My tri season is over and I think I want to convert my Cervelo Dual to do more group riding and work on the hills (I just moved from Phx to Denver). I also need to switch to a compact crank, I’m not used to hills yet. Can this be done and is it worth it? I would like to switch back next year. I don’t really want to spend $$$ on an extra road bike. Isn’t that what the “DUAL” is supposed to mean? Any suggestions or pics from the peanut gallery?
No reason why it can’t be done. You’ll have a bike with a 74 degree seat tube instead of 73 like on the Soloist, but that’s not a big deal. You might want a few spacers under the stem depending upon how low/high you like to ride. Get yourself some drop bars and STI and you’re set.
Compact cranks ae a great idea for hills.
"Isn’t that what the “DUAL” is supposed to mean? "
It’s dual as in “Tri” bike and “TT” bike.
Isn’t that what the “DUAL” is supposed to mean?
Actually not - DUAL is due to its 2 aero-shaped tubes, as opposed to only one in the Cervelo ONE.
Regarding your question, I actually attempted the conversion earlier this year, but in my case it did not work well since I had cut the fork to the max, and ended up with a huge drop that I could not make it fit properly. I thought about getting a new fork, but ended up putting the aerobars back and buying a road bike.
When you think about it, it will cost ~$500 to make the conversion (shifters, bar, stem). If you spend just a little more you can buy a new road bike and keep your tri-bike!
“Isn’t that what the “DUAL” is supposed to mean?”
No. The Soloist is the dual purpose road/tri bike. It’s a bit confusing, but ask Gerard about the names, I’m not the guy that picked them.
This is another option - sell the Dual and get a Soloist.
Thanks for your help and ideas. Anyone want to swap their Soloist for my 07 Dual?
I tried it with mine and even with 5cm of spacers under the stem you could just forget about using the drops. The balance of the bike was way off, descending scared the pants off me.
The Dual is not a road bike. I think it might work with STI on a base bar, but I know some people don’t like that idea.
I have a 58c Cervelo Soloist Team that I was thinking about selling to get a tri bike. Trade for Dual possible. Contact me.
rtaxi2@yahoo.com
scott
I now have both a Dual and a Soloist they are very different (in my opinion). I had thought of converting the Dual but after riding the Soloist and weighing the cost of converting, the compromises of the handling issues … opted for a Soloist Team. Strangely they are both the same size frame but fit completely different (both professionally fit)
IMHO I would sell the Dual and buy a road bike rather than convert.
Rick
A dual is a tri bike / time trial bike. If you try to convert it you will be VERY disappointed.
If you want 1 bike to do double duty the Soloist is your baby.
Pete
I’ve actually got both…the idea is that if the time come when I’m doing so few tri’s that the tri bikes is collecting dust (may happen with kids in the future), that I could sell it and still have a road bike and tri bike.
I looked into converting the Dual (it was the first)…it really doesn’t make sense. If you need the dual-purpose bike and can only have one in the stable, you’d be better off selling it and getting a Soloist. Now’s a good time, you can probably get a decent deal on an '07 Soloist Team.