Two Cervelo questions -

3_days said:

First, does anybody work at a Cervelo dealer or otherwise know about Cervelo's newest inventory policies for its dealers. I'm told that Cervelo now requires its dealers to stock a whole lot of their bikes in order to carry their line. I also understand that this policy is new for '05. Basically, Cervelo has taken themselves out of my local market because the LBS's 'round these parts just aren't that big ... Anybody know why or what for ...

Second, anybody laid their hands on or viewed the new Carbon Soloist live and up-close ... Cervelo has them listed on the site for F/F only at $3,200.00 US ... the bike looks awesome ...

I spoke with one of their biggest dealers and from what I was told they (Cervelo) are having a tough time providing dealers with product especially with the 05 Soloist. I then e-mailed Cervelo and was told no more 05 Soloists were being produced so what had been recently sent out to dealers was all there would be for the rest of the season. This was just last week. I don't know about anyone else but the second week of July sure seems awfully early to shut off production off such a popular and high demand bike.

Yes the carbon Soloist looks pretty boss on the website. I believe it's not available to the public until September.

JS

I'm not sure what the heck is goin' on with those boys at Cervelo - but, from a P.R. perspective, it's not good for marketing - my initial take was that they adopted a "big boys on the block" attitude toward their distributors/dealers. There were at least a couple LBS's in my area who were totally turned off by their new policies - Cervelo also held out on "grandfather-ing" a local dealer so that the bikes would still be available here.

I'm not sure Cervelo cares - but I'm not driving 80, 40 (or even 20) miles for routine service from some dealer I know nothing about.

I love my Soloist like crazy- I'd probably be dumb enough to buy one every couple years ... but without local dealers, I'll end up buying some other brand.

3_days said:

I'm not sure what the heck is goin' on with those boys at Cervelo - but, from a P.R. perspective, it's not good for marketing - my initial take was that they adopted a "big boys on the block" attitude toward their distributors/dealers. There were at least a couple LBS's in my area who were totally turned off by their new policies - Cervelo also held out on "grandfather-ing" a local dealer so that the bikes would still be available here.

I'm not sure Cervelo cares - but I'm not driving 80, 40 (or even 20) miles for routine service from some dealer I know nothing about.

I love my Soloist like crazy- I'd probably be dumb enough to buy one every couple years ... but without local dealers, I'll end up buying some other brand.

I asked the dealer if their policies and inability to provide product were enough to deter him from recommending them as a company to potential buyers and his reply was "unfortunately yes"

JS

3_days said:

Second, anybody laid their hands on or viewed the new Carbon Soloist live and up-close ... Cervelo has them listed on the site for F/F only at $3,200.00 US ... the bike looks awesome ...

$3199 for a carbon Soloist F & F is just too much! I'll stick with my aluminum Soloist, which built up cost me $3271.25 Gee, you gotta be rich to go with that bike. And the aerodynamics aren't better with the carbon version.

I do believe Cervelo bikes are the best, but their pricing is just too high. $1499 for the aluminum Soloist F & F is just too much. I got mine on ebay for $968 shipped, and that's the only way I could afford a Cervelo. And $3199 for the carbon Soloist F & F is just too much. I hope Cervelo sees this complaint and lowers their prices!

For less money you can buy the Kestrel Talon frame and fork for $1125 from some dealers (that's how much I got mine). And the 2005 Kestrel Midnight Blue colored F & F looks real beautiful. Kestrels are still really aero bikes, and you can go for the Kestrel Talon SL ($1899 F & F) or Airfoil ($2249 F & F) also.

For $3516 you can build a Kestrel Talon just like mine - see the pic. It's a beautiful ride.

I own a 2003 Cervelo Soloist Team (AL) and a 2005 Kestrel Talon.

JT -

Boy am I glad you posted - I was looking at the Kestrels - (assuming I don't win Cervelo's sweepstakes for the new Soloist carbon - [yeah, right]) - Anyway, tell me whatever about how your Kestrel rides compared to your Soloist ...

If you can understand my babble, here are two things I love about my Soloist (2004 - Team) - and here's basically what I'm looking for in another bike (preferably, carbon) -

Aerodynamics - call me crazy, but I feel there's no doubt the Soloist is fast -

Tri-bike (sort of) set-up - notice how the chain stay length is a little shorter on the Soloist - with the seat tube angle, it kinda puts you "in the back seat" - I love that! It was the first true difference I noticed - it gives me a lot of variety in the seat position relative to the BB.

Anyway, let me know what you think - the closest Kestrel dealer is about an hour away from me ... are there any other bike manufacturers that have similar aero-ish frame shapes?

JTE83 said:

And $3199 for the carbon Soloist F & F is just too much. I hope Cervelo sees this complaint and lowers their prices!

Yeah you think they are too much and yet they can't satisfy the existing demand...Don't hold your breath for a price break with that logic.😄

3_days said:

JT -

Boy am I glad you posted - I was looking at the Kestrels - (assuming I don't win Cervelo's sweepstakes for the new Soloist carbon - [yeah, right]) - Anyway, tell me whatever about how your Kestrel rides compared to your Soloist ...

If you can understand my babble, here are two things I love about my Soloist (2004 - Team) - and here's basically what I'm looking for in another bike (preferably, carbon) -

Aerodynamics - call me crazy, but I feel there's no doubt the Soloist is fast -

Tri-bike (sort of) set-up - notice how the chain stay length is a little shorter on the Soloist - with the seat tube angle, it kinda puts you "in the back seat" - I love that! It was the first true difference I noticed - it gives me a lot of variety in the seat position relative to the BB.

Anyway, let me know what you think - the closest Kestrel dealer is about an hour away from me ... are there any other bike manufacturers that have similar aero-ish frame shapes?

Yeah, I can only afford the carbon Soloist if I won the sweepstakes. But surprisingly my aluminum Soloist feels similar in ride to my Kestrel - kinda smooth. But for me, my Kestrel has a better ride geometry and fit than my Cervelo. I have a 51 cm Soloist and a 52 cm Kestrel Talon.

As for the ride, I guess the Kestrel feels smoother because it's carbon, but I know my Soloist is faster only because I have low friction hubs on my Ksyrium SLs vs. the high friction hub Campy Eurus wheels on my Kestrel. I too wanted a carbon fiber bike (because of the carbon fiber hype) and the Kestrel Talon was my only choice. But my bike built up in the pic weighed 19.03 lbs - it has a lot of extra stuff like a Polar Power Output kit and a Shimano Flightdeck computer. My Kestrel Talon is now my favorite bike because it's carbon fiber and because it has a Flightdeck computer and a power output kit (I recommend this setup). I've only put 258.6 miles on my Kestrel so far, but the Kestrel feels like a fast bike too. I guess I have to test ride the Kestrel on rough pavement to see how it smooths the ride.

Well, if you're gonna do triathlons the Kestrel Talon, aero seatpost, Kestrel EMS carbon bars (aero bar clippable), and a set of HED 3 wheels will cost less than a carbon Soloist F & F. The Kestrel EMS Pro SL bars aren't aero bar clippable.

I'd say the only way to tell if the Kestrel Talon or the carbon Soloist is faster is to test the frames' aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. And I think these are the only companies that make aero carbon fiber road bikes.

The only thing bad about the Kestrel is that they don't have the true aerodynamic airfoil shapes that the Cervelos have. But at least the Talon has almost aero seatstays. And it's hard to tell which one has the better aero seatube design.

3_days said:

... are there any other bike manufacturers that have similar aero-ish frame shapes?

I just realized that Felt and Guru are also aerodynamic bikes, but I don't think they make a carbon aerodynamic bike.