Reading the latest Cervelo newsletter, I was struck by their decision to discontinue the Bayonne to make “substantial” improvements even though it means an extended delay in delivery. Talk about doing the right thing. How easy would it have been to deliver the Bayonne, rack up sales, then improve it next year? I think it speaks well of the company that they’re looking out for the customers long term.
Tom
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We have been working on incorporating some new features into the Bayonne. Fortunately or unfortunately, while working on these features Phil designed more and more ways to improve upon the Bayonne, so much so that he has created a whole new beast. And, the developments are going so quickly that we feel that in the not too distant future, we can have a frame that, while a bit more expensive than the Bayonne, caters to the same audience and offers VERY significant benefits over the Bayonne.
To that goal we have decided to focus all our efforts on incorporating these new features in the frame and have halted the production of the Bayonne. The difference between the old and the new Bayonne will be so big that we simply do not wish to deal with angry customers who buy a Bayonne now and then see the new version appear in the not too distant future.
Now on the one hand we are very excited about this, but on the other hand we obviously don’t want to disappoint those who are already waiting for a Bayonne. So we will extend to everybody who, as of the first of March, has a Bayonne on order with their dealer the offer to purchase the new, and much improved, frame at the old Bayonne price instead of the new price. We certainly realize that this is not an ideal situation and fully understand if you decide to cancel your order rather than wait for the new frame, but we feel it is the right thing to do.
Our conservative estimate is that the new frame will ship by March 2006. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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Of course my pick of the month has to honor Bobby Julich’s great victory at Paris Nice. He used two bikes for that, so here we go:
P3 SL
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For the prologue Bobby used the P3 SL, the same model used by Jens Voigt to win the prologue. The P3 was the first frame we ever designed where we were not concerned at all with whether or not it could actually be built. When it came time to actually produce it, it took some time to figure out how to make its curved seattube in a consistent way so that it would always line up with the rear wheel (no standard bicycle frame jig allows for the correct positioning of the P3 seattube). When the P3 finally hit the market, it was an instant success.
Several frames of the first batch went to Sydney for the Olympics. Lothar Leder started winning on one as soon as he got it, and it was this frame that convinced Team CSC of the benefits of Cervelo and as they say, the rest is history. The P3 SL is a lighter version of this P3, but its incredible aerodynamics, best-in-class bottom bracket stiffness and clean and simple details such as the Internal cable guides remain unchanged.
In a world where bike frames more and more look like Christmas trees with unnecessary ornaments, the P3 SL reminds me of a great line from designer/writer/pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “A designer knows that he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
More info on the P3 SL here.
Soloist Team
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The same line from De Saint-Exupery can be applied to the other bike Bobby used in Paris-Nice. The Soloist Team is a purpose-driven design that mates some of the aerodynamic features of our time trial bikes with the proven road geometry of the R2.5.
But for all of its apparent performance features, my favorite is one that almost everybody overlooks. !(cid:bottom.jpg)Between the chainstays, there is an elaborate 3-D formed bridge. We went through countless iterations of this bridge to get it right, but in the end these 8 grams of aluminum succeeded in more than doubling the fatigue life of the Soloist frame. Given that even without the bridge the Soloist already passes all standard industry tests including the EFBe test, the enormous effect this little piece of aluminum has is a true testament to the skills of our engineering group.
More info on the Soloist Team here.
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Zeus Short Sleeved TT Top
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When we introduced our clothing in early 2004, we introduced the first Time Trial Top, Magnum. This year, we introduced a short-sleeved version of our popular TT Top, Zeus. Although designed as a time trial top for its aerodynamic fit, Zeus is the perfect top for almost anything you can think of doing on a bike.
As a time trial top, Zeus offers gripper at the waist to hold it down snugly on your bibs and gripper on the arms allowing you to reduce any drag caused by the smallest wrinkle in the fabric. Because the top and shorts are separate pieces, it is more comfortable for most riders, especially those with non-average body shapes and heights, than a traditional one-piece. We added two back pockets to Zeus for storage. The pockets are super tight and will sit flush to your back when in the full aero position on race day.
For triathletes, the high collar on Zeus helps prevent wetsuit chaffing around the neck and armholes when worn under your wetsuit and serves as an ideal top to race in. Zeus provides 40+ UV protection helping prevent sunburn and dehydration, two back pockets for storage on the bike and run and superior moisture management to help keep you cool and dry.
If you aren’t a fair weather rider like I am and brave the cold temperatures, Zeus is also an awesome base layer. The high collar keeps the cold wind and the cold jacket zipper from hitting your neck, the E-Fit fabric provides great moisture management and the gripper on both the waist and sleeves help keep all your layers in place for a long comfortable ride.
I like Zeus because on top of everything, it is also a great riding top; there are no zippers to mess with, two accessible back pockets for storage, 40+ UV protection, uncompromising moisture control and gripper to keep it in place on my bib shorts.
To view our entire apparel offering and to find your local Cervelo Apparel dealer, please click here.
“Talk about doing the right thing”
…you know, I’m a certified Cervelo junkie…4 bikes over the past 3 years…but it could have just been a black hole for them too - it’s all about money in the end. with the P3C coming soon - they probably have focussed more attention on that than the Bayonne and with all the changes they’ve made to the P3C - they probably couldn’t ask their manufacturers to produce anything more.
i’m sure they have supply chain issues like the rest of the world…and it’s probably not as holistic as we’d like to think - but, good for them for being as open about it as they are.
i feel for anyone who had a bayonne on order and now has to wait until march 2006 for it.