It uses a T47 77A BB. I have the same color soloist. Built it up with a full SRAM red groupset, went 1x as I primarily race crits. Red groupset, 454nsw wheels, ZIPP aero bars. This thing is super fast! Handles big efforts really well. Got it down to 15.8 pounds with pedals, cages and mount.
Where I am from, Australia, the Cervelo sponsored national level teams are all riding the soloist now. I think it is becoming the go-to choice for teams that don't have scope to run an R5 and S5, so the Soloist gives them the best of both worlds.
Sweet ride. Good luck with the racing. Going from a titanium all road bike to this but got mechanical 105/Ultegra mix and Reserve carbon wheels. It'll be reasonably light but will consider upgrading to electronic once funds recover, lol
Awesome man I think you will love it! Recently I’ve been wishing I went with the full build to get the reserve wheels. The wide width would be much better for the wide tires I like to run. Nothing wrong with mechanical either. If you set it up right and maintain it, it will shift just as good as electronic and it’s lighter
Nice! I actually just got the Gold version. Love the upgrades and the wheels. I think good deal on the full Force GS. I agree - basically same thing other than glitter and essentially the Rival hoods. Built it mine totally differently, but thought i'd share. I went with Roval CLII 50/61 wheels, Rival shifters/brakes, Rival front/rear derailleurs, Red 10/33 cassette, Red crank, red chain, BBinfinite BB (stock one creaked immediately), garmin vector pedals, S-Works 3D Romin saddle (soooo comfy - agree with shape v Power). I also went aero bars, but also upgraded to fully integrated stem too. It's basically the R5 stem and bars on the soloist and I think it looks amazing. I live in Seattle, so I do a bit of climbing and got it down to like 16.2 lbs without pedals/cages - mine is a 51 w/ 40cm bars. it actually climbs nicely. The red crank saved like 0.6 lbs. Similar to you, I have a spare Endurance bike (Roubaix) that I put 32s on and can use for longer day or gravel. The Soloist easily rides 1-2 mph faster than the Roubaix on the flats with same power.
Sounds beautiful! I really love all 3 paint options they have. I originally wanted the gold but it was impossible to get ahold of in my size. I basically told the shop just give me whatever 56cm frame you can get first. I would guess your roval wheels and the smaller size of your bike contribute to the lower weight but I’m surprised it’s that much. I think without pedals mine is still at 16.9lbs. Although that may have been with cages and computer mount. I have forgotten which setups I weighed. I was originally going to go with bbinfinite then got the deal on kogel. Good to hear I made the right choice by upgrading if the stock one was creaking. Might have to make the crank and cassette upgrades at some point if I want to shave some weight. I actually love the look of the fully integrated bars but until I fully dial in my fit, which seems to be continually involving as I get deeper into the sport, I like that it’s aero and clean while still being accessible. Thanks for sharing and I really appreciate the watch!
@@baldbeardedbicyclist That’s a bummer on the color - I love it. But also like the white and black. I saw the gold come available and bought pretty fast. I think the weight difference is my S-works saddle, Carbon bars (yours may be too), but big difference is the crank (183 grams / 0.4 lbs lighter for Red). Then obv the bike itself is a 51 (I have short legs for 5’7”). I just love the look of the integrated bar/stem. But I agree if you’re traveling and packing, the factory setup is nice. I take it in my car, but not plane. Def better to lock in your fit first bc you have to reroute the cables and then bleed the brakes. I do think dropping the 1.5 lbs has made the bike “feel” more sporty and it accelerates faster. I think it’s more important for that than like climbing speed bc I need to be lighter myself more so than the bike.
@@baldbeardedbicyclist I think I'm going to go for the new Force front chainring as it seems to be very similar to the Red (I like the look of the black more than the silver), and ideally I'd get some Red cranks but I haven't found a good deal on a set yet.
I had been in the position of saving money for a while on a new bike, and I technically could afford a super top tier bike, but choosing a soloist was something I felt better about as going for something crazy like a S5 would have been too much bike for me, and I would have felt kind of silly to ride it without the skills to justify it haha
Haha I feel the same way. It’s just too much bike. More expensive if you crash or drop it. I would feel too much pressure riding a bike like that. I would feel pretty bad having an S5 and not winning every cat 4 race…
I hear you on the group set scars. I scratched the drive side crank on my Rival during the Empire State Ride. Fix was easy just did the whole crankset with the power meter upgrade for $100 more than just the meter crank. Stuff that shouldn’t bug us but does. Great video Max!
This is an amazing review + build. It seems like In 2023 the only way to get a bike is to build it. Currently going to build my own soon as well. I really want rim break 105 mechanical or Durace.
Thanks Carlos that means a lot! Yeah rim brake or even mechanical is definitely something that’s increasingly hard to find these days. You may be able to get something great for a good price on the used market though as a lot of people are making the switch to disc.
I totally agree and thought a lot about those bikes! The reason I went with the soloist is a felt it was a better all around race bike if you can only have 1. We don’t have a lot of crits around here, mostly longer circuit road races so something that does everything pretty well while maybe not the best was a better fit for me. Those bikes kick ass though.
Totally agree!! I have a Trek Emonda for longer rides and mountain days. Here in Puerto Rico we have all kind of terrains. From hilly steep roads to flats and breeze around the coast. Good luck bro'.
I went from mechanical Dura Ace 9100 to Red AXS and despite the hood shape size, I love it. Really intuitive, and will be easier to use in cold weather.
For sure. The Sram shift system just makes sense. Even at the force level it’s smooth and quick. I still have not had 1 issue with the groupset. May have to upgrade to red if it goes on sale when the newer red version comes out.
Yeah I’m hoping to drop the stack a bit on the future but coming from an endurance bike geometry I’m letting my body adjust a bit before I bring it down gradually. I’m sure if I just dropped it straight down I’d end up making myself slower by being uncomfortable.
Biggest reasons for me was supporting my local bike shops and I like the semi integration the soloist uses in the stem. Both great bikes and I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed with either of them!
I got half of it from winter park cycles and the other half from brands cycle. They were Black Friday deals but I would also guess reduced due to the incoming upgraded force. You may be able to find the older force still discounted new or keep a lookout for nice used sets as people might be upgrading once the new version is readily available.
@@beheadedforthewitnesofjesu3445 it’s definitely lighter than my defy and feels more stiff and stable. The only other bike I have ridden regularly is my Grail 7. That’s aluminum and feels like a wet noodle on climbs so not a good comparison at all haha. I’ve never ridden a true climbing bike but don’t have much need for one where I live. I’m a bigger guy (6ft, 175lbs) but can keep up relatively well with smaller guys on climbs in races. At least the first few climbs…
@@baldbeardedbicyclist ,...Thanks for your response. I am looking at getting a Soloist but I do a fair amount of climbing and want a bike that can climb well as we can all use as much help as we can get going uphill. Especially in your mid 60's. Like you, I want to buy from/support my local shop, and he just happens to sell Cervelo's. The frame only price is too tempting.
@@beheadedforthewitnesofjesu3445 if you’re looking for primarily a climbing bike the R5 would be great. The soloist is definitely the more all around bike but on the heavier side
Absolutely! I mentioned that I think. I was definitely looking into it but decided I wanted to go carbon. A used allez sprint with rim brakes would probably be the ultimate crit bike honestly.
You’re absolutely entitled to that opinion but personally I’ve been extremely happy with my Hunts. They perform well, are a good mix of aero and weight for a minimal price and have a lifetime warranty. I just recently tested a set a Princeton Wake 6560s and they were fantastic but for the price I don’t know if the difference is enough that I would have bought them rather than the hunts if given the choice again.
I am also looking for a new frameset, pretty much came to the same conclusion. It's a toss up between soloist, canyon aeroad and the allez sprint. The canyon as a full bike doesn't some with the combination of components I would like and in Canada I'd have to import it and pay extra tax 😢 the allez is nice, but hard to justify that much for an aluminum frame(as nice as it is), also I was looking for something more "aero". The soloist is available locally, decently aero, fairly light, and not terribly expensive. As you did I also looked at the propel, I liked it, but same issue of wanting to use my current wheels and some other components. Nice build, I enjoyed the video.
Yeah sounds like you came to a lot of the same conclusions. I really wanted to ability to put exactly what I wanted on it. I can definitely tell you the soloist is a great all around bike.
It uses a T47 77A BB. I have the same color soloist. Built it up with a full SRAM red groupset, went 1x as I primarily race crits. Red groupset, 454nsw wheels, ZIPP aero bars. This thing is super fast! Handles big efforts really well. Got it down to 15.8 pounds with pedals, cages and mount.
Dang sounds like a speed demon!
@@baldbeardedbicyclist just posted a video of my soloist, if you want to check it out!
@@edgarvera8890 looks great with those wheels and the 1x is pretty slick!
Wout Van Aert rode a Soloist to 3rd place at Paris Roubaix this year so this bike is more than enough for amateur racers.
Yeah that was pretty awesome to see! Wish he hadn’t gotten a flat. Would have been a spectacular finish to see him and MVDP go head to head
I love that you stressed the importance of supporting your local bike shop!
Where I am from, Australia, the Cervelo sponsored national level teams are all riding the soloist now. I think it is becoming the go-to choice for teams that don't have scope to run an R5 and S5, so the Soloist gives them the best of both worlds.
Sweet ride. Good luck with the racing. Going from a titanium all road bike to this but got mechanical 105/Ultegra mix and Reserve carbon wheels. It'll be reasonably light but will consider upgrading to electronic once funds recover, lol
Awesome man I think you will love it! Recently I’ve been wishing I went with the full build to get the reserve wheels. The wide width would be much better for the wide tires I like to run. Nothing wrong with mechanical either. If you set it up right and maintain it, it will shift just as good as electronic and it’s lighter
Nice! I actually just got the Gold version. Love the upgrades and the wheels. I think good deal on the full Force GS. I agree - basically same thing other than glitter and essentially the Rival hoods.
Built it mine totally differently, but thought i'd share. I went with Roval CLII 50/61 wheels, Rival shifters/brakes, Rival front/rear derailleurs, Red 10/33 cassette, Red crank, red chain, BBinfinite BB (stock one creaked immediately), garmin vector pedals, S-Works 3D Romin saddle (soooo comfy - agree with shape v Power). I also went aero bars, but also upgraded to fully integrated stem too. It's basically the R5 stem and bars on the soloist and I think it looks amazing.
I live in Seattle, so I do a bit of climbing and got it down to like 16.2 lbs without pedals/cages - mine is a 51 w/ 40cm bars. it actually climbs nicely. The red crank saved like 0.6 lbs. Similar to you, I have a spare Endurance bike (Roubaix) that I put 32s on and can use for longer day or gravel. The Soloist easily rides 1-2 mph faster than the Roubaix on the flats with same power.
Sounds beautiful! I really love all 3 paint options they have. I originally wanted the gold but it was impossible to get ahold of in my size. I basically told the shop just give me whatever 56cm frame you can get first. I would guess your roval wheels and the smaller size of your bike contribute to the lower weight but I’m surprised it’s that much. I think without pedals mine is still at 16.9lbs. Although that may have been with cages and computer mount. I have forgotten which setups I weighed. I was originally going to go with bbinfinite then got the deal on kogel. Good to hear I made the right choice by upgrading if the stock one was creaking.
Might have to make the crank and cassette upgrades at some point if I want to shave some weight.
I actually love the look of the fully integrated bars but until I fully dial in my fit, which seems to be continually involving as I get deeper into the sport, I like that it’s aero and clean while still being accessible.
Thanks for sharing and I really appreciate the watch!
@@baldbeardedbicyclist That’s a bummer on the color - I love it. But also like the white and black. I saw the gold come available and bought pretty fast.
I think the weight difference is my S-works saddle, Carbon bars (yours may be too), but big difference is the crank (183 grams / 0.4 lbs lighter for Red). Then obv the bike itself is a 51 (I have short legs for 5’7”).
I just love the look of the integrated bar/stem. But I agree if you’re traveling and packing, the factory setup is nice. I take it in my car, but not plane. Def better to lock in your fit first bc you have to reroute the cables and then bleed the brakes.
I do think dropping the 1.5 lbs has made the bike “feel” more sporty and it accelerates faster. I think it’s more important for that than like climbing speed bc I need to be lighter myself more so than the bike.
@@jwfriar yeah sounds like upgrading to the red crankset might be the next move
@@baldbeardedbicyclist I think I'm going to go for the new Force front chainring as it seems to be very similar to the Red (I like the look of the black more than the silver), and ideally I'd get some Red cranks but I haven't found a good deal on a set yet.
I had been in the position of saving money for a while on a new bike, and I technically could afford a super top tier bike, but choosing a soloist was something I felt better about as going for something crazy like a S5 would have been too much bike for me, and I would have felt kind of silly to ride it without the skills to justify it haha
Haha I feel the same way. It’s just too much bike. More expensive if you crash or drop it. I would feel too much pressure riding a bike like that. I would feel pretty bad having an S5 and not winning every cat 4 race…
@@baldbeardedbicyclist exactly haha there's no way I'm living up to expectations having that bike would entail
Best of luck this year! Really looking forward to another season of race vids.
Thanks! Racing starts in a couple weeks so hoping to have some videos soon!
I hear you on the group set scars. I scratched the drive side crank on my Rival during the Empire State Ride. Fix was easy just did the whole crankset with the power meter upgrade for $100 more than just the meter crank. Stuff that shouldn’t bug us but does. Great video Max!
Thanks Dave!
This is an amazing review + build. It seems like In 2023 the only way to get a bike is to build it. Currently going to build my own soon as well. I really want rim break 105 mechanical or Durace.
Thanks Carlos that means a lot! Yeah rim brake or even mechanical is definitely something that’s increasingly hard to find these days. You may be able to get something great for a good price on the used market though as a lot of people are making the switch to disc.
Great video. I’m looking at the Soloist for my next bike build. BUT… Shram? Or Sram? ;)
Lol idk I’ve heard it both ways
Soloist is a great, awesome and beautiful bike. But, for racing, specially crits, aluminum rocks!! Allez or Caad13...crème de la crème.
I totally agree and thought a lot about those bikes! The reason I went with the soloist is a felt it was a better all around race bike if you can only have 1. We don’t have a lot of crits around here, mostly longer circuit road races so something that does everything pretty well while maybe not the best was a better fit for me. Those bikes kick ass though.
Totally agree!! I have a Trek Emonda for longer rides and mountain days. Here in Puerto Rico we have all kind of terrains. From hilly steep roads to flats and breeze around the coast. Good luck bro'.
I went from mechanical Dura Ace 9100 to Red AXS and despite the hood shape size, I love it. Really intuitive, and will be easier to use in cold weather.
For sure. The Sram shift system just makes sense. Even at the force level it’s smooth and quick. I still have not had 1 issue with the groupset. May have to upgrade to red if it goes on sale when the newer red version comes out.
Shanghai's Giant will sell PORPEL frames
I think that’s a good move for them. Most racers have wheel sets and group sets they like
Have the same issue as you in regards of reach vs stack, if i choose the correct reach for my size i end up with a shitload of spacers.
Yeah I’m hoping to drop the stack a bit on the future but coming from an endurance bike geometry I’m letting my body adjust a bit before I bring it down gradually. I’m sure if I just dropped it straight down I’d end up making myself slower by being uncomfortable.
And yes please to ride review :)
Question for everyone.
Cervelo solist or canyon aero? N why
Biggest reasons for me was supporting my local bike shops and I like the semi integration the soloist uses in the stem. Both great bikes and I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed with either of them!
Beautiful bike
Where did you buy your groupset at the big discount you said you got?
I got half of it from winter park cycles and the other half from brands cycle. They were Black Friday deals but I would also guess reduced due to the incoming upgraded force. You may be able to find the older force still discounted new or keep a lookout for nice used sets as people might be upgrading once the new version is readily available.
Love my soloist, got the black frame, thinking about getting the gold one too that’s how much I love it👍
Haha that's awesome! That Gold paint is 🔥
Can you compare the Soloist's climbing to anything else you have ridden previously?
@@beheadedforthewitnesofjesu3445 it’s definitely lighter than my defy and feels more stiff and stable. The only other bike I have ridden regularly is my Grail 7. That’s aluminum and feels like a wet noodle on climbs so not a good comparison at all haha. I’ve never ridden a true climbing bike but don’t have much need for one where I live. I’m a bigger guy (6ft, 175lbs) but can keep up relatively well with smaller guys on climbs in races. At least the first few climbs…
@@baldbeardedbicyclist ,...Thanks for your response. I am looking at getting a Soloist but I do a fair amount of climbing and want a bike that can climb well as we can all use as much help as we can get going uphill. Especially in your mid 60's.
Like you, I want to buy from/support my local shop, and he just happens to sell Cervelo's. The frame only price is too tempting.
@@beheadedforthewitnesofjesu3445 if you’re looking for primarily a climbing bike the R5 would be great. The soloist is definitely the more all around bike but on the heavier side
Specialized allez sprint is an option for racing
Absolutely! I mentioned that I think. I was definitely looking into it but decided I wanted to go carbon. A used allez sprint with rim brakes would probably be the ultimate crit bike honestly.
HUNT sucks ... Do not buy. Period. Stay away. You'll be happier
You’re absolutely entitled to that opinion but personally I’ve been extremely happy with my Hunts. They perform well, are a good mix of aero and weight for a minimal price and have a lifetime warranty. I just recently tested a set a Princeton Wake 6560s and they were fantastic but for the price I don’t know if the difference is enough that I would have bought them rather than the hunts if given the choice again.
Love mine!
Do you have an IG?
Yup! @maxschneider
I am also looking for a new frameset, pretty much came to the same conclusion. It's a toss up between soloist, canyon aeroad and the allez sprint. The canyon as a full bike doesn't some with the combination of components I would like and in Canada I'd have to import it and pay extra tax 😢 the allez is nice, but hard to justify that much for an aluminum frame(as nice as it is), also I was looking for something more "aero". The soloist is available locally, decently aero, fairly light, and not terribly expensive.
As you did I also looked at the propel, I liked it, but same issue of wanting to use my current wheels and some other components.
Nice build, I enjoyed the video.
Yeah sounds like you came to a lot of the same conclusions. I really wanted to ability to put exactly what I wanted on it. I can definitely tell you the soloist is a great all around bike.
Beautiful bike mate 🤌
Thanks!