The bike

So, just finished building up this Soloist. Came in at 16.4 lbs (i wasnt overly concerned with the weight at this point, sacrilege I know) I was more concerned with aerodynamics and not breaking my wallet.

Frame: Cervelo Soloist 56c
Fork: wolf
Cranks: KCNC
pedals: Speedplay X1 with alu bowties
BB: American classic
bars: Deda 215
saddle: Flite TT
STI: Ultegra
RD: Dura Ace
FD: Ultegra
Stem: Forte 110
bar tape: black generic
Front wheel: Zipp 440
Rear wheel: Corima
Cassette: KCNC
Chain: KMC 9sl
Brakes: Zero G

I was happy with the weight. I plan on dropping some more grams here and there over time. Also I have an idea on how to make the KCNC cranks aero like those FSA cranks Basso was using.

The bike hasnt been ridden yet, as the seatpost is a medium and I need a large (so the height is right but theres on like 2 inches into the frame) so the angles and height will be off still.

Also I plan on putting more modern stickers on the Zipp's and maybe some new stickers for the Corima cause theyre a little tired.

new aerobars by next feb

Not right now, cause i got no job and no money. But by next february, I'm going to be rocking some new aerobars. At this point, im looking at getting the Oval A910's. They look to be as adjustable, and they weigh 295 grams or so. My current Profile bars weigh 579 grams. almost 300 grams heavier! thats a lot, i didnt want to make weight the focus of this bike, but 300 grams is pretty insane amount of weight loss.

the a910s can be had for as little as $150 new, if i sell my T2's for like $60, im only paying $90 for 280 grams, thats a great $/gram ratio.

needing to ride

so my boat is in the "boathouse" now. Actually its just a bunch of kayak racks with shade over them under a freeway. But theyre locked up, out of the sun and any rain, and near the water.

Also, went on a very short commuter ride yesterday, up to the local hollywood video to get a DVD, and got to ride my orange commuter bike. It was a fun trip, but made me want to build up my Cervelo so i can go on a real ride and start training again.

Theres a duathlon on Sept 2nd, that I'd like to do.

Some new brakes

Im dropping some quid lately, but I just picked up some Zero Gravity Ti Brakes for a good price.

Theyre light and look bad ass, and at the price I paid, I can sell them on Ebay and still cut a profit.

I think they'll look cool on the new rig though.

the frame arrived

Yeah so, the FEDEX guy brought the frame to my door today, a day early.

Its pretty sweet. Fairly light (although thats not the focus of this bike), its got a massive and narrow downtube thats super aero (the focus).

Internal cable routing, carbon fork with carbon steering tube, carbon seatpost as well.

Im excited. Once I move, I'll strip the parts off of the current road bike (Cannondale Caad7) and swap them over, then sell the Cannondale.

It looks like everyone who owns one and is excited about their Soloist is excited for a reason, this is a sweet frame. I hope it fits me and rides sweet too.

Got the front wheel in the mail

The Zipp 440 came in the mail today, pretty cool looking. Feels light, Dura Ace hub. 990 grams w/o the skewer (and with the tire). Compare that to my training front wheel (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra hub, clinchers with tire liners) which weigh 1300 grams, thats a pretty big drop (almost a pound off the front wheel alone). Plus the 440 is aero.



Some more pics:




The frame should be here by wednesday, the rear wheel who knows?

my new rear wheel

is going to be a pretty sweet Corima 4 spoke tubular race wheel. I was thinking of a disc, but decided against it in favor of something like this. These 3 or 4 spoke wheels are better in cross winds, which is nice.

$$$

Ebay's a great thing. I just sold $1126 worth of bike stuff on Ebay, in order to purchase some different stuff. The focus is Eppies. Got the new frame for $610 plus $30 shipping. The only thing I truly need is a rear wheel and some bar tape. I will be using everything else I already had on my Cannondale. Once the Cannondale gets stripped down, I'll sell it too.



I might look into another set of training wheels. But probably not. Theres nothing wrong with my current set, they're beefy and easily serviceable which is a nice combo.

Im thinking of maybe a HED trispoke rear wheel, ofcourse tubular. Seen em go on Ebay from $220-$400.

Im hoping to get $300 ish for the Cannondale frame/fork. I'm already up $486, so I got that to spend on a rear wheel. I might save the rest of the money in a piggy bank to spend on bike part stuff later, I do lust after Zero G brakes, but dont know if I can rationalize them. As Ultegra brakes work pretty darn good.

Got my frame

So I decided to save some $$$, and buy a used Soloist frame. This way, I can use the money elsewhere on other fun things like a cool rear wheel.

So I just won this Soloist off of Ebay for $610. Retail on the Soloist is $1200. So about half off. The other bonus for saving a bundle on this is that, I will buy another Cervelo seatpost, one that is set up for TT's. With the nature of this bike, the post head can be flipped around to make this either road geometry or time trial geometry. If I have another seatpost with saddle pre-mounted, making this switch will be really simple.



The only major issue with this used frame is it has some tire rub with wore through some of the metal in the seat stays, but I dont think this will be an issue, other than cosmetic. The only other thing is that I really wanted the anodized black frame as they sell it now. But with the amount I saved on this, I could get this custom anodized, but I probably wont.

a bridge to nowhere...

just a pretty cool song title to title this post.

If I run 6 min miles next year, That would give me a run time of 33:32. Or....5 minutes faster than this years run time. I avg'd 6:56 min/miles this year. So yes 56 secs faster per minute, but ive been close to that pace before in my life. With a lot of hard work, i think i can be back there.


All the Eppies champs have been great runners. Lin Feil, Mike Ammon, Don Hicks, Leonard Veare, Vic Vicari. They could all run.

Run: 33.5
T1: 1.5
Bike: 29.5
T2: 1.5
Kayak: 39

Thats a 1:45 exactly. Winning material. And honestly, I think I can bike under 29.5 and paddle under 39 on a good day.

I dont just want to win my division, I wanna bring the under 40 crew back to a respectable position. This year was the first year (i think) I beat ammon on the run, but he's 61! No under 40 ironman has gone under 1:50 since Veare. Thats the mark, going under 1:45 now that is the stuff.

"If this is a race, then you hope you come last. put it in the past." Sam Roberts Band