders don't need a bias toward helping spin up hills, but I think for most, it's not suitability, it's vanity.