Cervelo s1

volvine

do you think the cervelo s1 would be a upgrade from my Trek Madone 2004/5 (i think). also is the s1 a suitable all day ride?.

rick_butler

I've a Soloist, '05 vintage, that I gather is not fundamentally different from the S1 bar the narrower seat stays. I use it primarilly as a trainer/wet-weather alternative to a high-end carbon bike. I've found it's as advertised -- a blade in the wind (it's flat where I live), plenty stiff (tho not quite the power transfer of the carbon bike), a decent climber (better on the descents) and excellent value for money (made all the more so as I bought the complete bike used and with low miles for about the price of an S1 frame, which I was considering at the time). However, and the fact I prefer an aggressive set-up notwithstanding, there is a marked fall-off in comfort with the Soloist. To be expected, as alu transmits a good deal more of the road chatter than does the carbon. But a factor that means it stays in the shed if I'll be out longer than three hours. This is the first season I've had the bike and am slowly upgrading the cockpit. The after-market carbon post -- standard on the S1, I seem to recall -- didn't make much difference. Carbon bars are next, so we'll see come spring if that helps. Still, an extremely good bike and I'm pleased with it. At any rate, hope this is useful and best of luck.

ducatiman

what a load of pretentious waffle.

i commute on the s1. it looks cool. everyday someone comments on my bike (sexy etc)
and i guess thats what your after!

i average 26mph on it and people still try to beat me due to envy. I find that fun!

i can afford a s3 but i am not good enough to justify it (carbon better ride marketing bollox)
anyone that gets anything other than an s1 is an idiot. if they are good enough to justify it then they would be pro and getting it for free ;-)

so get it.

mfin

I own one and I agree with most of what the first guy said. You can feel more direct power transfer on a higher end carbon bike, but you'd pay a lot more for a 'good' carbon bike so I'd much rather have the S1 than perhaps a 'lower end of the market carbon frame' at the same money - maybe that's just me. Plus, don't take it Im making out its a flexy machine, cos its not.

Its a fast bike, feels very alive and the handling is spot on descending-wise. A good wheelset on there will always contribute to this sprightly feeling remember. The fork is of course excellent. The bike is dead aero yes if that matters to you, but for a road bike if it mattered that much then wouldnt all road bikes be more aero?

My rides don't go into that over 3 hour territory mentioned anyway, but I can see where people can get into the silky feel of carbon when it comes to longer rides. I think bike fit and position is far more relevant when talking about comfort over distance, so many people don't have that right.

Bike is stiff at the BB, not as stiff as a great big built out bit of carbon, but stiff nonetheless. If you like it, go for it. I can say I haven't regretted getting mine yet.

I won't say the average speed of my rides as that would be dependent on so many factors and why on earth would you want to know that

Sorry, can't comment on your Trek Madone, best thing to do is go test ride, then get the bike that you can't resist?

Shezzer

I've got an 07 Soloist in anodised grey and I love it to bits. It's fast and very responsive so I use it on triathlons and time trials. I wouldn't take it on a particularly long ride however (3 hours max) as it certainly aint a comfort bike. Anything over 3 hours and i take my Spesh Roubaix ... the relaxed geometry and carbon frame make for a slower but more forgiving ride.

FOAD

ducatiman wrote:

what a load of pretentious waffle.

i commute on the s1. it looks cool. everyday someone comments on my bike (sexy etc)
and i guess thats what your after!

i average 26mph on it and people still try to beat me due to envy. I find that fun!

i can afford a s3 but i am not good enough to justify it (carbon better ride marketing bollox)
anyone that gets anything other than an s1 is an idiot. if they are good enough to justify it then they would be pro and getting it for free ;-)

so get it.

After your opening line I was expecting a decent post from you....alas

volvine

appreciate all the responses but nobody has yet given me a clue as to the new S1 being a upgrade to my older Madone.
what i really want to know is what with the speed of technology these days would the new ali frame of the Cervelo be better than my older carbon trek (5.2)

the main reason i ask is i bought the Madone off ebay and did not get a proper fitting done (you take your chances) and i feel it may be a tad too big for me this is the only reason i was looking to change as i love the Trek but feel it is not doing me any favours with regards possition.

robthehungrymonkey

volvine wrote:

appreciate all the responses but nobody has yet given me a clue as to the new S1 being a upgrade to my older Madone.
what i really want to know is what with the speed of technology these days would the new ali frame of the Cervelo be better than my older carbon trek (5.2)

the main reason i ask is i bought the Madone off ebay and did not get a proper fitting done (you take your chances) and i feel it may be a tad too big for me this is the only reason i was looking to change as i love the Trek but feel it is not doing me any favours with regards possition.

Are you going to buy the frame new? If so, go for a ride. I've recently bought another frame because my previous one was bought second hand and was a bit too small. The new frame is a revelation, (although, wider handlebars made a massive difference also) the size is spot on.

It's also carbon, and a lot more comfortable than my old super stiff alu frame. I think as a second bike after getting bitten by the bug, it's best to either ride a bike that's the same size to what you're looking at or buy new and test ride.

volvine

i am struggling to find anywhere that sells the S1 as a complete bike can only find framsets

robthehungrymonkey

volvine wrote:

i am struggling to find anywhere that sells the S1 as a complete bike can only find framsets

Hmm, i know that my lbs has various Cervelo frames built up (down south), surely some of the lbs that are fairly local are willing to build you one up? Worth an ask

volvine

yes a good bike shop in Leyland will do a proper fitting and build one up.
just a little concerned now though with peoples comments re comfort for anything over 3 hours by this then i take it the S1 is not very suitable for a sportive???

ducatiman

as the s1 is a proper bike. owners generally have a preference on components. Hence why you buy it as a frame and build it to your prefered spec.

Yes it's better than the Trek. It looks faster, cos it's aero, and that saves 1 millionth of a second at a power output on 500watts measured at the crank.

Look, i truly believe that unless your Mr Contador, you buy a bike cos it has sex appeal.

And the S1 is far sexier than your trek.

Why don't you buy the frame and move all the components across from your trek?

Anonymous

volvine wrote:

i am struggling to find anywhere that sells the S1 as a complete bike can only find framsets

Try Royles in Wilmslow...

volvine

Look, i truly believe that unless your Mr Contador, you buy a bike cos it has sex appeal. And the S1 is far sexier than your trek

lol i think comfort and quality come a lot further up the list of priorities for me even though i am 10 times slower than mr Contador :roll: .

as the s1 is a proper bike
is my Trek not a proper bike??? :?

thanks NapoleonD

ducatiman

looking for comfort?

what about this one then

http://urbanvelo.org/wordpress/wp-conte ... medium.jpg

mfin

volvine wrote:

appreciate all the responses but nobody has yet given me a clue as to the new S1 being a upgrade to my older Madone.
what i really want to know is what with the speed of technology these days would the new ali frame of the Cervelo be better than my older carbon trek (5.2)

the main reason i ask is i bought the Madone off ebay and did not get a proper fitting done (you take your chances) and i feel it may be a tad too big for me this is the only reason i was looking to change as i love the Trek but feel it is not doing me any favours with regards possition.

I did say...

mfin wrote:

My rides don't go into that over 3 hour territory mentioned anyway, but I can see where people can get into the silky feel of carbon when it comes to longer rides. I think bike fit and position is far more relevant when talking about comfort over distance, so many people don't have that right.

...if you're now going to throw into the mix whether the S1 will be better than the Madone in the context of the Madone not being a good fit then of course it will be better... but then again if that Madone fitted and you were comparing to a 'too big' S1 then the Madone would be better.

The fact is, to a lot of riders, those two bikes if they both fitted well would have different personalities on the road but you can't say one is 'drastically' better than the other, its all up to you, how you ride and how you perceive things.

Do you know how to fit yourself to your current bike? Seat position, picking Stems and setting Bar Heights? Have you tried all that?

x8swift9x

ducatiman wrote:

i commute on the s1 (...) average 26mph on it.

Your commute must be a nice route with minimal traffic lights/junctions! I envy you. Unless you cycle downhill to work, then hop on the train with your bike to get home

mfin

A 23 minute 10 through rush hour traffic is a gentle commute though isn't it really? ...wouldn't wanna arrive at work all sweaty or anything by putting too much effort in

x8swift9x

Nice calculation there mfin!! But he did say his average was 26mph, don't be bumping him up to 26.1mph (every little counts!)

mfin

...yeah but 0.1mph knocked off would be expected if you're slowing down to get second takes on what people were saying when they were telling you how secksy your bike was (with all the wind noise and that, and all your work gear rustlling around, it must be difficult to hear).