2015 Tarmac Pro Disc Race vs 2016 Cervelo R3

wayne93117
wayne93117 Posts: 6
edited August 2016 in Road buying advice
I live in Northern CA where most all of my rides will involve climbing, descents and flats. I'm new to road biking with quite a bit of mountain biking experience. I have an opp to buy the Tarmac for $3k which has less than 300 miles on it. After riding all of the Cervelo's I really like the R3 (R5 would be great, but $5k is out of range). Coming from mountain biking I like the idea of of disk, mostly because having done a town of downhill, I have a strong grasp on how to make them effective for me when I ride.

With either bike I'll be going through a fitting process with a local shop.

Which bike would you guys pursue?

Comments

  • wayne93117
    wayne93117 Posts: 6
    bump
  • slowmart
    slowmart Posts: 4,516
    The real world benefit of discs for me is the wet weather braking on carbon wheels. However your still limited by the limits of your tyres when you apply the brakes.

    I don't the cervelo but I can highly recommend the Tarmac but you don't reference the component parts or the quality of the frame. Do you plan on upgrades in the future? Are you happy with the wheels on the Tarmac as you are limited to what wheels are suitable. If they have Roval CL's which are superb I'd say the Tarmac is a no brainer.

    The only aspect which may disturb that sentiment is the frame quality of the cervelo but then I'm not a good enough rider to tell the difference between the quality of carbon used on a frame which means it goes two ways, if the carbon is lower quality the parts should be higher quality or vice versa.

    Bottom line, it's down to personal preference as no one makes a bad bike at the price point your thinking of.
    “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”

    Desmond Tutu
  • londoncommuter
    londoncommuter Posts: 1,550
    Repeating the above (and I know nowt about this) this was on another thread and it might push you towards the Cervelo:

    Unread postby LakesLuddite » Wed Aug 3, 2016 2:44 pm

    If you do go for Hydraulic discs on a road bike, be aware that some (most?) Specialized road disc bikes have a compatibility issue regarding the wheels. The wheels they come with as standard have a slightly smaller hub as they have slightly shorter chain-stays, so you will have problems if you want to upgrade the wheelset to something other than Specialized wheels (ie Axis or Roval).

    I know because I've tried to do it - still awaiting a new set of wheels from the US!
  • isotonik
    isotonik Posts: 50
    londoncommuter wrote:
    Repeating the above (and I know nowt about this) this was on another thread and it might push you towards the Cervelo:

    Unread postby LakesLuddite » Wed Aug 3, 2016 2:44 pm

    If you do go for Hydraulic discs on a road bike, be aware that some (most?) Specialized road disc bikes have a compatibility issue regarding the wheels. The wheels they come with as standard have a slightly smaller hub as they have slightly shorter chain-stays, so you will have problems if you want to upgrade the wheelset to something other than Specialized wheels (ie Axis or Roval).

    I know because I've tried to do it - still awaiting a new set of wheels from the US!

    wow

    Think it's rubbish specialized are locking people in to propriety components like that, I'd stay well clear. just my personal opinion.

    are any other bikers doing this?
  • wayne93117
    wayne93117 Posts: 6
    Hmmmm.

    Well I found a R3 lightly used that comes with Hed Ardeines plus Lt's on it. Cheaper than the Tarmac by a few hundred dollars. Having ridden both, I know I'd be stoked on either, just not sure which is the better value.
  • londoncommuter
    londoncommuter Posts: 1,550
    wayne93117 wrote:
    Hmmmm.

    Well I found a R3 lightly used that comes with Hed Ardeines plus Lt's on it. Cheaper than the Tarmac by a few hundred dollars. Having ridden both, I know I'd be stoked on either, just not sure which is the better value.

    Cervelo's warranty only applies to the first owner (guessing Specialized's is the same). Just another thing to ponder if you're comparing new v's used on posh bikes.

    On the wheel thing above, Specialized aren't doing that to be evil, they're just trying to be innovative around disc brake geometry restrictions.
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    Tying a few strands of this together, my Volagi Liscio was developed in California by ex-Specialized bike designers for use on double-century races in the US hills. It's not just about carbon wheels in wet weather.

    My original bike came with 130 drop-outs at the rear (non-standard for disc) - am I worried? No, because I can always get wheels built to my spec. The fact that, except for accidents, I can't see me needing any different wheels (disc brakes don't wear them out) means 6 years in, I've only had to change the hub bearings - not even needed to true them.

    Read up about Volagi, OP. It may help inform you about your decision.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH

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