Looking at my credit card statement for this month, it's kind of dawned on me that my current bling R3 project is a rather large extravagence, especially considering we're coming into winter and realistically I'm not going to be riding it that much... so, thinking I might clear out all the bits I've collected and go for something a bit more realistic to my needs! Trawling Bike Radar, I spotted this rather nice looking Cervelo:
[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4903627277_029f5d0a61.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53093270@N05/4903627277/ ]Cervelo Soloist[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53093270@N05/ ]Fran Cunningham[/url], on Flickr
After a bit of haggling, it looks like I might be able to get it for £825 collected, which seems pretty good to me, though I don't know much about the Campagnalo gear in the build? Spec list is as follows:
Cervelo Soloist 54cm anodized black frame
Alpha Q Elios Carbon fork
Campagnolo gearset, brakes and wheels as listed below:
Centaur 10 Speed Carbon shifters
Veloce Chainset and front and rear mechs
Veloce Skeleton brake calipers
Khamsin G3 Wheels
3T Rotundo Pro Handlebars
3T ARX Pro Stem
Fizik Bar Tape
Selle Italia Kevlar T1 Saddle
Vittoria Rubino Pro Folding tyres
Waddayareckon STW? Is it a good deal at this price? thanks 🙂
You've haggled but you haven't decided to buy?
Just skip it and buy the 12th frame that takes your fancy 😛 you'll save a lot of money and you don't seem to ride them.
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Frame is sound but that's a mish mash of a spec and it's 105 equivalent campag. Personally I don't like the feel of campag or the buttons, so much prefer shimano.
I saw a newer frame (s1) with full 105 go for 750 last week. Oh, and khamsin wheels aren't light...
Campag is better. It's like putting a Lexus LFA against a Ferrari. They might be about as fast as each other, but one's a Ferrari.
OMB not teh campag fanbois. FFS
Bit of a strange bunch of spec. I've never been impressed by Campag wheels, and running Campag drivetrain on my bike has left me totally unconvinced about Campy gears either. It feels very cheap.
Campag is better. It's like putting a Lexus LFA against a Ferrari. They might be about as fast as each other, but one's a Ferrari.
Or a Honda NSX against a Fiat?
The Centaur levers are probably QS from 2007/8 which means that you don't get to sweep across the block like you should be able to, and the front will be indexed (which was the stupidest thing that Campagnolo have done for a long time). The chainset is square taper - if that's a problem for you rather than UT. The skeleton brakes will be fine - but be aware that the Single Pivot brakes on the back work better with Swisstop pads when its raining (if you like stopping that is - I changed the pads in my Chorus brakes after a very wet ride on the GfC 3 years ago).
Oh, and you'll find that the Vittoria tyres will either wear out in weeks or puncture when you're miles from home and they're hard to get onto Capag rims.
Personally I ndon't like cervelo frames - but if you like that sort of thing its probably ok, but a tad overpriced.