Page 2 - 1st Road Bike: Cervelo Soloist Team or Bianchi 928 carbon?

26-07.-2007, 11:36 PM	#16
Sikhandar Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: PISA Posts: 175	Re: 1st Road Bike: Cervelo Soloist Team or Bianchi 928 carbon? Hello evaybody. Here in Italy I also work with a (an italian) Bianchi official seller (I put things on ebay.it and I get 10% ). This year we sold a lot of 928 B4P, and, of 9 sold out, 2 came back with troubles with the carbon (a. unglued bottom bracket, b. a cracking appeared on the top of the vertical tube). Bianchi changed them in warranty, so there have been no legal troubles (but the two owners were not that happy...) Take care, since a 928 SL is a completely different frame. 928 C2C is also completely different. Consider that the two groups you're talking about are of suspect reliability :P use Campy or Durace...(ya I know that down there Campy is not as cheap as here, but...)

27-07.-2007, 08:49 AM	#17
david462 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 126	Re: 1st Road Bike: Cervelo Soloist Team or Bianchi 928 carbon? between carbon and aluminum, i'd say carbon is better. the better carbon frames out there are as stiff or stiffer than aluminum frames and they are also better at getting rid of road vibration.

08-08.-2007, 01:29 AM

#18

geraldatwork

Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2006

Posts: 21

Re: 1st Road Bike: Cervelo Soloist Team or Bianchi 928 carbon?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LBCBJ

Since you've ridden both, would you consider the Bianchi 928 as race worthy as the Soloist (i.e. fast descents, good handling on corners, climbing, etc)? I plan on doing quite a bit if racing, and from what I gathered the 928 is considered a "softer" bike for racing than the Soloist, yet with the industry quickly moving away from aluminum, I question why I would want to get an aluminum bike that will likely be arachaic in a few years.

The same thing I keep hearing over and over is that aluminum is a better racing material than carbon becuase its stiffer, but then again aren't the large majority of pros using carbon (and I've heard the "well they use carbon becuase they're paid to" a thousand times). Plus, I can't really think of a bike manufacturer whose top of the line bikes aren't all made of carbon, with aluminum falling at the bottom.

But with that mind, I've also been looking at the Cannondale Six13 and the carbon synapse...any opinions on these as well?

I'm not sure which 928 frame you are talking about. I just got a 928 Lugged with the SRAM Rival components. So far after 3 rides and about 200 miles I find it handles quite well. It accelerates well but seems comfortable compared to my alumimum framed bike. That said overall the alumimum is a faster bike even though it is about 2 lbs heavier. Much stiffer and more responsive. There are a couple of reasons the pros use carbon bikes. One if they crash them they will get another new one. Second since teams/riders are sponsored partially by the bike companies they want the riders to use what they want to sell which is carbon bikes. As far as 105 vs Ultegra they are very comparable as to the way they work and weight with Ultegra being only slightly lighter. The most useful change would be to upgrade the 105 derelailer only to Ultegra if you go that route bike wise. All this being said if the bike is primarilary for racing I would go with the alumimun framed bike. It will be faster and hold up better in accidents. Don't worry about the bike being outdated. There are plenty of steel bikes on the road from 20 years ago.

08-08.-2007, 01:01 PM	#19
dbackmtg Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Jersey Shore, Pa. Posts: 177	Re: 1st Road Bike: Cervelo Soloist Team or Bianchi 928 carbon? you can get the 928 in 105, ultegra, dura ace, a couple different campy groups and I believe even sram. As for 105 I have 105 on my older bike and ultegra on my new bike and I really can't tell that much of a difference, but that's just me. Bicycling did a review on the soloist I believe in their August issue. They really liked it except for the harsh ride.

13-08.-2007, 06:52 PM	#20
hmronnow Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 29	Re: 1st Road Bike: Cervelo Soloist Team or Bianchi 928 carbon? I haven't tried the Bianchi but own the Cervelo. I just want to confirm what was already said. The Soloist team (i.e. alu frame) is very hard. In fact, this is why I like it - guess it is personal taste. I also agree that fit is the most important. I tested more than 15 bikes before settling on the soloist. And, contrary to what several others mentioned, this is the frame that fits me fantastically (I'm 180cm, 63kg). I really didn't get along with the more sloping geometry bikes. The soloist climbs OK (by climb I mean long 5-10% alpine climbs), though I've ridden bikes that were better for climbing. However, the solist decends like a motorbike - dead steady even at 80-90kmh. As someone else mentioned, it is not the best accellerator either, but where I really like it is powering on the flat. Being a relatively light rider I always had the tendency of being slowed by wind gusts, but on this bike I seem to keep momentum and carve through the wind. (Being a physicist, I realise that a frame can't make that much difference, but I'm reporting my perception. And in riding, perception feeds back to performance). Incidentially, I occationally ride it with a aerobar (the lightning stryke from profile design with matching lava stem). It is not a tt-bike but comes pretty close. I believe that the 'weakest/cheapest' part of a bike determines its quality. Hence, in my mind it makes little sense to get top-of-the-line frame with medio group, conversely would also make no sense to get dura ace with a cheap frame. In that respect, there has always been fancy looking frames (remember those humongously oversized alu-tubes) mounted with mediocre components to lure the eye of buyers. The soloist is a good (albeit somewhat heavy) frame with a good component group, and that at a reasonable price. Concerning what the professionals ride, remember that they have a different budget, mechanics support etc. What is best solution for them is likely not best solution for many of us. for instance, most of them ride tubulars, but that doesn't mean we have to. Btw. if I remember correctly, jens voigt and several other csc riders raced and won on the alu frame just few years back. ATB Henrik Last edited by hmronnow : 13-08.-2007 at 07:04 PM.

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