Dolan Ares (An Post)

Theomerchant

I finally got round to getting this Dolan today. I have been riding a Trek 1200 which I even won a 4th CAT circuit race with on Saturday (the story for that trusty ride is here; viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12798139&p=17475975#p17475975 ) , but I felt the need to upgrade (especially now I'm a 3rd CAT ). I've yet to have taken it out for a ride thanks to our countries predictable weather . I do think I am in love though!!!

Spec as follows;
Frame 56cm Dolan An Post Carbon Road Frame
Fork Dolan Carbon Road fork 1 1/8 Top - 1/2 Bottom Int, Carbon Fibre Blades.
Carbon Fibre Steering Column
Seat Post Dolan Carbon, 31.6
Headset FSA 1 1/8 Top - 1/2 Bottom Integral -
Colour Green/White/Black, Gloss finish
Seat Clamp Alpina - Alloy - Black, 34.9
Chain KMC 10spd
Chainset Sram Force
Bottom Bracket Sram Force, 68mm BSA
Brake Calipers Sram Force, Dual Pivot
Levers/Shifters Sram Force
Cables Brake + Gear, Black
Front Mech Sram Force, Clamp on
Rear Mech Sram Force
Cassette Sram 1070 11-26t
Saddle Specialized Toupe Ti Rails
Bar Tape 3T cork ribbon/embossed 3T logo and 3T end plugs
Stem Kore 130mm 6deg +/-
Bars 44cm - 3T ROTUNDO 31.8MM trple-butted aluminium 7075 T6
Inner Tubes Specialized Tubes
Tyres Schwable Ultremo ZX HD 23mm & 700c, Black
Wheels Mavic Ksyrium Elite's 2010 Model with 2011 Decals

noiseboyfeetman

Very nice indeed, I do like that An Post colour scheme and i'm not surprised you're in love with it despite not riding it! Good luck with the racing.

Pseudonym

nice bike - colours do clash a bit with the WW jersey though..

Theomerchant

Pseudonym wrote:

nice bike - colours do clash a bit with the WW jersey though..

I know and agree. One of the lads who races for the club has the same bike but shelled out the extra cash to have it matching colours to the club kit, I'm not at that level of commitment just yet ...

johnr76

Stunning bike! I've been lusting after one of these and would seriously love to get one if I could only try one out for size. Is it an all out race bike or do you think it would be comfortable enough for riding all day up hills?

Living in Devon doesn't help but I'm trying to find a reason to get up North to pay a visit to Dolan in person.

How did you find them for service etc?

When you get a chance to get out let us know how it rides.

Theomerchant

johnr76 wrote:

Stunning bike! I've been lusting after one of these and would seriously love to get one if I could only try one out for size. Is it an all out race bike or do you think it would be comfortable enough for riding all day up hills?

Living in Devon doesn't help but I'm trying to find a reason to get up North to pay a visit to Dolan in person.

How did you find them for service etc?

When you get a chance to get out let us know how it rides.

I've got it set up for racing as that what I'm mainly planning to use it for this season and keep my trek for longer all day rides. I have cut the steerer tube down today which is why the stem is so slammed but Dolan supply the bikes with about 4 spacers underneath the stem and one on top so there is more than enough room for adjustment / making it comfortable(ish).
The angles are quite aggressive so even if you have the bars quite high you may find it a tad painful on your back, The bike is used by the Sean Kelly An Post UCI Continental team so in essence it is an out and out race bike.
I didn't deal directly with Dolan as this is one of the last bikes sold by a retailer before Terry Dolan decided to sell solely off his website but from what I hear after sales and customer service is amazing and they are more than accommodating.
Hope this helps and even if you don't end up getting an Ares it'd be good to stick with Dolan (support the local economy an all that!) and they are amazing bikes!
I'll let you all know how it rides when I get a chance to (who knows when that may be )

Sgt_Pepper

Great looking bike, I've been wanting an Ares for ages,

Can you go to Dolans factory to have a look at the bikes, like you can with Ribble.

Wouldn't mind getting a proper opinion on sizes, Going off the Toptube length (545) i think i'd only need a Size 48

Theomerchant

To be fair I normally ride a 58cm but this is a 56cm effective seat tube but it has a 59cm top tube!!!, so very aggressive geometry. Yeah you can go up and have a sit on / look at the bikes, they are based in Liverpool so you can just turn up and have a look in the show room!

clu

Nice. Saw one of those on the dolan stand at the cycleshow last year and I thought it was a cracking bike. Watching the Tour of Britain last year on TV it was always the An Post team with their bikes that caught my eye. Marcel Wust in procycling recently reviewed one of these and he said the frame was setup more for racing than anything else. He thought it was an excellent frame.

You've put together a really top bike there, hope you do well at your racing with it, you've certainly picked the right bike for it.

Ben6899

Nice! I love the colour scheme.

Mr Dolan likes aggressive geometry. I've just built up a Preffisio and on the first steerer cut, I have been very cautious until I have a few miles under the belt and I'm certain I can go to zero or one spacer.

Also I am sure you enjoyed Dolan's excellent customer service - they really are a pleasure to deal with.

Theomerchant

Just a little update. Changed the bars to some specialized comp's as they are far more comfortable for me that the 3T rotundo bars! Also got some new bottle cages / matching bottles (yes I'm that geeky!) I personally think it looks rather dashing

rake

i dont like the insulation tape on the handle bars.

Theomerchant

rake wrote:

i dont like the insulation tape on the handle bars.

haha its Fizik Microtex bar tape and I think its Pimp as Fok so nur!