Rocky Mountain Bicycle Company Solo CXR

Price Paid:  $800.00 at craigslist

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Cold Creek

Bike Setup:
EC90X fork
ATAC Alium pedals
Michelin Mud 2 tires.
Linear pull front brakes (Performance Bike specials)
Everything else stock.

Summary:
Great cross bike for the recreational racer. I am 6-0 and 155 lbs. I love racing this bike and it has never held me back. The only quibble with the setup is the minimum 38-25 stock ratio. It comes up short on hilly courses. I can see myself putting better components on this frame over time - but it does not need it. 10 speed geartrain is nice but a bit fragile - I broke a chain on my first race. Front brake chatter can be controller with good pads. I finally got tired of it and switched the front to linear pull brakes with Travel Agents. Chatter is gone an now I have way better braking power (total cost $35).

Strengths:
Great frame geometry, solid overall components, awesome handling.
Have not had problems with shifting even in bad mud, but need to time your shifts on uphills.
Stock wheels are solid and light

Weaknesses:
Front brake chatter with stock brakes and pads. Stock Shimano wheelset is very tight - difficult to remove tires off the rims.

Similar Products Used:
First cross bike. Used a mountain bike at a cross race before that - it sucked.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Model Year:
2007

Summary:
been riding this for a few months and got a few races under my belt. Peter Conn's review is remarkably accurate though i havent had any problems with the seatpost.
However the fork chatter is bad enough to make hesitate to recommend this bike. You need lots of toe-in and i hope this gets fixed cause this is one nice frame.

Strengths:
this is a wonderful frame- good fast geometry with great mud clearance and stability. the bike is spec'd with great parts making this a solid bike for the cross racer.
Feels road-bike fast while distributing bumps and tracking like a mountain bike. Spec'd with great components including a full 105 drivetrain & wheels and easton cockpit & fork. Make no mistake, this is a cyclocros race bike, but it transitions to the road easily to double as good winter bike.

Weaknesses:
the front brake/fork combo chatters like a mother, affecting stability and freaking me out. it is less of an issue while racing when you merely feather the brakes, but a real pain on the road/trails. The 105 is nice to have but is not as responsive. seems to have gummed up with water/mud, etc.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at The Cyclery - Ottawa

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
-

Bike Setup:
Stock except FSA Gossamer comact mega exo 34-50, 12-27 cassette,easton EA-30 seat post

Summary:
Bought this year and raced 9 times through the fall. The bike helped me move up about 5 places from last year (when I used an old road bike). Best thing about the bike is the frame, fork combo. Lots of mud clearance and sound handling. Swapped the crank for a compact one before I left the shop, also installed a 12-27 cassette. 39-23 just isn't low enough for my local series or my legs. I had three problems during the season. First, the front brake chatters excessively. The set up requires so much toe in that pads last 3 races maximum. The brakes are Shimano every thing - brakes, pads, levers, rims and still they don't work. Second, the carbon seat post lasted about a week. One blown mount and time for a new aluminum one. Finally the 105 ten speed does not shift well when dirty - which is all the time in a cross race. The cable bosses allow for easy cable cleaning - which is a good thing because the cables need to be cleaned every race. ( an XT setup is much less sensitive to dirt). Overall, I am happy with the bike and would recomend buying one.

Strengths:
Handling, weight, mud clearance, fit, cabling.

Weaknesses:
stock gearing, carbon seatpost, brakes, 105 ten speed shifting when dirty, no barrel adjust for the rear brake

Similar Products Used:
Marinoni steel road bike

Price Paid:  $1700.00 at LBS

Model Year:
2007

Bike Setup:
Solo CXR Frame, Easton EC90X, RF Cadence 48/36, full dura ace, Shimano canti, 3TTT Less cockpit and seatpost, SLR Gelflow, Ksyrium SSC, Vittoria Corsa CX for fast dry courses and Michelin Mud 2 for muddy courses, Crank Bros C pedals. Sub 19 pounds in size 51.

Summary:
I just finished the local cross season on this bike and it was great. Last season and the first few races this year I raced on my mountain bike with 700C disc wheels. This was a good way to try out cyclocross with only a small investment, but I loved it and wanted to go the next step and this bike did everything I wanted it to. Light, stiff in the BB and almost the exact geometry of my road bike so I can ride it all winter long and transition back to my road bike no problem.
The shapes of the tubing is great, the downtube has a tear drop shape that is very easy to grab during run-ups and the top tube has a flattened area to rest on my shoulder for carries.
I used the custom build for the race season but will install all the stock parts (105, Shimano wheels, EA30 etc)back on for the winter ride.

Strengths:
Tubing shapes great for carries and shouldering
Light and stiff
Downtube is cable free
Road bike geometry great for winter bike

Weaknesses:
Easton EC90 fork shudders under hard breaking forces, but can be fixed by toeing in front brake pads a lot
Burned through 2 sets of front brake pads in 1 season, 2 months of training and 7 races.

Similar Products Used:
First real cyclocross bike