I am thinking of getting a new road bike. I’m leaning towards a Colnago C-50 but am also considering the new Cervelo carbon road bikes.
Has anyone ridden both the Colnago C-50 and the Cervelo Soloist Carbon? Can Gerard offer any comments on how his bikes stack up to the C-50?
For what it’s worth, I’m 6’4", 205 LBS. I currently ride a 63CM Cannondale road bike and sometimes also ride an old Guerciotti Colombus SLX steel bike. I flex the hell out of my Cannondale CAAD3 bottom bracket and also my Cervelo P3 bottom bracket— I can easily throw the chain off my P3 due to flex if I start off in the 53x11 or 53x12.
I’m looking for a bike for long distance training and some racing. I’ll be doing a lot of riding in the mountains this year so also need a bike that is very solid uphill and downhill. The stiffer the BB the better and I am not obsessed with comfort-- My Cannondale is perfectly comfortable to me. I am also not obsessed with weight— I’ll take strong and smooth over light any day.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks,
Because a 3/2.5 Ti frame will flex even more than that! A 6/4 Ti will be a little stiffer, but rides nice. I ride a 6/4 Ti Vortex (about as “stiff” as a Ti bike gets), but I can still flex the BB as well and I’m only 5-10 160#. But I like the overall ride (climbs great, 60+ downhill no worries, rides nice, plenty responsive, TDF pedigree, indestructible, etc.)
I’m not a big fan of carbon bikes (too hard on them), but a well made carbon bike (like the gems he’s talking about) are all very stiff.
I’d be influenced by Colnagos greater experience in carbon and road bikes.
Yep those guys at Cervelo sure don’t know what they are doing when they designed and built the P3C and Soloist Carbon. Their lack of experience shines through especially in that curved seat stay. Colnago are waaayyyy ahead
What kind of power output does it require to flex one of the stiffest measure bottom brackets there is (the P3)?
I’m 6’3" (185-200lbs depending) and I’ve topped out at 1200watts (at 80rpm) on training rides and I’ve never felt the P3 (2003) bottom bracket move at all.
road geometry and working with carbon fibre strike me as tricky things to get right. I would rather go with the company that has more experience. who do you really think has designed and produced more carbon bikes? who’s carbon bikes have been ridden longer, won more races, been more tested?
road geometry and working with carbon fibre strike me as tricky things to get right. I would rather go with the company that has more experience. who do you really think has designed and produced more carbon bikes? who’s carbon bikes have been ridden longer, won more races, been more tested?
Glance upwards just a little bit…see that banner ad. It has some guy winning the TT in the TDF on a Cervelo. I know it’s just a small bike race somewhere in France but that must count for something.
dude, if you believe cervelo has more experience building carbon fibre road bikes than colnago, then I don’t have any super-powers of logic that will convince a man of your obvious experience.
You have clearly learned alot, and your time on this board and the cervelo website has prepared you more thoroughly for trying to help out the original poster than my experience has taught me. I didn’t realise my comment would be as inflammatory as it obviously was
This forum is certainly biased towards Cervelo, and that is certainly helped by the fact that a guy named Gerard posts here. The last time I saw Ernesto on here personally vouching for his bikes, (even occasionally talking up a competitors) was ohh, hmmm, gee, ummm, NEVER.
That doesnt make them any better or worse, and I’m the last guy to naysay Colnago, but it certainly seems to me that right nowe I’d be buying 3000.00 worth of paint. I’m buying a new bike, and while my budget permits it, I didnt even consider Colnago. It was either a Prince SL, Dogma, or Cervelo. I decided on the Cervelo.
Did you see the Soloist Carbon in our store? Pretty darn nice. We sell all three, and the decision to me would boil down to torso length.
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There is a lot more material in the Soloist and it is absurdly light. Nice carbon lay up too.
Tom
If you were going out on a ride that was a mix of flats and “proper” hills (I’m hoping you know what I mean by that shorthand, because I can’t be bothered to formulate a definition), which would you choose of the R3 (or R2.5) and the Soloist Carbon? And why? What I’m driving at, I suppose, is to what extent you think the Soloist Carbon treads on the toes of the R2.5/R3 territory as a light climbing bike.
I can’t comment on the Cervelos’ as I haven’t ridden them. I know they’ve got a couple of big guns on CSC like Voight and such, so they’ve got to make something that works for them.
The C50 is certainly an awesome bike. It rides amazing, but keep in mind that $1000 of the purchase price goes toward the downtube.
dude, if you believe cervelo has more experience building carbon fibre road bikes than colnago, then I don’t have any super-powers of logic that will convince a man of your obvious experience.
You have clearly learned alot, and your time on this board and the cervelo website has prepared you more thoroughly for trying to help out the original poster than my experience has taught me. I didn’t realise my comment would be as inflammatory as it obviously was
I never said Cervelo had more experience or that Colnago dont make fine bikes. To imply, as you did, that Cervelo does not have the experience to build frames as well as Colnago is misleading. Following your logic a company that has been in business the longest makes the best products. This is clearly crap. Your comments are not inflammatory just wrong.
As to which bike to buy who knows, they are all fines bikes.
Vortex = Litespeed Vortex (their “flagship” model that Lotta Adecco and I think Lance once rode in the TDF)
I’m not into Italian “flash”, and I’ve never ridden a C-50. Did a short stint on a C-40 and was not impressed (but the paint was stunning - especially since I’m used to brushed Titanium
I read the same articles about the stiff P3 BB, but I can seriously flex mine. It may be my crankset— I have a 180mm Aluminum Campy Record crankset that it not the stiffest thing out there. However, I don’t think it is all due to the Campy crank— I’ve found the overall bike to be very comfortable but flexible. When I climb I can feel a lot of flex going on in the frame.
I love my P3 and don’t plan on ever replacing it, but I wouldn’t call it stiff despite what some magazine tests have measured.
I know there is a cost premium, but I really like it that Colnago makes bikes in 1 CM increments all the way up to 65cm. With many other bikes I just buy the biggest frame they make then use stems and long seatposts to dial in the fit.
I also like it that Colnago has been making carbon bikes for a long time— Giant and Cervelo had teething pains with their first Carbon bikes. Since I keep my bikes for a long time and never like to take the time to deal with warranty issues I’m risk averse.
With that said, both Cervelo bikes seem a step ahead of the Colnago in their technology and I love my P3 so I’m interested in them.
