[reply]Interesting. I recently read an article claiming that the race manager(forget his name at the moment) for Team Once makes all the decisions for the team and the riders don't question it. To my mind at least, Lance's involvement in equipment detail and development is somewhat of an advantage.[/reply]
I'm not sure it is that black and white. I think the important thing is that the person with knowledge makes the decision. Whether that is the rider, the team manager or the bike supplier doesn't really matter. Most riders aren't that knowledgeable on equipment, yet do take all sorts of decisions. At CSC, Riis has an extraordinary interest in the equipment, and luckily he is also knowledgeable. Most riders accept his decisions because they know Riis has spent more time thinking about this stuff than they have, and atthe same time Riis accepts our input for the same reason.
But it's a very synergic arrangement, a good example of this was a discussion we had on bikes for Paris Roubaix. We sat down with Riis and Tafi, and in that arrangement Tafi is the expert on the requirements, we are the experts in how a bike can meet those requirements. Riis is a bit in-between the two, with knowledge on both ends. So Tafi can provide info on what the determining factors are in the race (comfort, traction, handling, etc.) and in what way. We then toss in various ideas on how to achieve this, and together with Riis we can determine which solution is likely to be the best.
As for the other questions, the Soloist Team is in production, the CSC frames were simply the first frames from the first run. The other frames have been finished too, but they receive a bit more TLC in the painting stage and then to assembly, whereas the CSC frames were rushed through painting to make it to the team presentation in time.
Add in shipping etc., the Soloist should be in stores in a month. The weight is not that much different from last year, approx. 3 lb. for a mid-size frame.
Gerard Vroomen
3T.bike OPEN cycle