Hi Van,

Yes, the R2 frame is absolutely the R3 frame. Same mould, same carbon, same layup, same everything. As you said, only the paint and fork make it different. (And the component parts of course.)

Also yes, it's only available in white. So just think of all the choices you have to add color: handlebar tape, saddle, cable housings, bottle cages... it's all up to you!

Cheers,

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

So, this fork would be ideal for a trispoke, right?

---

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Hi Damon,

Great reading and im pretty excited about this R2 ...and enjoy refreshing white ....stealth is just over done these days!!

With regard to the 'new mud' fork ...do you have any indications on weight ? I imagine it would have to be quite beefy to cop the pounding it was designed for (cobbles etc) ? and will ultimately affect (possibly not?) the handling ...nimbleness of cornering & steering etc ? as well as add additional grams to the frameset ?

Also - is the R2 frame BBright ? as per R3 ? ....the official website omits that fact ...just having FSA PF30 for R2 ...with R3 having BBRight PF30 ...probs just a glitch on terminology ?

Thanks in advance for you time!

Paul

Just ordered a - custom - R3 ... My 4th cervelo (Soloist, R3, T1, P3) and 5th I owned (sold a P2 when buying the P3).

If I did not already have 2 roadbikes, I would give the R2 some real thought, perfect rig to upgrade little by little, add race wheels and you have a TDF ready bike. Love it :-) If I was not married, a white option as a third option ... that said, if I buy the white R2 as well, i won't be married much longer anyway :-)

Great work, love that brand!

Hi Damon,

Thanks for the confirmation on the R2 frame (which is R3 frame).

What would be the ride characteristic of the R2 fork?

One LBS said the R3 fork is much more stable for fast descent on winding mountain road than the R2 fork. Is this correct?

Also, R3 fork can accept tires width 25mm easily.


Thanks again,
Van

I was thinking about buying an S3 today as it was just killing it out front of the Tour de France for 220km but in the end I decided to wait as it lost by seconds in the end so how great of a bike could it be.

Damon are you able to say what the watt savings are between R2/3 and new S3 at 40kmh?

I would have much preferred a 2012 P2. I take a long time to make big ticket item purchase. I'd been coveting a P2 for a long time.

Here in NZ, the MRRP was NZD $5500. (about $4500 US depending on exchange rates). Well, it took a while to save that much money. I went to the local Cervelo dealer and lo and behold, they wanted $6400. $900 OVER retail. I checked the build etc and sure enough it was straight out of the box, just as mentioned on the Cervelo website. Well no way was I gunna pay over retail so I searched around and found Nytro in Encinitas had them waaaaaaaay cheaper. I tried to get one from them, but with Cervelo's (and some other companies) policy of having to walk into the store, I had to fly from NZ to LA, get down the coast, find they didn't have my size in stock and fly home empty handed! Boy was I disappointed when the silvery grey thing came out of the box. I'd have loved a 2012 instead of a 2013.

With air fare, transfers, and even having to pay shipping, then the NZ tax on it, I still managed to save $1100 NZD compared to MRRP and a whopping $2k compared to the thieves at the LBS here in NZ. It wouldn't be soooo bad paying over retail, but at that bike store, service is crap and they are so arrogant I half expect them to speak French!

Thankfully a good friend of mine has just bought a bike store, they sell Cervelo, but as I've retired from tri, I can't see getting a new Cervelo tri bike any time soon.

---

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Hi Runless,

As you might imagine, there is more than one way measure that. The numbers I gave above are actually for the complete bikes, so they include the effects of the different seat posts.

And as you guessed, it's so convenient to instrument a seat post, in some other tests the effect of the post is not measured (since the instrumented post is the same post in all those test bikes). Such a test is good for measuring the effects of downstream components, thus answering questions about frames, wheels, etc., not posts.

There is a lot to the science of comfort, that's for sure. I can't share all we're learning, but it's not a simple topic and there're a lot of details to get right before you can claim to test realistically and with significant confidence.

Cheers,

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi Van,

The two forks, the R3 fork and the R2 fork, look very different, but in fact perform very similarly. They have virtually identical stiffness (both laterally and fore & aft), and of course the geometry is the same (43 mm offset for most frame sizes, and 53 mm offset to match the head angles on the size 48 and 51 cm frames).

One small difference: the weight of the R2 fork is a few tens of grams more than R2 fork, mostly due to the larger shape needed to clear bigger tires.

So based on the data (and confirmed by ride testing), both forks are good for fast descending on winding mountain roads. Fun!

It's good to hear your experience of the R3 fork accepting 25 mm tires. Officially, we only claim compatibility with 23C tires, because depending on the tire and rim, not all 25C tires fit. This is where we have to be careful, using 25C or 25mm - the biggest 25C tire we measured was actually 28.67 mm wide! So the letter(s) following the number, either C or mm, have become somewhat important. :-) Bottom line, just check the tires you're considering, to make sure they fit in the R3 fork.

Cheers,

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi Damon,

You have made my day! Thanks!

I always wanted to have the current R3, but with the Ultegra groupo, the price jumps over my budget.

Now that with your confirmation on the new R2, I'm no longer worry about R2 is less than R3, I'm really happy with the price.

I'm ordering one with in the next few days, even though I'm not a fan of "plain white" bike, but with the money saving, I can upgrade wheels, crankset...etc, later.

Thanks,
Van

Hi Van,

Makes me happy to hear that. Enjoy your new Cervelo!

Cheers,

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

If I recall correctly, the change from 1" to 1-1/8" fork didn't come until mid-way through the P2SL era. I had a ~2005 anodized black 55cm P2SL with a 1" fork (loved that frame!), while my buddy had a circa 2008 P2SL with a 1-1/8" fork.

...but that's just part of the nitty-gritty details of an otherwise very detailed summary.

hey damon,

I just bought a new 2013 grey r3 105 build. 2 days after came out with a new R2 what am I missing?

And, for my part, the R2 matches my New P3, and is at the top of my list if I get a new roadie this winter. It's the most attractive R I've seen outside of the R3 Dark. What was the deal with not bringing that over to the US, anyway?

---

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

That's no joking matter, many tears have been shed in NZ over that stage.
I couldn't help but think 'if only he'd picked the S5 for that day'
and maybe the ugly POC aero helmet

I'm assuming this was done with stock wheels?
This is most relevant feedback to me Damon. You've restored my hope that perhaps the R2 may work to combat fatigue with 27/28c tires, so perhaps this combo will work with less trial and error thanks to your experience. When and if I get the R2, I'll post up my tire experience with the frame.

Hi Donnie,

Yes, not measured with the newest "very wide" rims. 27 or 28C is technically bigger than we've planned for, but 27 or 28 millimeters should fit fine.
So please do check when you get a chance, and let us know what you find about your tires and wheels.

Cheers,

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi JMatroni,

Congratulations, you own a great bike!

You can easily compare components (crank, etc.) from the specs, so other than 11 speed, I'll mention a few differences in the R2 frameset.

• Internal cables (cleaner lines, less aero drag)
• Squoval 3 tube shapes (7.4 Watts better aero performance)
• R3 Mud fork (fits bigger tires)
• Different color (white versus grey)
• Different graphics (this one has a "2" and yours has a "3.") (Not actually trying to be too facetious; in a few years yours may have higher resale value because of that.)

Other than that, the frames are very similar: Same weight, same stiffness, same great ride quality, same fit & handling.


Enjoy!

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi paulm,

Glad to excite you with the R2!

The new R2 fork (nee R3 Mud fork) is indeed a few tens of grams heavier, mostly due to the extra carbon used to get 'round the bigger tire clearance. Otherwise it's virtually identical in stiffness (both fore & aft, and laterally) so comfort and handling are essentially no different. All our forks are strong enough for the cobbles; the layup of the R3 Mud fork is the same. In fact, if you add too much extra carbon (for strength), the fork can become too rigid - with less flex, it doesn't absorb the impact energy as well, raising peak forces - hopefully not beyond the strength of the the fibres! A little flex is good, even (especially!) on heavy cobbles.

Yes, the R2 frame is BBright (after all, it's simply the R3 frame...). We'll update the specs on the web site - thanks for catching that error.

Cheers,

---

Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi Damon,

Thanks again for your help...cant tell you how aweosme it is to be abel to talk to the ppl that actually really 'know' the answers ....so good, and v much appreciated!!

Another small query ...in a 54cm ...do you have weights on the R3 frame & fork off the top of your head at all ? ...im just spec'ing out a build and looking at trying to get her to a certain weight ...not sure when the R2 will be available 'ere in OZ ...but I am more than happy to wait for her now that you have confirmed the fork is pretty much the same as the R3 with extra clearance ...

thanks again!

Paul

Awesome. I do have a set of zipp 404 10 speed and a p2. So having the ability to swap on 10 speed. I almost returned bike and upgraded but like I said I got it for 1999 and I do like internal but idk if it's worth the extra hundreds. And if it's 11 speed I believe I won't be able to use the same cranks for putting on 10 speed quarq Riken or the zipps. I figured it would be smarter to hang on the r3 for those reasons. Thoughts? I almost went s3 for 2499 and decided not to. I use sram gxp on p2 so I figured I could possibly put the adapter on r3 and leave it installed but that would mean I would need an additional sram crank so I can still have a crank installed on the p2

Hey also another quick question. I use finish line polish and cleaner on both frames and I do that once I see it's visabley dirty and it puts a wax effect and shine. Probably once a month or so, is that ok for the frame and paint?

You might find the seatstays and brake calipers to be the limiting factor here. As Damon Rinard posted below, the largest tire they tested that fit was a "whopping 28.7mm" Vittoria Diamante Pro Lite. I sent Cervelo tech an email and received: "Hello Don, Thank you for contacting Cervelo with your inquiry. The largest size of tire that you will be able to run on the new R2 is a 25 mm.
Sincerely
Shawn.

So what I gather from this is: 28mm will fit but not all 28c will fit due to tire manufacture and measurement inconsistencies. So if you want a wide comfy/grippy tire for bumps or wet terrain, try and hope for the best, but keep your receipt.

I bought the new R3 frame in the early spring and have been very pleased with its comfort. I built it up with ten speed Shimano Ultegra & Dura Ace (my race wheels at 10 speed and I cannot afford replacements), and run Flo 30's (24+ mm wide) with Vittoria Open Pave tires that 24/25 mm clinchers. The wheel/tire/bike combo is very comfortable, especially now that I have learned to run slightly less air pressure. I've had no issues with these somewhat higher volume tires, and the speed of them has been great in training rides and races.