Trek, Specialized or Cervelo, Which to go for?

Penne Kehl is wanting to get a new bike and has narrowed down his choice to three fine steeds, is the frame or the equipment more important to spend the money on? We go through the options involved

Question: Hi…I am new to road cycling and am in the market for a new road bike (hopefully to make me go a bit faster). I am looking at the following bikes :
1. Trek 1500 (with Ultegra)
2. Specialized Allez Pro (with Ultegra upgrade)
3. Cervelo Team Soloist (with Shimano 105)
The cervelo soloist is the more expensive option of the three but I would like to know is it worth the extra dollars for the frame or can I expect similar performance from the specialized bike ?
I appreciate any advice you can offer.
Kind regards.

Hi Penne,
Yes all three bikes are very good, all have a race pedigree and are well designed and built. You get better equipment with the Specialized and the Trek, but the Cervelo is the much better frame.

Specialized Allez

You would hope that your frame will last longer than your bike parts, so as things wear out you can up grade to better equipment, or down grade the parts to your old frame and replace with new better parts. Most of the “on the road” performance comes from the frame, and also from the wheels, you need to have as good a frame as you can afford so you have the best performance from your bike.

The frame is the foundation of your bike, that’s where to start from, all the equipment can be changed, but the frame has to be correct, the design, the angles, the tube lengths, the wheel base etc. The weight of the frame is also critical and I think you’ll find that the Cervelo Team Soloist is the lightest of the group.

Very importantly are the frame dimensions, have a good look at the specifications and pick the one that will fit you best, remember that your position can be adjusted by moving the saddle and/or changing the stem length. Check the dimensions.

Cervelo Team Soloist

But if you spend more money on the parts then it’s a big pay out to replace the frame, better to start with a good base and then change as you go along. In our opinion its better to go for the Cervelo.
Hope this helps.