Cervelo anyone?

[kelownagirl]

My Specialized LBS burned down about 6 weeks ago. So much for my new Ruby - I have to hit another town 2 hours away to buy one now. So I was thinking of maybe looking at some other bikes in the same range. (Similar to the Ruby Expert - $3000-4000 (Can) carbon, ultegra or better....).

Can anyone point me that that general direction for Cervelo? I took a look at their website and didn't know where to begin, short of checking out the specs on every road bike they have...

Thanks...

[RoadRaven]

How much do you want to spend?

We have 4 cervelos in our stable.

If you want the best TT bike in the world, get a Cervelo P3 Carbon. You will never regret it. This is the bike that Cancellara wins TTs on. It is the bike my partner won gold on last year in the TT nationals, and intends to defend his gold on again this year.

If you want possibly the best road race bike, get an R3 or Soloist. The R3 is the one that stands up to the Paris-Roubeix course best. My partner has one of these and chose this over the Soloist as it is stiffer and he has found it fabulous for his back.

The Soloist has a slightly more aero frame and is not quite as stiff.

We are currently looking for a bargain-priced R3 or Soloist in my size for my road racing.

Happy hunting - I know alot (about 12 people) who have top-end cervelos, and they are all extremely happy with them

[Tri Girl]

I can only tell you from my experience, but I have the P2C and I love, love, love it!!! The shop owner told me there isn't much difference between the two- but the P3 has much better wheels (the difference in price is $1500). I tend to believe him because he could've told me all kinds of reasons why the P3C is better so I'd spend $1500 more with him (and I've bought 5 bikes from him already, so I think he's shooting straight). I'm sure there are other differences, but I LOVE my P2C. I'm not out to win anything big, just wanted a more aero, carbon, lightweight bike for Ironman races and other tris. I have the 48cm, so it has the 650c wheels (which I also love). It's light as a feather, responsive, strong, and FAST.

I've heard really great things from others I know about the Soloist. I know two others that have one and they rave about it.

Good luck with your shopping, and sorry to hear about your LBS.

[kelownagirl]

So the Cervelos are specifically racing bikes then? How are they for longer rides (100-200km)? I ride a lot and I do want a bike that will be good for a try but I also like to ride logner distances as well. (I guess I can keep riding my Giant for long distances if the cervelo is too 'aggressive' for longer ride comfort.)

I'm looking in the $3000-$4000 range (max).

[Tokie]

Hey Kelowna Girl, I have a sweet Colnago which all the bike guys said "fit" me perfectly, but the geometry on my (much more affordable and all carbon) Ruby is sooooo much a better fit. My Ruby soaks up road chatter and was fabulous on my first leg of America by Bicycle trip (Oregon coast to Jackson Hole) last summer over some pretty rough roads, challenging climbs and thrilling descents. We rode 80 to 100+ miles a day - the Ruby was great! My $$$$ Colnago feels like a school bus by comparison, and is only ridden as my back up bike now.I would want to ride both bikes in the correct size before deciding.(easier said than done, I realize!). Tokie

[VeloVT]

BF and I tested the R3 when he was looking for a bike, oh, the fall before last I think. Of the 8-10 bikes we tested, it was the far and away favorite. The ride is SUBLIME. It accelerates itself.

He settled on a Trek Madone because the Madone at that point was about 3k, the R3 about 5k, and the component specs were about the same. The OCLV carbon on his bike (that was back when there was just OCLV 110 and TCT, not a kajillion different grades) is fairly comparable in ride feel to the Cervelo, but the Cervelo is probably close to a pound lighter. Also, there was just *something* about it -- some of it was that it was the lightest bike we tried, and the carbon is nice, but it was more than that. Exceptional handling & balance -- it makes you **feel** instantly like a better rider.

I highly recommend testing . Maybe afterwards you'll think I'm full of bunk, but we really liked it.

I thought it was pretty comfortable. Definitely a racing geometry; but of course you can tweak this a bit with spacers/stem variations. I think the extremely light weight would translate to less fatigue over long rides, and though the frame is undoubtedly very stiff, it doesn't beat you up.

[VeloVT]

I also can't think of Fabian Cancellara without remembering the fantastically idiotic Cervelo ad from the TDF last year.

Fade in. Handheld camera (shaky). Fabian Cancellara relaxing by trailer after a race. Cut to clips of fast race footage. Voiceover:
"Hi, My name is Fabian Cancellara and I'm here to tell you a little bit about the ah, R3 bike. I was very happy when I heard we were going to ride it last year because I've never had a bike like this before. People say it's the best frame in the world."

End.

I drove my boyfriend crazy because every time it came on, I'd say -- "oh look look -- you have to watch this commercial -- it's so ridiculous!" For some reason it totally cracked me up over and over again because of its complete conceptual incongruity. Ok, it makes sense to feature Fabian Cancellara on a Cervelo commercial. After all, who's in a better position to simultaneously offer an expert endorsement AND lend sex appeal? But then they interview him, and he says NOTHING about what he thinks about the bike, or even if he likes it. The biggest endorsement he gives is "people say it's the best frame in the world." They would have been better off either not interviewing him at all and just having shots of him riding, or even having him talk about riding and racing and blah blah blah, but not mentioning Cervelos... but to have him talk about Cervelos and then almost pointedly say NOTHING personal about them, to have him mention his excitement at the prospect of riding an R3 and then switch to what "people say" about them, just defies any kind of logic... It was almost as bad as the Bode Miller commercials for ... was it Nike? ... during the last Winter Olympics, in which he was permitted a rambling voiceover monologue that was totally incoherent and scattered, but still managed to be irritatingly egotistical and self-indulgent. Well, I'm not imputing those personality traits to Cancellara, but it was almost as lame of an advertising strategy (to me anyway, what do I know).

Sorry for the threadjack. I'm off my rant now.

But, according to Fabian Cancellara, "people say it's the best frame in the world." So you should definitely try it .

[RoadRaven]

LOL... sorry, my "how much do you want to spend" was rhetorical... I had seen your $3-4000 numbers... thats either Canadian or US dollars I presume?

The bikes I mentioned (R3, P3 and Soloist) are all race profile bikes. I am not sure what else they have in terms of non-race bikes but I suspect not much. They are a relatively young company and put alot of money into designing for specific purposes.

The R3 is possibly the best example from their stable from this. The Paris-Roubaix is held up as the toughest-on-bikes road race because of all those cobbles. Cervelo have designed the R3 specifically for the Paris-Roubaix. It is designed to withstand the beating that cobble-stones give, and to make the ride as smooth as possible for the cyclist.

My partner would get a second R3 for training on if we could afford that and he often does 3-4 hour rides (for example, we race on Saturdays but every he heads out for a 100-140km training/recovery ride!). He says the R3 is the most comfortable bike he has ever ridden on. He has virtually no back issues after racing on it (or when he does a very rare training ride on it), because the R3 does not shake around like his other bikes.

I am not sure what the R3 sells for over your way, but what we are looking for for me is a 2006/2007 model - either from a bike shop with old stock, or from someone who likes to ride current models (with often the only difference being the paint-work). If we can find one from one of these sources the price will be significantly less.

[Wahine]

I didn't have time to read the other responses so I hope I'm not repeating too much.

P2C is great bang for your buck, is a fantastic triathlon bike and comes with a dual position seat post so you can set it up for more of a road type geometry for longer rides if you want to. If I could have gotten one for as good a deal as I got for my Kestrel - I would have gone for it.

[Tri Girl]

The longest ride I've had my P2C on was 107 miles. It was incredibly comfortable, if you like being in aero position most of the time. I'm very comfortable in that position, so I found it to be quite comfy. I sit up occasionally, but spend most of my time "lying down, resting."

[madisongrrl]

I love my 2004 Cervelo soloist team. It's the favorite bike in my stable and it's a great fit (fit by www.cronometro.com ). It's smooth on the road and its good for racing or long rides. I can't say enough great things about Cervelo.

[parity]

So the Cervelos are specifically racing bikes then? How are they for longer rides (100-200km)? I ride a lot and I do want a bike that will be good for a try but I also like to ride logner distances as well. (I guess I can keep riding my Giant for long distances if the cervelo is too 'aggressive' for longer ride comfort.)

I'm looking in the $3000-$4000 range (max).

The RS has a more relaxed geometry.

http://www.cervelo.com/bikes.aspx?bike=RS2008

You might want to test ride it and compare it with the R3 or Soloist.

[kelownagirl]

That one sounds like it would be great for DH, who has back issues. I have started up a second post looking for recommendations for him

I am going to check out the Cervelos today, esp. the P2C. ( The Soloist Team is aluminum isn't it?) The RS is too pricey for me I think.

This LBS also carries Orbea which are so pretty I might try them as well.

[VeloVT]

KG: P2C is an aero-tube TT bike, the geometry is probably a bit different than "regular" road geometry. It looks like it also comes stock with aero/base bar set up...

Looks like they have six road models though -- RS, R3, R3-SL, Soloist Team (which is Alu), Soloist Carbon, and SLC-SL.

[aicabsolut]

competitivecyclist.com

they have excellent descriptions