Every carbon frame set I've ever been on has been pretty darn comfortable. If you are coming off of an alu/ steel/ Ti frame a carbon frame may feel a bit dead or like riding a piece of wood.

What are you looking for in a bike? Crit/road race machine or just general tourer. The S2 (previous Soloist Carbon) has pretty aggressive geometry as well (i.e. short head tube) and is very stiff - but I've got 20,000+ miles on a Soloist Carbon since 2005 and it is fine. But, it primarily my race bike, but I've done many 120+ miles rides on her and find it perfectly comfortable (this coming from a Litespeed Vortex - comby 6/4 Ti). Current carbon uberbike is a little more comfy, but my guess is that more people fit better on the RS series (esp if not racing) anyway.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

I had the opportunity to ride an SLC-SL for a week (same rearend as the S2)...and to tell the truth, I found that rear end of my old aluminum Soloist was actually more comfortable (I used the same seat and wheels on both).

That said, it's not as if the SLC-SL was like riding a buckboard, or anything...and I truly appreciated the MUCH stiffer BB and chainstays. The bike had noticeably better power transfer to the ground than my Al Soloist (I call it the "inchworm effect"...especially noticeable when climbing out of the saddle or when making a quick "push").

The cool thing about this comparison was (well...at least to me) that the geometries were identical, so everything I noticed was really about the different frame materials and construction.

After that, I had an opportunity to ride a bike that had "R3-like" seatstays...and the "comfort" of that type of rear design over the above two bikes was noticeable. So much so, that if I was to get a carbon Soloist...I'd seriously try to figure out how to get the extra cash for an S3. YMMV ;-)

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I'll be honest, I don't understand this whole "the S2 is a harsh ride" stuff. I have one and find it as comfortable as any other carbon bike that I've owned. So much subjective rubbish is written when there are loads of variables like tire pressure and rim quality.

All the Pro Tour levels bikes and stiff and well-designed. If you are looking for a comfy ride then go for a squishy steel/Ti or low-mod carbon frame.

I LOVE my S2 and you can't got wrong with it.

I have a S2 and live in Upstate NY (i.e.land of pot holes and chip seal roads). I love my S2 and find it very comfortable. I tend to like my bikes with a bit more feedback. I wanted to get a R3 but when I rode it i found it too plush so I went with the S2.

I'm looking for something that can pound the pavement for miles, but also race if I want to. I'm currently riding a Litespeed Teramo.

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Like Tom A., I had an aluminum Soloist. Fantastic bike. Was a little too harsh for 100 mile rides.

I took advantage of the Cervelo test rides last year and spent a weekend on an S2 and then another weekend on an R3. The S2 was a nicer ride than the aluminum Soloist, but it was nowhere near the comfort level of the R3.

I wanted to get an S3 to take advantage of those nice seatstays while staying on an aero frame, but I coudln't justify the cost. So I bought the R3.

Just did back to back 75 mile group rides this past weekend. Typical group rides that started slow, hit a nice tempo pace the middle third, and then got a little frisky towards the last third of the ride. Other than my legs feeling trashed, my backside felt great.

With the aluminum soloist, I would have been tender when I first got on the bike for the second ride, and would have been noticeably uncomfortable the last part of the second ride.

I think the S2 would have left my backside feeling it by the end of the weekend.

I don't get all the wineing and complaining about the S2 being harsh either. When I was shopping for a bike last year comfort was a tremendous consideration (having had a history of prostate issues...i wanted something extremely smooth). The S2 was great from the first test. I bought one without hesitation and have ridden the bike for the past year with zipp 404 clinchers without any ride quality issues.

some people have really nasty roads to deal with I guess, and those people may tend to need tires like gatorskins which amplify the problem.

of course they could drop the psi down to 90 or something rather than pony up for an s3 I guess.

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With the same size and geometry, the differences between double-diamond frame A and double-diamond frame B are going to be subtle. Your choice of saddle, wheels and tires will affect the ride comfort and "quality" more than the frame differences.

If you really want comfort, take a look at Titanflex. After 10,000 miles on one, whenever I ride any DD bike I'm astonished at the punishment that people tolerate.

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

The S2 is not harsh at all. When taken into consideration that it is after all a race bike it is quite comfortable. Like a high performance sports car that has a firm suspension you get the road feel and instant response that a race bred bike delivers. I do not hesitate to take it out for 5 plus hour rides.

Thank you Tom. I own an S1, S2 and and S3, with the S1 and S2 having identicals components, tires, bars, saddle etc. The S1 is much more comfortable over the S2 on bumpy roads. I've mentioned this in the past and no one seems able to believe an aluminum bike can be more comfy than a carbon! That said, the S3 seems to have the stiffness of the S2 and be yet more comfortable than the S2 - the S3 is an amazing bike and I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

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I didn't say it was and didn't mean to imply that...I merely mentioned that I had noticed (with my "butt-o-meter") that it transmitted slightly more "road vibration" through the rear end as an equivalently equipped Al Soloist or another carbon bike that had "R3-like" seat stays...

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