Southern California - im reading cervelo frames crack all over the internet.....

its a brand new 2011 cervelo r3.is this a cervelo thing or a carbon thing?

Don't sweat it too much as long as you bought the bike at a shop. That's what the warranty is for. Composites have more variability in the fabrication process than metals. I don't have any direct knowledge of the failure rates of composite bicycle frames, but is almost inevitable given the process of mass producing something where low weight is a goal. Is there a guarantee that your frame won't crack? No, but I don't believe anyone making composite frames would give that guarantee. It's the nature of the material. (This is coming from 15 years in composites engineering.)

The good news is that Cervelo has a pretty good reputation of replacing anything that breaks. And they are still offering a lifetime warranty on their frames.

I've read stories of other manufacturers who find ways not to warranty frames. The lifetime frame warranty is not nearly as prevalent as it used to be.

Enjoy your new ride. It's on my list of bikes to test when I start shopping next spring.

I've heard the cracking problem is more with their aero frames then the squoval frames like yours and my RS. I've got 2500 miles on mine and no issues yet. And I really doubt if it's any worse then any other lightweight frames.

im sure your right

i've got a couple of friends that have ridden r3s for a couple of years and are well over 200 pounds and haven't had any problems