Here’s my review of my Specialized Dolce Sport Triple! This bike is a joy to behold and a joy to ride. All of the specs are further down in this article, but quite frankly, they mean little to me. Joe assures me the bike is “good enough for me,” by which I gather he is not being rude – he just thinks it is good enough for someone commuting 32 km (20 miles) a day, and also planning to do the occasional long-distance recreational ride. And I have to say he’s right – it’s good enough, and then some! See for yourself – here is a quick video introduction to this great bike:
The Specialized Dolce Sport Triple is what they call an “entry-level” road bike, but I think it’s outstanding quality at the price I paid.
The Specialized Dolce Sport Triple is what they call an “entry-level” road bike, but I think it’s outstanding quality at the price I paid. I feel fast and powerful on this bike, and that’s not something I get to feel too often. The bike is light and small. The carbon forks and Zertz inserts (whatever they are) do a great job of sucking up the bumps and potholes, which is a good thing. It’s amazing how those forks soak up the bumps, without the additional weight of shock absorbers (as on my mountain bike, which is bouncy but much heavier).
Related: Review of one of the greatest value-for-money road bikes, the Specialized Allez Elite 2014
Specialized has put a lot of effort into creating their women specific designs, and it shows. I don’t feel like I am being stretched on a rack when I use the drop position. And there’s a lot of space on the handlebars for my essential toys, such as my Garmin bike computers.
I especially like the extra brakes on the top of the handlebar, which effectively give me three different positions to use my hands, and make me feel safe when sitting upright in traffic. Why aren’t all road bikes like this?
I have to admit that the brakes on top took a little getting used to – I nearly had an accident on my first ride when I tried to hit the brakes and accidentally shifted gears. This is my first real road bike, so it’s just a whole different way of riding. The last time I rode a bike with drops I was 15 – the bike came from Sears in a box and my dad assembled it, and the brakes never stopped screeching!
This bike also feels gentle on my hands and wrists. Since I started cycling I have been worried I am getting arthritis, but Joe assures me it is normal to feel pain in the hands and wrists when one starts cycling longer distances. Between the carbon fork, the Zertz inserts and the three different hand positions, I am sure I will not be getting as much wrist and hand pain with this bike in the future.
If you are going to get a great bike, get a great bike lock. This is the best selling bike lock on Amazon, and it’s great value for money with its current sale price.
The best thing about this bike is that I am no longer being passed constantly when I commute to work. I am much faster on this bike, and according to my Garmin Edge 820 GPS Bike Computer, (reviewed here), my top speed this morning was 43.4 km per hour (27 miles per hour). Not too shabby!
Quibbles about the Specialized Dolce Sport Triple
My only quibble is that the brake levers are still quite hard to reach when I have my hands right down in the drops – I think Specialized could safely have made them a little smaller, to accommodate smaller hands. I do have small hands, but not tiny.
Update: I later switched to a Giant Avail 3 (reviewed here), and I don’t have this problem with that bike.
Bottom line on the Specialized Dolce Sport Triple
I highly recommend this bike for women (or shorter men) who want to get into road biking, and who want to leave open the possibility of participating in a long-distance event or a triathlon. You’re not going to win on this bike, but you won’t be embarrassed either. The Specialized Dolce Sport Triple is an excellent entry-level, all round commuter, training and event road bike.
Technical Specs for the Specialized Dolce Sport Triple (WSD)
Sizes: Women’s 44 cm, women’s 48 cm, women’s 51 cm, women’s 54 cm, women’s 57 cm
Colors: Red/White, White/Berry
Frame & Fork
Frame Construction: TIG-welded
Frame Tubing Material: A1 Premium aluminum
Fork Brand & Model: Specialized FACT carbon
Fork Material: Alloy crown and steerer, aero crown
Rear Shock: Not applicable
Components
Component Group: Road Mix
Brakeset: Tektro cold-forged brakes, Shimano Sora STI levers
Shift Levers: Shimano Sora STI
Front Derailleur: Shimano Sora
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Tiagra
Crankset: Shimano, 30/39/50 teeth
Pedals: Black cage
Bottom Bracket: 113mm spindle
BB Shell Width: 68mm
Rear Cogs: 9-speed, 12 – 25 teeth
Chain: KMC X9
Seatpost: Specialized Sport aluminum, 27.2mm diameter
Saddle: Specialized BG Women’s Riva Road
Handlebar: Specialized Women’s Comp
Handlebar Stem: Specialized Elite-Set
Headset: 1 1/8″ threadless
Wheels
Hubs: Forged alloy
Rims: Mavic CXP 22, 32-hole
Tires: 700 x 25c Specialized All Condition Sport
Spoke Brand: Stainless, 14ga. (2.0mm)
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Janice Ryan says
September 10, 2012 at 8:14 pmI have a Dolce and love it too 🙂 I do find that the white tape on the handlebars get dirty very quickly. WOndering how other people cope with this? Also, I have to say that the saddle that came with the bike was women specific and looks good, matches the bike – but I still prefer my Brooks saddle.
Mighty Minnie says
September 11, 2012 at 2:41 pm@Janice Ryan: The tape on handlebars is one of my favorite things about road bikes. You can add change it whatever and however you like. For example, you could put black tape on that model, and it would look good, and be more resistant to dirt. I don’t know of anything you can use to clean it though.
Sonja in BC says
September 10, 2012 at 8:21 pmI am also a fan of Specialized. Thanks for the review. I am going to add this to my list of possibles, i’m shopping at the moment for a new road bike in this range. I am also interested in the Specialized Ruby. Of course thats moving into a higher price category.
Stella H says
September 10, 2012 at 8:23 pmI had one of these but I found that over 55 km p/h it did not feel that steady. Pretty sure it was not just my riding style. Do you have any advice on WSD bikes that are designed for stability at high speeds? I’m a speed junkie!!!
Chris says
September 10, 2012 at 9:37 pm@ Stella H – you would find a much more stable ride on the Specialized Ruby – but you would also pay a lot more. There’s also a pretty good discussion of women specific bikes here with links to some good ones, but they all seem to be at a much higher price point than the Specialized Dolce. With bikes you always seem to get what you pay for, I agree the Specialized Dolce is a great entry level bike for events and long rides. Most entry level cyclists don’t ride at 55 km per hour, so they won’t often have the same problems you are having! At under 50 km/hour this bike is rock steady in my experience. but if youre going to be making a habit of doing that kind of speed (plus 50 k), you’d be better off spending some extra money and getting a higher level bike.
Melanie Suzanne says
September 17, 2012 at 12:33 pmYou’re not wrong about the Dolce being speedy. I got a 2012 Dolce to use on longer distance rides and quickly learned that likes to go fast. I had to use a converter to figure out how fast you were going in MPH and I can get the same speed with barely breaking a sweat. It’s a great bike!
Average Joe Cyclist says
September 20, 2012 at 12:10 pmThanks for reminding me that I need to convert km to miles on my site 🙂 You are pretty speedy, I have to say!
Melanie Suzanne says
September 20, 2012 at 12:50 pmWell, only on the Dolce and for short bursts. 🙂
My average speed is about 13.5mph / 21.7km/h (I think) on my hybrid and slightly less on the loop frame.
Stephanie says
September 20, 2012 at 2:51 pm“Women specific” bikes are a scam, they prey upon ignorant people who believe that there actually is a difference in the leg/torso ratio of men and women, but in fact there is not. Women are better off to ignore this scam.
Ruth B says
September 20, 2012 at 4:27 pmHow is a WSD a “scam”? To me the term “scam” means ripping someone off deliberately.
Different strokes for different folks! women specific design increases our options, and that’s a very good thing IMO – it makes a nice change from a century of being 100% ignored by bike makers. Funny to me how many people look a gift horse in the mouth – for my part, I am just glad to be a woman living in the 21st century – not so long ago, women could not even ride bikes because it was scandalous for us to be seen in public in trousers. If we are at the other extreme now where our dollars are being targeted by making us feel special, I for one can live with that! Plus, WSD bikes provide a good option for me because it so happens that I really AM shorter in the torso and longer in the legs than many men of equal height. I feel WAY more comfortable on a bike with a shorter top tube.
Devon says
September 22, 2012 at 12:02 pmI have worked in bike shops for many years, and I can tell you that there are many women who are much better off on a WSD (oddly there are also a few men that are much better off on a WSD). Seems that the WSD option just expands the options. a really good bike fitter will take one good look at a person and know whether a wsd could end up being a good fit. Unfortunately, with the guys we don’t usually recommend one, because some will be offended and you don’t want to offend the customers, but i have had some guys actually ask for a specific model that happens to be wsd, because they have found it was a good fit before and then of course i am entirely happy to accomodate him. On the other hand, on occasion there are woman who ask for wsd and it is clear they are more suited to standard geometry. in that case I tell them – woman take much less offense at this kind of thing than men. Go figure!