An aluminum 2.5. If it shares it’s big brother’s production/delivery schedule, we might see them on the road by 2007 :).
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=photos/2004/tech/news/apr06/10cervelo_flanders
Guys, I just want my R2.5… It’s been 2 years.
Is that two actual years, or two bike industry years?
Maybe that’s what the 2.5 stands for? 2.5 years until delivery.
We discussed this on a recent post. The only thing is that there are a lot of aluminium compact frames available. The R1 will have to be IMO around the same price as a TCR to be viable. If they produce it in more sizes such as the six that the Soloist comes in rather than the four for the TCR, this could give Cervelo an advantage over Giant in the market place.
Hahaha, very funny Tibbs.
More seriously, I don’t know why people are so down on this whole R2.5 thing, you should be happy. First of all our delivery this year is actually very good, on every model except for the R2.5. While everybody has problems with Shimano delivery, we have delivered virtually all pre-season orders on time. Ask Tom D. And if we do introduce the R1 (it’s just a prototype right now) it will also be delivered on time.
With the R2.5, we will not deliver unless we are 100% satisfied. It’s true that demand is huge, in fact I did the math the other day and I could have retired by now if we had started delivery right after the Tour, but although CSC was happy with the frames Phil and I were not. It passed all the industry tests (which is more than can be said of most frames), but there some other things we thought were important to improve. I know this is not how it is usually done, and the number of carbon frames developed in one month and tossed on the market this year prove it, but we don’t want to work that way. The result was that manufacturing was VERY slow. TOUR had a test of a whole bunch of new carbon frames and they came to the conclusion that it was both the most expensive and the worst lot of frames they have ever tested. Even the most basic of features were wrong, wheels didn’t fit, tires rubbed, in short a lot of them were crap.
In the long run we don’t believe that works for a company, and so now that we are finally ramping up production on what is the 2005 R2.5, Phil and I are 100% convinced people will see it was worth it. And why this is the carbon frame has absorbed more R&D money than any of its competitors (we have a group of friends/consultants who work for us but they normally work for car/aerospace companies, and they cannot believe they are doing these projects for a simple bike company - but they love it since they love bikes so luckily they don’t charge us their regular rate
So just be happy that you have to wait, or get another one. I don’t want to retire yet, so it’s fine by me.
Ahhh, Gerard, you’re spoiling all our fun. Here we are griping about vaporware, as is our God-given right, and you have to rain on our parade with all this ethical business practice stuff. Phooey.
My apologies. So, anybody else still waiting on their Syntace Blackbird?
Gerard.
No, just on a carbon seatpost for IM Lake Placid 2004.
You are a good sport Gerard.
Did I see Gerard say that there were delays from ShimaNO? Huh…maybe there is another option from italy?
damn forgot all about the blackbird, that was what 3 or four years ago before the HED and all the other one piece bars came out. I have a friend who’s still test riding a prototype blackbird, guess it’s one of those 100,000 mile road tests or something…
Gerard,
So does that mean there are problems with my R2.5? Seems great to me! (Although a taller headtube would have been nice). How many R2.5s are there out there in the world? Maybe I should auction it to the highest bidder…it’s a 54, with the new FSA K-wing bars and Kforce seatpost…Tom?
Those derailleur hangers are always in stock, in fact I seem to remember a whole box of spare parts went to Germany the other day.
Gerard
Sorry, my mistake, I meant to say that while almost everybody ELSE has had problems with Shimano, we have not. They have been very good to us and their delivery has been impeccable. I’m hoping it stays that way in 2005,because the way I see it 2005 will be much tougher than 2004.