Comments on: Bigrock Sohtea TEAM EDITION Carbon Road Bike Frameset

By: zeusxl5

zeusxl5 — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:16:07 +0000

This is a review of the frame itself I have not built it up yet Upon delivery i examined it thoroughly and was amazed how well presented it was, I had the M size 54 in blue, the paint is immaculate, the colour looks almost black in low light but in the sunshine the blue comes through very subtly it,s a shame I live in the UK. The reasons why I went for this frame was 1) weight 2) standard seat post and 3) Bottom bracket size.
The bottom bracket threads are super clean no over spray, the faces are also clean, brake mounts the same.
Looking at the inside of the frame it all looks neat and tidy all smooth, headset seats look good, you can see the care this company takes making the frame, one thing I would add the front mech hanger is actually bolted on the frame. I only found one tiny ( fault ) the drain hole in the BB was not finished off i.e not sanded after drilling
easily rectified, but that’s being very picky, it all came well packaged only took about 3-4 weeks thanks to Panda Podium . An observation on the photos, the frame looks like it has an extreme sloping top tube but in a Size M it looks more “normal”. If your looking for a very light climbing frame with a BB ready for a Cybrei crankset look no further, sometimes it is possible to find gold at the end of the rainbow, and no I do not work for Big Rock .
Real World Weights size M Frame 707 gms Fork 285 gms Seatpost incl ( hardware 380mm) 176gms

By: Giacomo Casadei

Giacomo Casadei — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 08:18:01 +0000

I have ridden more than 5000km (with roughly 200.000m of climbing) on my Sothea Team Edition since June.
I live in the Franch Alps, pretty much no flat terrain around and I have raced the Sothea in all my GF this summer (got a couple of wins, like the Megeve-Mont Blanc 120km M2 age category), races around 120/150km and with 3000/4500m of positive height gain. I have used it for climbing TTs too with deep wheels (CRW 5055) and I frankly had no major penalty from it’s “non aero” shape.

I can confirm all Joe has said in his YouTube review and all people have being saying about this bike: super fun to ride uphill, extremely reactive and rigid while seated but also pretty stable downhill. The geometry is “standard” (similar to Winspace SLC or a Giant TCR) and allows for a forward position ideal for mountain terrain. It is also pretty confortable and given my volume (15h-ish per week), confort comes almost ahed of performance.
The only possible limiter indeed the tire clearence but for the type of racing I do and my weight 28mm is more than enough. I haven’t tried but I am pretty sure 32mm will fit though.

I definitely reccomend the frame, especially if you ar looking for a climbing bike and you are doing many races in the mountains. The weight is just redicoulous, size M without pedals (I have Assiomas) is 6.2kg and I haven’t gone full weight weenie. With a sub 1kg wheel set for climbs, a light saddle, I might be well below 6kg!