jwarf

For a hammer bike, is it the R3 or save the cabbage and get a CAAD9 and buy a good wheelset?

branman1986

depends on what kind of rider I suppose. I'm a heavy sprinter/masher guy, so I want a Caad9 really bad.

Just don't go down and break the R3

DrPete 

The R3 is actually the stiffest Cervelo in the bottom bracket IIRC... Lots of guys use them in crits, including several of CSC's riders. And MDCatV.

Cassadamius

Why use the R3 over the Soloist? I mean....it's a bit more expensive, but the R3 seems to be mostly built around saving the weight. I have been dreaming of these bikes myself, and the R3 seems nice because I'm light and may not be able to handle the Soloist in a crosswind. So, I'd like to hear other peoples' opinions on these bikes.

recursive

Stiffness, I think.

Cassadamius

From what people say, the Carbon Soloist is ridiculously stiff as it is, plenty stiff enough. I'm 135 lbs. I don't think I can flex either one of these either way. CSC uses the Soloist in even huge mountain stages. I like the R3 better, but the Soloist just seems like the better choice in 90% of situations.

jmp66

FWIW a friend cracked an R3 frame where the seatstays meet the seat tube (not in a crash)

F = MA

I'm also light (130lbs). How much would the profile of the soloist effect your riding during crosswinds?

MDcatV

My team is sponsored by a shop that deals cervelo, a bunch of us are on R3s and a 2 are on Soloist carbons ... both are great frames for any race application. I love the R3 for crits/road races/training/long rides, anything. It's so responsive and quick, perfect for me. I'm not an advocate of test riding a bike to make a decision on purchase as I think you can get alot of bad or conflicting feedback by doing so, but I found the R3 to feel a little more comfortable on the posterior, and honestly just liked the looks of it better, which is why I chose it over the soloist carbon. IMO, you cant go wrong with either.

According to the folks I know on soloists carbons, the profile of the frame effecting your riding during crosswinds is minimal.

Someone posted about an R3 cracking in a non-crash situation - I've got experience with that except mine was with an R2.5 (which was a real lemon of a frame). Cervelo customer service, although a little sluggish on the responsiveness, replaced my R2.5 with an R3 at no additional cost, or would have replaced with a soloist carbon for the difference between an R3 cost and soloist carbon cost. So, they stand behind their product and lifetime warranty.

Dont sleep on the Soloist Team either, it's a great machine and if I wouldnt have had carbon on the brain when I was getting the R3, that's what I'd be on right now.

ryanhulce

For me (157lbs) you can feel it in a crosswind. Anything under 15mph isn't too bad. Above that and you need to be alert. The only real problem I have had with crosswinds is a day it was gusting 40+mph which to be honest I shouldn't have been riding. My is the team and it is very stiff as well. Very good power transfer to the wheels.

jrennie

almost any current frame is going to be stiff under a 130lb rider. If it is going to be just a crit bike then I would get the caad 9. If you race enough crits even really good riders crash out so keep that in mind. If it isn't going to be used for RR or climbing then there isn't a need for the r3 other than blig(which I'm almost always in favor of)

NoRacer

IME, this is NOT an artifact of Cervelo frames, exclusively, but just a fact for any bike in a strong crosswind, hence, MDcatV's statement.

ryanhulce

I agree to a certain point, but I can tell a difference between my old Trek 1000, and my Soloist in a "Strong" crosswind, but then again I'm also using slightly Aero rims as well. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my CERVELO, and would be hard pressed to buy from another company in the future. I love the way it rides, and of course the bling factor of watching other riders drool over it

rogster

Is the R3-SL a good value over R3 ? $3300 versus $2600. Just wondering....

miket

Not to shave 1/4 of a pound... but if you like the black & white paint scheme better, then yep.