I recently acquired a Cervelo Soloist and am curious to hear about experiences using the bike in a TT/Tri-bike configuration. For example, how did the bike handle in the TT/Tri-configuration? Is the 76 degree effective seat angle too relaxed? Did anyone swap out the road handlebars and put on base & aero bars?
I haven’t attempted to morph the bike yet and am just curious to hear others’ feedback, experiences, and impressions of the bike in a TT/Tri-configuration.
Its a great bike for it, I used clip ons and it rode very well in the forward position, very smooth and stable, you will have to attempt it to see if you find it too slack for what you are trying to do.
Give it a spin and see what you feel then, but its good for both, and easy to swap back and forth, which is why I kept the drops on it and then just swapped a spare seat and seatpost and used the clip ons.
It handles very well, and is as fast as you make it. I’m very happy with this setup.
Sweet. What brand of disk cover do you have and did you need to shorten your stem when you put your aero bars on? I have clip ons with my drop bars and feel like the stem legnth is a little too long.
The cover was from wheelbuilder.com. They cut the disc for the wheel and it fits perfectly. This bike was built by my fitter and I have
only ridden it in this setup.
I have short torso/long legs.
I have owned two Soloists and sold quite a number of them.
One of my Soloists was set up in the TT configuration with an 80 degree (!) effective seat tube angle.
In short, I thought the bike was excellent, and somewhat better than I expected.
Specifically, the tight rear triangle and very high standover height felt kind of nice. I also liked the way the front end worked inthe tri position. Not too responsive- not too stable.
The chain stays on the newest versions (about the last two model years and into '06) make a big diffeence in the handling of the soloist in the TT set up.
I was impressed. Converting the Soloist to a TT configuration from a road configuration sn’t a 15 minute job, but it does work very well. You’ll likely need a different stem, different cables (shortened since you will likely be shortening the stem and you are changing the shiftes anyway from STI/Ergopower to bar-end controls) and you may prefer a different saddle. There is a lot of wisdom to having two seat posts if you are going to use the bike in both configurations interchangeably.
You’ve owned/ridden both the soloist and p3sl. Compare the soloist to the p3sl as a tri-bike?
thanks,KC
I road my soloist this summer in a tri position, and was very impressed with it, very stable. Be forwarned however that it does take awhile to swap it back and forth between setups. I used syntaces C2’s, and if I was going to be doing it alot I would buy another seatpost/saddle combination because its a royal pain switching the seat around.
I’ve had mine in full TT setup for almost a year so far. Had experience in STA’s between 76 and 80 (like Tom). I’ve got a long torso, so I’ve actually had to lengthen the stem (my extensions aren’t very long). I haven’t had any handling issues other than exceptional stiffness in the rear triangle. While I’ve done many a TT on it, it probably wouldn’t be wise to dive through corners as if you were in a crit. Although, I have to say it really isn’t an optimal TT bike for me since my good flexibility allows me to get lower than my current front-end. And my current front-end has an adjustable stem going as low as possible. A P3 would work better for me, but as I am an unemployed college grad, it is not really in my budget for the coming year.
This is a good picture of me going up a 7% gradient with my Soloist TT bike.
http://gasperak.com/projects/sqov/pages/20051203_093452.html
This one makes me look like I’m on a circus bike.
http://gasperak.com/projects/sqov/pages/20051203_093447.html
I’m a very happy Soloist owner built for road…
Swapped it out last year for tri (78 eta) and had to make all sorts of goofy adjustments. My only 2 cents is that it isn’t a bike you should swap back and forth. Not only will you run through seat collars and heads like butter…you’ll be cutting cable and making a lot of work for yourself.
If you’re in need of a Tri bike, but one…which could be the Soloist. But, don’t count on in being a transforable machine.
Hmmm. Well, two pretty significantly different bikes for a number of reasons. Both rather unique designs.
The P3SL is optimized and at its best ridden low in front. The head tube on my P3Sl is a scant 90mm and I have no spacers and a flat stem. Low to go. This is a bike and a set-up for flat, fast terrain and somebody who is acclimated to riding with a lowish front. While every athlete may be able to do this eventually given the appropriate conditioning and positioning, not every athlete is willing to do it. It is easier for them to simply say, “I can’t sit that way… it’s uncomfortable!” Well, yeah, it’s uncomfortable. You have to acclimate to the position proactively to become accustomed to riding like that. Additionally, the P3SL and all of the P3 family are at their absolute best when wearing a rear disk. The semi-circular wheel cut-out meshs well with a solid disk rear. I race on Zipp 999’s on my P3SL and a faster combination on the flats would be hard to imagine for me.
The Soloist is less of a specialized machine, and more versatile making it a nice choice for a lot of riders if the frame dimensions are optimal for their body dimensions (a concept lost on some people), especially riders who are a little undecided about how they will use their bike. As myself and others such as Dave Clinkard have mentioned, switching between the tri and road configuration isn’t necessarily a quick job, but you will never make a P3SL a road bike in the traditional sense of the word.
A vivid memory I have of the Soloist is seeing a pro descending on the bike at Alcatraz going faster than I would ever dare down a winding, technical hill in San Francisco. I wouldn’t do that on any bike, but certianly not on my trusty P3SL.
For lack of a better analogy, think of a P3SL as a NASCAR race car and a Soloist as a Formula 1 race car.
Hi, first-time poster with a few questions…
Any thoughts on how the issues with the Soloist with the seat post fwd or bkwd translate over to the new Soloist Carbon? Cervelo sells it stock with a non-flippable seatpost, but the frame can take the flippable one too.
Have you had more success fitting certain clip-on aerobars over others?
And finally, anyone have success with the Soloist in both positions without changing the stem?
Thanks!
Slo