Pro Tour Bikes and Identity
Cervelo just launched an updated Soloist, the first generation of which used to be the bike of choice for the CSC and Cervelo Test Team Pro teams in the early 2000s. The 2002 Soloist was perhaps the first road bike with a focus on aerodynamics. It looked far more like a TT bike with drop bars than a regular road bike. Cervelo subsequently created the S and R series, which became the bikes of choice for their Pro teams. The Soloist, now superseded was sent out to pasture. As the S5 (aero) and R5 (climbing) bikes became the darlings of the Cervelo range, there wasn’t really a need for the Soloist. But then in 2022, Cervelo relaunched the Soloist, positioning it as a do-it-all bike. Not as aero as the S5, and not as lightweight as the R5, it fit somewhere in the middle. It was used on occasion by the Pro team, but it largely saw use with development or youth teams. What I think is interesting about bikes like the Soloist, which aren’t used by the Pro teams, and never find themselves on camera, is that they create the capacity for their riders to impose a unique identity upon them. The S5 and R5 cannot escape the fact that they are used by the Jumbo / Visma / Lease-a Bike team (choose your sponsor depending on the year). Their identity is firmly established. They carries both the prestige and the baggage of the teams which use them. It also means that they date easily and show their age far quicker. The Soloist will remain timeless, as it doesn’t have any association with the Pro teams. It is a blank canvas, which doesn’t carry any preconceptions. The rider is free to create their unique relationship with the bike, and allow for it form its own identity.
Every rider has a deeply personal relationship with their bike, and perceives the notion of identity differently. But bikes like the Soloist, or the Caledonia (within the Cervelo family), are just easier to create a unique bond with. They are also (subjectively) better and more capable bikes, which make them long-lasting companions, and there’s nothing like time spent on the bike to develop an emotional bond with something. I love gawking at the incredible innovations the Pro teams’ flagship bikes bring with them, and I’m sure they’re delightful to ride. But the bikes I really look for are the ones that are built for the everyday rider. The rider who spends every minute they eke out from a busy day on their bike. The rider who relishes every pedal stroke ridden in anger. The rider who takes care of their bike, and views it not so much as a piece of equipment, but as a companion. The rider who bestows a unique identity on their bike.
