Originally Posted by
Garfield Cat
Cervelo's 2012 squoval bikes, the R5ca, R5, R3 all have the same head tube length for their respective size bike frame. The RS has a longer head tube compared to the frame sizes of the other three.
Not to completely derail this thread, but comparing head tube lengths is an inaccurate method for comparing geometry. It's much more accurate to use stack and reach and in this regard, you'll see that the RS is very comparable to the new R3/5 geometry in terms of "height":
Size - RS v. R3/5 Stack
48 - 520 v. 505
51 - 531 v. 530
54 - 555 v. 555
56 - 579 v. 580
58 - 599 v. 605
61 - 618 v. 630
Now this tends to show that their stack in comparative sizes is very comparable and the RS is actually lower in some size names. Though the reaches vary as well.
It also discards the fact that the "sportive" category also uses slightly different HTA and wheelbase lengths to also change the ride characteristics.