I recently purchased a Cervelo R2.5 Chorus from the good folks at Bow Cycle. In the <500 km I put on it over the last couple of months, I have found it to be a complete dream. Stiff, light, and comfortable as all get out. However, just over two weeks ago, I broke the frame going up a small hill. This is a story of how I ended up on a 2006 Cervelo Soloist Carbon.

Part 1
On May 25, 3 km from the end of an easy 90-minute ride through beautiful K-Country along Hwy 66, I stood to climb a small hill at a rather leisurely pace. I was talking over my shoulder to my riding buddies when I heard a sharp "crack" sound come from my bike and I felt the front end of the bike go all "floopy". I coasted to a stop and took a look at my bike. I looked at the front wheel, the handlebar and stem. No problems. Then it caught my eye - the downtube had separated from the head lug. $&#@!!!!!! I showed my friends, and to their credit, none of them laughed. There was one "Holy $#!+!", but that was it. One of them stayed with me while the other two went for the car. In short order, I was on my way home. That evening, I snapped pics of the downtube and sent an e-mail to Bow Cycle and Cervelo that went like this:

I received a reply from Cervelo Customer Service the next day:
I was stunned! A sympathetic and fast response from a bike company? Ye gods! I replied with my frame size and hearty thanks. I soon got a reply via e-mail:
Hmmmm. No R3, but I can get a Soloist Carbon for a bit more money. Hmmm. I started fishing around the web for advice on the ride quality, personal preference, etc. I was starting to lean toward the Soloist, but I wanted to talk to Bow and see what they recommended. That evening, I dropped my bike [minus the wheels, which I didn't feel like dragging with me] off at Bow [May 26]. The shop guy who took my bike said, "Uh, yeah. That really looks like a warranty", gave me a printed work order and said the warranty guy would be in on Saturday to look at it. Sweet!

I walked upstairs to where they kept the road bikes, and they had 3 Soloist Carbons built on the floor. I picked one up and it felt about the same as the 2.5 for weight. I did a bounce test, and there were no rattles. I talked to one of the senior sales staff, and he told me that the R3 was on a 3-month backorder. Damn! I asked his advice, and he said to go with the Soloist Carbon. I agreed, since I actually wanted to ride at some point this summer. Plus, the retail price for a SC frame/fork/post was the same as what I had paid for my entire R2.5 Chorus. I felt pretty good about things. It was not to last.

I hadn't heard from Bow on Saturday or Monday, so on Tuesday I called to see what was going on with the warranty process. Perhaps they were building up my new frame as a surprise? Uh, no.
Me: "Hi! I'm just calling to check on my bike. It's a Cervelo R2.5 with a busted frame. Somebody was supposed to look at it on Saturday and give me a call."
Bow: "Cervelo? Nope, haven't seen it."
Me: "..."
Bow: "Nobody told me anything about a frame for warranty."

At this point, I'm thinking "WTF?", but I kept my cool. I gave him my name and number, and he said he would go find it. I got a call the next day. They found my frame! They had put the wrong phone number with my name, and since they sort everything by phone number... I told him that I wanted to go with the 54 cm Soloist Carbon that Cervelo had promised. He was suitably surprised, saying he hadn't heard anything from Cervelo. Sigh. I e-mailed Cervelo again, and they apologized for not contacting Bow, but said they would call right away.

That night, I came armed with the e-mails from Cervelo, my original purchase receipt [which the original shop guy had not bothered to ask for] and just a little bit of anger behind my eyes. The warranty guy at Bow could see I was not in the best of moods, and he had me processed and on my way in just a few minutes. My mood deteriorated when he said that there was going to be a charge to switch my components to the new frame. I had expected a bit of a hit, but he tossed out $150 as a number. My expression must have been pretty good, because he actually took a step back [I'm 4" shorter and 30 lbs. lighter than him, and he was on the far side of a chest-high counter]. I told him straight out that there was no way I was going to pay them to run cable and install my derailleurs, and that I would put the parts on the new frame myself. He said it could take a week or two to get the frame in from Cervelo, but that he would be in touch as soon as it showed up.

Part 2
The following Tuesday, I got the call. The frame was on its way! Only one snag. The $300 Cervelo wanted for the frame was to be USD equivalent. I'm all, "fine" - that's about $330 at the current exchange rate. He's all, no, it's $360 + tax; Cervelo uses a 20% exchange rate. I made an angry, disgruntled noise, as I was at a loss for words. I heard him take a step back - over the phone. He quickly said that he would call me when it came in. The next day, I get another call. The frame is in the shop and looking pretty. I got there right after work and was presently surprised to see that I only owed $300 CAD + tax. Cool. Here are some pictures of my little bundle of joy after I got it home from Bow:

Peekaboo!

Looking good! Wait, there's something missing...

No seat post clamp. Son of a b****! Well, I won't be riding this tomorrow...

I phoned Bow again on Thursday to get a clamp, but didn't hear back until Friday. I picked up the clamp today:


The final build:

Some outdoor bike pr0n:




I took it out for a spin tonight. It feels exactly like my R2.5. I'm satisfied with my decision, as well as my bike building skills.

Wow, that's a really sharp bike!

Sweet!!! have you had a chance to ride it yet? Dude let us know how she rides....and thanks for the pics

Thanks for the compliments! I'll get out for a longer ride tomorrow, but the first impression was that it dampens bumps and cracks really well. I'm just happy to be able to get back out there again.

That's HAWT!

Nice read...... very nice bike!

Hey!!! Very nice bike!!!!

1) It's a nice bike, enjoy it.

2) Not cool for the $150 charge. My LBS built up my replacement Trek for free, and when I offered to pay anyway, he said that Trek compensates them for the build as part of the warranty service. I wouldn't be surprised if Cervelo had the same policy.

Exactly, charging you to switch the components? What kind of warranty is that?

Congrats on your new bike.

If I was treated the way you were by an LBS where I spent that kind of money, I'd be looking for a new LBS.

KS

I am glad that you are happy with your new bike. I would look for a new LBS though. Mine would have taken better care of me that is for sure.

Beautiful! Sorry to hear about the R2.5 though. Nice to know you were not hurt in the incedent. There really has been a problem with those it seems.

The bike is sweet, but the service from LBS was unreal. I got better warranty support from Performance Bikes on a frame replacement on a Fuji bike. When your LBS is worse than Performance, that's a real statement.

WOW.......i have never really liked the look of the SOLOISTS until i saw yours......not sure what it is about it......but its gorgeous!

Thats because he is showing a Carbon Soloist, not a R3




R3

yeah yeah.....brain fart........NOW I FEEL LIKE AN A$$!!


ill edit it.....but the evidence is still there!

No Worries, subtle differences only losers keep track of...

I was just about to suit up for a ride, and my wife reminded me that we have brunch with the in-laws this morning. Oh well.

Will I continue to use Bow as my LBS? This is the first bike I've ever bought from them, so it's not like I have a lot invested in the "relationship". Bow Cycle is the biggest shop in Calgary, but their pricing/service isn't always the best. I have found Calgary Cycle to be the best in terms of service, followed closely by Eurotech. However, they are both small shops with a more limited selection. Truth be told, I get a lot of my gear from MEC. They sell bibs, tubes, tires, tools, tights, etc. for less than just about anybody else in Calgary. If I want a larger component [i.e. fork/wheels], I'll go to an actual shop, but then I check online for pricing and it's almost always 20% lower. I want to be a loyal customer, but I don't want to waste my money either...

There's nothing wrong with being a loyal customer of MEC either. That's a great looking bike!

signed,
Member # 2101-4
aka bccycleguy

It sounds as though your LBS were trying to squeeze you a bit on this deal. Supporting a bike shop like that after being given the runaround would only make it appear that it would be OK to treat their customers like that.

Even so, a Cervelo Soloist upgrade from a R2.5 is one hell of a deal for only 300 bucks! You made out pretty well. Congrats on the new bike.

Yah, the upgrade was lucky. I would have been pissed to have to wait 3 months for an R3. I can't imagine riding my single-speed everywhere. The difference in price between an R3 and a Soloist Carbon frame at Bow is $900, so that eases the pain a bit. I don't think I will buy anything more at Bow unless I absolutely can't get it somewhere else, or I have to warranty the Cervelo again...

I too use Bow Cycle as my LBS. I have found in the past that they can be a bit slow and you have to hound them sometimes to get stuff done, but I have always found them to be friendly and do high quality work.

Also over the past year that I've been using them I have worked up relationships with the the guy that works the parts counter and a few of the mechanics. Having done this I find that I always get parts and labour at a 20% discount and will usually be bumped ahead if my bike needs work. On a few occasions I've brought my bike right before closing and had a few guys actually stay after hours just to get my bike done (on the 3 times this happend they charged me no labour, only a 6 of pill (canadian beer))

However I have had some problems getting them to do work when I've dropped my bike off, but a phone call every day seems to move the work along fine.

I've bought 1 bike, had a fixed gear built up on a frame I supplied and am in the process of buying a frame for a new road bike from them. With the service I get and the discount they give me I have no problem going through them.

I heart bow cycle, haha!

WOOOOO PINKROBE FTW!

I'm glad everything worked out even better!

Good lookin dude.

Seriously, when my F65 frame went south late last year, after they ran out of F65 frames, I got a bump to an SC1 and my components swapped at no charge w/o having to twist anyones arm. The only problem was it took 6 weeks for my LBS and Felt to get there act together and get my bike back. Fortunately, the sight of the SC1 caused me to completely forget about the wait

But if they had said "Surprise! You owe us money!" I think I would have told them where they could stick the seat post and taken the rest of the components home.

I think part of the "problem" is that I do most of my own service work, if not all. It's hard for me to buld a rapport with a shop because I don't usually go in for repairs. In the last 5 months I've built 3 bikes from the frame up and built a wheel for my SS. I'm sure that the people who are in the shop every other week will get preferential treatment, but I dropped $4k there, and one would think that I might get a wee break on the service. If they had assembled the bike for me [it took me a couple of hours, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to fish the cables through the frame], I can say that Bow would be my New Best Friend. Now, they're a half-step in front of the Bike Shop [motto: Profit Uber Alles].