Quote Originally Posted by smilingcat View Post
Soloist is a very nice bike.

is the front wheel on your soloist radially laced spoke instead of 2x or 3x? 3x cross lacing is slightly heavier and tends to be laterally more stiffer, it tends to be bit softer in terms of the ride. It has bit more give than a radially laced wheel.

Similar thing with the rear wheel. instead of radial lacing on one side with 2x on drive side, again try 3x laced wheels.

Another thing you could try is going to a gel seat instead of light weight bare bone racing seats. The gel padded seats are bit heavier but it does absorb lots of shocks and can make a difference.

I use a padded handle bar tape. It doesn't add much bulk but sure beats the old style bar tapes from the '70s in terms of comfort. And also wear gloves with padding in the palm.

These things may be enough to make it fun for you to ride the soloist.
Gosh, I have no clue how my wheels are laced...I'm pleading total ignorance on this one.

As for the seat...I've tested out my share of saddles lately. Right now, I'm running a Selle Italia SLK Lady Gel Flow and it's just "ok". My main issue with saddles is sitbone pain, and the SLK has not entirely eliminated that for me. Of all the saddles I've ridden recently, I have to say that my favorite one is, oddly, a "bare-bones" Specialized Phenom MTB saddle. It's pretty firm and quite minimalist, but it causes the least amount of sit bone pain.

My bike came with padded bar tape, so I'm good there. And I have tried just about every padded glove on the market...seriously. I have a growing glove collection that includes - PI, Castelli, Giro, Descente, Specialized, and Spenco Ironman gloves. I have yet to find a pair that work for more than an hour or so.

Thanks for your feedback!