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

Hello everyone,

I'm on the market for my first road bike and have narrowed my choices down to the...

Cervelo Soloist Team - which is all aluminum w/ Ultegra components
or
Bianchi 928 Carbon - an all carbon bike with Shimano 105's

I'm 6'0", 185lbs and will riding and racing with a college club
Any opinions out there? Thanks

 

i posted a very similar thread twice last week and didnt get a single resonse. i was asking between the soloist team or tarmac expert. so, good luck.

 

Hi. I know nothing about the Bianchi, but did have a Cervelo Soloist Team. For me, it never fit me right. There was just something about that bike and me that didn't gel. Cervelo makes great bikes though, and you can't go wrong with the build or quality. I strongly advise test rides and a professional fitting on the bike you choose. The important thing is you're comfortable and thus having fun when you're riding. Cervelo are great bikes. ( I still have a Dual I outfitted for the road and love it. Not as much as I love my two BMCs, but darn close)

good luck!
FF

 

This does seem to be a pretty quite forum, so maybe people will eventually start to chime in, but thanks for at least responding dave and fred. I have not test rode either bike yet, but since the bikes are sold at two seperate stores, I would like to have some independent opinions since I know that each store will try to sell me their respective bike.

My main dilemma here is wheter I want an all carbon bike with slighty cheaper Shimano 105s (the Bianchi - $2299), or an all aluminum bike with Ultegra (the Cervelo - $2199). The team rides around 100-150 miles a week and races most weekends during the spring, and from what I understand is while the Cervelo the better racing bike of the two, the Bianchi is much more comfortable on longer rides, so I'm really torn as to which on to get. If you have had experience with either bike, or have any opinons on Shimano 105s vs. Ultegra, feel free to chime in.

Brent

 

hmmm. well, you can always upgrade your 105 set (sell the old parts on ebay). so i'd say buy the bike with the frame you want.

sorry to thread jack but this might help you as well (another bike to consider).

*im torn between the soloist team and specialized tarmac (expert). my budget is roughly $2500 usd

 

I agree, this is the smart way to go.
Some personal opinon....I wouldn't have 105 if you gave it to me. For me, there's a world of difference between 105 and Ultegra. Again, my opinon....the Ultegra is cleaner in the shifts and the adjustment doesn't drift like my experience with 105 suggests it does. (two different 105 bikes, same issues). I'm running Ultegra, a triple on my Trek (5200) and a double on one of my BMCs (Road Racer) and haven't had any of the issues which I expereinced with 105. Back to the real topic.....test ride the bikes, chose a frame, then, if need be, upgrade the components. Remember, you won't need to change out everything. You can just change out the front and rear derailler and the shifters and you're good to go.

good luck
FF

 

Ride them both. Buy the frame you want and then get all of the almost free parts from your team to finish the bike...

 

^
True Words.

I bought my Jamis Ventura Comp (because I'm broke). I already purchased a full set of Ultegra Components from a friend for pocket change. Like literally, less than most people pay for a pair of pedals.

 

You probably by now have purchased a suitable bike. I am currently looking at a first bike like you were, and have access to professional advice. The 105 gear range is suitable for what you require, and the frame for comfort is very important. The carbon fibre frame make it a more comfortable ride so that would be my pick

 

I would go for the Carbon Bianchi. Comments on shifting of 105 vs ultegra may be valid, but you shift a fraction of the time, relative to riding on the frame 100% of the time. I would go with the Bianchi, give 105 a fair try, then buy used ultegra if need be (people are always upgrading from ultegra to dura-ace or to SRAm or Campagnolo). Alternatively you could buy used ultegra now, and sell the 105 right away as "unused, came with new bike I just bought".

 

the carbon Bianchi for sure.. i have ridden both bikes (owned a luna 928 (the cool white one)) and was a very comfortable, personaly i dont mind the 105 either. although i do ride ultegra ATM.

the cervelo was fast and nice but as someone else said it just didnt fit properly.. wasnt for me thats all.

 

Unless you have fat wallets. It's cheaper to race using an alloy frame than a CF frame. CF is somewhat a bit more fragile in a crash and typically are more expensive to repair or replace. But Bianchi 928 is an excellent frame, but so is Soloist Team.

 

Go for the alum and Ultegra if they both (bikes) fit the same. If you don't like or believe in upgrades you're ahead. If you don't mind upgrades the Ultegra is probably a better option when upgrading to the frame you really want.

 

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've enjoyed reading this thread. How much consideration should be given to the components when selecting the bike? I agree with some of the previous comments that the most important criteria is that the frame has to fit you.

I'm still a month or so away from buying my first road bike and I've found a couple models that are comfortable (I'll do more touring - not racing). Should I consider paying an extra 200usd to go from Tiagra to 105?

 

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 use Campy or Durace...(ya I know that down there Campy is not as cheap as here, but...)

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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