ronburgundy

As the subject says - I have a 5-6 year old Cervelo Soloist with full ultegra (6500) - I am looking to move up to the next level this year - ridden carbon and now can't help but drool over moving to it....

So....in a nutshell - is the competitive cyclist deal a decent step up (Willier Izoard XP / SRAM rival) - or is that only minimal - sadly there is nowhere near here for me to test ride it....

The Pinarello FP2/Ultegra on CC is also not much of a price difference....so looking for opinions on whether the Willier is the best 'value' in stepping up, or should I wait/save for a bigger jump.....

M_FactorX19

i have not rode the wilier but it does seem to be a great deal. i would think of that as an upgrade.

will you be keeping the cervelo?

Bacciagalupe

You aren't going to go any faster with a new bike than you do with the Soloist. Unless you attach a motor to the new bike.

This is not to say that getting a new bike is a bad move, since that depends on all sorts of factors (how many bikes you have, how many miles you actually put on the bike, your uses, what else could the money go towards etc etc).

But saving a few hundred when you don't need to spend $2500ish.... Not much of a savings.

ronburgundy

I would likely sell the cervelo to help fund the willer....which looks like a great deal - concerns are: is Rival a step backward from my perfectly-shifting ultegra 6500, is moving up a few hundred to the Pinnarelo FP2 / ultegra a bigger leap, and/or are both of these just a minimal jump....

Val23708

I went from a Soloist to an R3 and the jump was smaller than I expected - and thats from high-end aluminum to high-end carbon

From what I hear, the Izoard XP is cheaper (in terms of materials) than the original Izoard which was considered mid-level carbon so I wouldn't expect any improvement in handling or stiffness. Road dampening will probably be the main attraction. I think the FP2 would be in the same realm.

djpfine

I'm thinking about the same bike and was able to test ride the Ultegra build Izoard at an LBS. Great bike. Felt as good if not better than a higher-price point Focus Izalco that I rode on the same day. I've held off on purchasing because of the recent price drop on the Pinarello FP6 to $3K, but am leaning toward saving some coin and going with the Rival Izoard for now.

ronburgundy

I guess on that note - is moving up to the FP2 from the Izoard a notable step-up......I do like the Shimano Ultegra - but also understand (correct me if I'm wrong) the Rival is in the same realm (perhaps not with weight)...

To shorten it.....if I have a couple grand to spend to replace a soloist - is that enough to see a notable difference....

Val23708

What differences are you hoping for?
Comfort - carbon will be more comfortable
Stiffness - the soloist was probably one of the stiffest aluminum frames available. cheaper carbon will have the same if not inferior stiffness.
Weight - soloist is ~1200g frame. the izoard xp is in the 1100g realm. for comparison, an R3 is around the 8-900g range.


Btw Rival weighs less than Dura-Ace.

That said, the Izoard xp/Force/Mavic K10 deal is incredible.

ronburgundy

Comfort would be the number one gain I'm hoping for - I don't expect better shifting/braking - but expect at least the same....I may trade a tad of stiffness for comfort...

Thanks for pointing out the Rival weight - hadn't done a comparison - always just thought that the parrallel was ultegra to force, red to dura-ace....

I agree the deal is incredible....trying to find a reason it doesn't make sense I guess - but that adds to the confusion - rival at $1800 or Force at $2700...

pbd

There are only 2 differences in the original Izoard and the Izoard XP.

1) Izoard had an all-carbon fork, Izoard XP has carbon fork with aluminum steerer.
2) The frame is identical, except for the outermost layer of carbon, which is essentially cosmetic. The Izoard had the woven carbon outer layer, for cosmetic reasons only, while the Izoard XP replaced this outermost layer with a cheaper, but not as cool looking, outermost layer.

Wilier quotes the frames as weighing the same (because they essentially are the same), but the new fork does weigh more since it has the aluminum steerer instead of carbon.

Val23708

Well Force and Rival and mechanically and functionally identical - the only thing you gain from going to force is losing ~130g, having carbon cranks (not really noticiable), and having pretty graphics

The main advantage for the force package is that really sweet wheelset. but you could always use the $900 you saved to buy something nicer later too

caloso

Not quite apples to apples, but close: I replaced my Bianchi 928 with a Soloist. The Cervelo is a better bike for my purposes. I mostly do crits. It's very stiff, aero, and quick -- almost telepathic. It's a little heavier than a light carbon frame, but not by much.

It's not as sexy as a Willier or Pinarello, but if you want a purpose built race bike, I'd keep the Soloist and get better wheels or a power meter. Or both.

igknighted

ronburgandy... what kind of riding do you do? If you are a racer, I would stick with the Cervelo and buy some nice upgrades (like wheels or the above mentioned power meter). If you just ride for fun/fitness, I would probably jump to the carbon bike. Essentially, for a racer you are more likely to crash and the beefy soloist will be able to take it better, it's more aero which is more important when racing, and it's super stiff. For general riding, those characteristics really aren't that important. The comfortable ride of carbon will probably trump all of that, and the newer parts will be hassle free for longer.

I would try new ultegra and rival before you buy either. The newer shimano hoods are much bulkier, whereas SRAM is something totally different. Either way, expect a difference.

caloso

I re-read that you are looking for a little more comfort. I imagine either carbon bike will be plusher than the Soloist. I imagine they'll also both have longer wheel bases and therefore more stable.

ronburgundy

I do ride largely for fun - but have toyed with the idea of racing - although nothing serious at this point.....

I have tried carbon and the new ultegra - which I like the hoods on (better then my current) - and the comfort of the ride....

I hadn't thought of putting the money into wheelset/power (which I would appreciate in the winter training months).....