2008 Cervelo Soloist Carbon (SLC) 48cm frame set (with 3T Funda forks, original Wolf SL forks were recalled)

Update Thursday 15 Jan 2015

Wow!  What great customer service by Cervelo.  A fast 1wk turnaround on the warranty and the new frameset is already waiting for me at the local authorised dealer (where I originally deposited my broken frame).  They correctly warranted it to the 2014 S3 model, as I suspected they would (aero frame and aero fork to match the middle S model).

To me, this demonstrates integrity by Cervelo to stand by their warranties (there is no point paying for lifetime warranty on a frameset/bike if a company does not stand by it).  I could not have asked for more.  Cervelo even threw in an FSA BBright to GXP bottom bracket adaptor as they recognised that the standard had changed.  All I asked for was a 1:1 warranty coverage and they did exactly that.  Cervelo were very easy to deal with (I only had to go to my authorised dealer who took care of everything).

The warranty decision was simple as the bike was never raced, I am a lightweight weenie that does not stress the bike (generally approx 62kg and heading to 70kg for expeditions), and I look after the bike well.  I’m just an average cyclist and the bike was perfectly built (my best friend is my Norbar1-20Nm torque wrench) and never abused.

Seriously awesome Cervelo.  What more can I say?

Now I can get back to working on my aerobic fitness with some epic bike rides as I prepare for my Mt Everest expedition.

Summation of my experience:

1)      Fast, simple and painless warranty process.

2)      Honourable 1:1 product exchange.

____Wednesday 7 January 2015___

I have been training on my much beloved 2008 Cervelo SLC roadie (minimum 45km per day).  This was a built bike with all the best parts from Zipp 606 aero wheels to the current Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels.  I enjoyed taking this bike out for long and short rides as it was wonderfully fast and stiff (brilliant aero forks).  When it was dressed with the Zipp 606 wheel set I took it for a 200km ride in undulating conditions in Tasmania (many years ago).  That was one hell of a ride in the heart of summer, but we survived and had good memories. 

The geometry was perfect and the compact frame design fitted me sweetly.  Power transfer through the bottom bracket (BB)  was instantaneous and it railed around corners solidly.  It was really good.  Did I forget to mention that ‘red goes faster’? :-)

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a 1” hairline crack on the seat-tube (ST) a 1/3 of the way down from the seat collar.  Absolutely devastated that my baby broke for no known reason...this has not been crashed and is straight as a nail.  This was a AUD$3,999 frameset back in the day!  Lucky it has a lifetime warranty for the original owner (me).  The warranty was one of the main reasons I purchased it, particularly important when you spend so much on a frameset!  I am now going through the process of getting it warranted and hope it doesn’t take too long.  Hoping no hassles (I’ll keep you updated).

It was funny that around a year ago I saw another cyclist with the exact same frameset as me.  I cheekily said ‘nice bike’.  He looked at mine and then told me that his current bike was about to be returned for a warranty claim as he had cracks appearing on the BB area.  I thought that I was lucky at the time that I had no issues with my frame.  A year onwards and I am on the receiving end of a failure.

So what is my point in the review?  My point is that it appears there are quality issues with a high number of Cervelo bikes as I have read other models breaking in various areas (primarily on the BB on R3 related models).  When one pays for top dollar (premium cost!)  there should be no such issues at all.  Back in the day Cervelo was the leading edge company in aero bike design but the quality was questionable (ie. paint quality was inconsistent) but now every manufacturer has a premium aero model.  The advantage of the initial innovators has reduced significantly as other manufacturers now copy design aspects from each other and test in a wind tunnel.  This competition has also seen quality improvements which is great for consumers.

I give you a good example of good quality:  My 2007 (?) Scott Scale 10 MTB hardtail bike (purchased frameset) has an HMX carbon frame that is lighter than a road bike, yet it is incredibly strong to handle MTB conditions.  The net surface area on it would be equivalent to an aero road bike (if not slightly less).  This puppy is so strong and compliant that the quality cannot be matched.  I now see other manufacturers such as Giant (with their impressive Propel Advanced road models) giving top quality aero with top quality carbon lay-up.  Scott, Giant, Specialized etc have now caught up.

I think back to the early days of Alfa Romeo sport cars.  They were beautiful cars that drove very well but had notorious reliability issues (as with many Italian cars at the time).  That impacted sales.  With time, the quality improved but the memories remain.

Summation: find a good ride that fits you and just enjoy it.  Don’t be a brand “fan boy” as there are just too many good bikes out there on equal footing.