Cervelo SLC SL
“The best pure racer,” enthused our testers. “Like a sword,” and “ideal for breakaway specialists or those who live for windy crits,” this aero-tubed carbon bike “doesn’t waste a Watt,” and screams “I’m coming to kick your ass.”
- Bicycling magazine
If a bike sounds to good too be true, it’s probably … an SLC-SL. One of the lightest road frames in the world, it achieves this feat “despite” being the most aerodynamic. And because it is a real Cervélo, it also passes our incredibly high strength and stiffness standards. The reason we can make a frame that strong, stiff and light even without using the structurally optimized Squoval shapes of the R3 and R3 SL is once again our unmatched engineering prowess. We use the best design tools, we even develop some of our own software for carbon lay-up analysis, but most importantly we have the best engineers using those tools.
In truth, the regular Soloist Carbon is already as close to the ultimate road bike as anybody needs. Its combination of aerodynamics and low weight means that it is the fastest possible set-up in almost any race, so it should come as no surprise that it is the most-used frame for Team CSC. Sure, there are a few frames that claim to be lighter, and fewer still that actually are, but the weight difference is so small that the aerodynamic advantages virtually always outweigh it.
But some people don’t get this and think saving another 200g is extremely important, even though it constitutes less than 1/3 of 1% of the combined rider/bike weight, at best. But Fränk Schleck gets it, and used a Soloist Carbon to perfection in the Amstel Gold race to break away and increase his lead all the way to the finish atop the Cauberg. Of course Jens Voigt and other perennial soloists on Team CSC got it long before they had ever seen a Soloist Carbon, when they rode to victory after victory on the Soloist Team.
Once people experience the Soloist Carbon, they get it. So, to take away any reason not to try the Soloist Carbon, we’ve made this special SLC-SL version that not only has the aerodynamics of the Soloist Carbon, but also shaves off those 200g. Introduced at the 2006 Tour with select Team CSC riders, the SLC-SL is now in limited production.
The price for the SLC-SL frameset is significantly higher than the regular Soloist Carbon. Is it worth the additional investment to save 200g? There is no doubt the best value is the regular Soloist Carbon, because as mentioned before, the 200g will not make much of a difference in performance. But if the ultimate is what you are looking for, the only way to get it is through the extremely high costs of making a frame that is superlight while aero and incredibly strong. Because Cervélo will not sacrifice its standards, the SLC-SL has the same stiffness properties as the regular Soloist Carbon (actually, the SLC-SL tests a few percent higher) and of course just like any other Cervélo, it passes all our safety tests, including our industry-leading frontal impact tests.
Upgrades from Soloist Carbon
Lighter frame - While the Soloist Carbon is among the lightest frames in the ProTour (as determined by independent sources like the French magazine Le Cycle), the SLC-SL shaves another 200g off the weight to become one of the lightest frames in the world (real weight, not claimed weight) and the only in that select group with such aerodynamic features.
Higher bottom bracket and torsional stiffness - The Soloist Carbon is Jens Voigts favorite bike in 2006. So maybe there was no need to increase the bottom bracket and torsional stiffness of the SLC-SL beyond that level, but nonetheless we have raised it another 5-10% for optimum handling and safety.
Outstanding aerodynamics – Like the Soloist Carbon, the SLC-SL uses the best airfoil shapes designed for bicycle speeds. Cervélo doesn’t use standard NACA (now NASA) airfoil shapes, as they are mostly designed for speeds much higher than are attained on a bike.
Light, but efficient – It is easy to make a light frame, just use less material. But the SLC-SL is light by using material in the right places, rendering stiffness properties in the BB and in torsion that are even 5-10% higher than the already leading-edge Soloist Carbon.
New profile downtube - Our work into improving the downtube and headtube on the P3C has directly benefited the Soloist Carbon and SLC-SL.
Horizontal teardrop-shaped sloping toptube - Since the toptube has a slope to it, the aerodynamics can be improved by giving it the proper airfoil cross section in the direction of the airflow.
Stealth aero headtube – While the headtube may look round at the front, this is an optical illusion. The headtube is ultra thin and only 1mm wider than the P3C headtube. Although the leading edge is kept straight, the sides neck down in the center section, resulting in a very good airfoil shape around the headtube in combination with a classic side profile.
Oversized bottom bracket area – The increased volume of the bottom bracket area provides even greater bb stiffness so that Jens can continue to power away from the competition. The smooth contours of the BB volume help both for this BB stiffness and also for its strength as the fibers have a much more continuous path to transfer the loads better.
Wolf seatstays – The seatstays have an asymmetric design from our Wolf family of airfoil shapes, designed for optimal airflow around a thin frame member interacting with a spinning wheel.
ICS Internal Cable Stops - The best internal cable stop system available. Easy to install, easy to service, easy to keep clean and improved aerodynamics.
- Bicycling magazine
If a bike sounds to good too be true, it’s probably … an SLC-SL. One of the lightest road frames in the world, it achieves this feat “despite” being the most aerodynamic. And because it is a real Cervélo, it also passes our incredibly high strength and stiffness standards. The reason we can make a frame that strong, stiff and light even without using the structurally optimized Squoval shapes of the R3 and R3 SL is once again our unmatched engineering prowess. We use the best design tools, we even develop some of our own software for carbon lay-up analysis, but most importantly we have the best engineers using those tools.
In truth, the regular Soloist Carbon is already as close to the ultimate road bike as anybody needs. Its combination of aerodynamics and low weight means that it is the fastest possible set-up in almost any race, so it should come as no surprise that it is the most-used frame for Team CSC. Sure, there are a few frames that claim to be lighter, and fewer still that actually are, but the weight difference is so small that the aerodynamic advantages virtually always outweigh it.
But some people don’t get this and think saving another 200g is extremely important, even though it constitutes less than 1/3 of 1% of the combined rider/bike weight, at best. But Fränk Schleck gets it, and used a Soloist Carbon to perfection in the Amstel Gold race to break away and increase his lead all the way to the finish atop the Cauberg. Of course Jens Voigt and other perennial soloists on Team CSC got it long before they had ever seen a Soloist Carbon, when they rode to victory after victory on the Soloist Team.
Once people experience the Soloist Carbon, they get it. So, to take away any reason not to try the Soloist Carbon, we’ve made this special SLC-SL version that not only has the aerodynamics of the Soloist Carbon, but also shaves off those 200g. Introduced at the 2006 Tour with select Team CSC riders, the SLC-SL is now in limited production.
The price for the SLC-SL frameset is significantly higher than the regular Soloist Carbon. Is it worth the additional investment to save 200g? There is no doubt the best value is the regular Soloist Carbon, because as mentioned before, the 200g will not make much of a difference in performance. But if the ultimate is what you are looking for, the only way to get it is through the extremely high costs of making a frame that is superlight while aero and incredibly strong. Because Cervélo will not sacrifice its standards, the SLC-SL has the same stiffness properties as the regular Soloist Carbon (actually, the SLC-SL tests a few percent higher) and of course just like any other Cervélo, it passes all our safety tests, including our industry-leading frontal impact tests.
Upgrades from Soloist Carbon
Lighter frame - While the Soloist Carbon is among the lightest frames in the ProTour (as determined by independent sources like the French magazine Le Cycle), the SLC-SL shaves another 200g off the weight to become one of the lightest frames in the world (real weight, not claimed weight) and the only in that select group with such aerodynamic features.
Higher bottom bracket and torsional stiffness - The Soloist Carbon is Jens Voigts favorite bike in 2006. So maybe there was no need to increase the bottom bracket and torsional stiffness of the SLC-SL beyond that level, but nonetheless we have raised it another 5-10% for optimum handling and safety.
Outstanding aerodynamics – Like the Soloist Carbon, the SLC-SL uses the best airfoil shapes designed for bicycle speeds. Cervélo doesn’t use standard NACA (now NASA) airfoil shapes, as they are mostly designed for speeds much higher than are attained on a bike.
Light, but efficient – It is easy to make a light frame, just use less material. But the SLC-SL is light by using material in the right places, rendering stiffness properties in the BB and in torsion that are even 5-10% higher than the already leading-edge Soloist Carbon.
New profile downtube - Our work into improving the downtube and headtube on the P3C has directly benefited the Soloist Carbon and SLC-SL.
Horizontal teardrop-shaped sloping toptube - Since the toptube has a slope to it, the aerodynamics can be improved by giving it the proper airfoil cross section in the direction of the airflow.
Stealth aero headtube – While the headtube may look round at the front, this is an optical illusion. The headtube is ultra thin and only 1mm wider than the P3C headtube. Although the leading edge is kept straight, the sides neck down in the center section, resulting in a very good airfoil shape around the headtube in combination with a classic side profile.
Oversized bottom bracket area – The increased volume of the bottom bracket area provides even greater bb stiffness so that Jens can continue to power away from the competition. The smooth contours of the BB volume help both for this BB stiffness and also for its strength as the fibers have a much more continuous path to transfer the loads better.
Wolf seatstays – The seatstays have an asymmetric design from our Wolf family of airfoil shapes, designed for optimal airflow around a thin frame member interacting with a spinning wheel.
ICS Internal Cable Stops - The best internal cable stop system available. Easy to install, easy to service, easy to keep clean and improved aerodynamics.