2018 Cervelo R3

clubsport

I have had my eye on these and now the late season deals have started to appear I am getting tempted to raid an Isa.

I have read the reviews and all come out mostly favourably with the usual caveat of low spec wheels to keep the price a little lower.

Has anyone experience of owning and using the 2018?

Does it feel special, an event? ( I appreciate that depends on your other bikes).

Any bottom bracket or warranty issues.

How badly do the Aksium or base Krysiums hold back the potential of the bike?

Cheers

sloppyschleckonds

They've never lost their fat mamil/ dentist tag, and that massive Cervelo logo just looks ridiculous

Their owners lover them though

singleton

Didn't Cervelo establish and build their reputation on their aero models?
Wouldn't an S3 be more appropriate if buying a Cervelo?

rwoofer

Only had mine for a few weeks and so far finding it a massive improvement on my BMC GF02. Surprisingly the biggest difference is in comfort, given the BMC is an endurance frame. Can't really comment on the wheels as I immediately swapped them for some Roval CL50s. Personally I find most stock bikes have wheels I don't want, so was happy that Cervelo has not spent much on them. They'll do as winter/gravel wheels.

clubsport

Thanks Rwoofer,

Glad to hear you are enjoying it without issue and the comfort aspect is welcome.

I appreciate the point on the wheels that most people are likely to replace them.

I am looking at an 8000 or maybe 8050 variant with rim brakes, saddle aside (personal) is there anything else that lets the spec down?

Thigh_burn

clubsport wrote:

I have had my eye on these and now the late season deals have started to appear I am getting tempted to raid an Isa.

I don't suppose you've seen any of the Navy disc in 54 have you? I'm kicking myself for not having bought sooner. There don't seem to be any more around and I can't stand (yet) the fluoro.

clubsport

Thigh_burn wrote:

clubsport wrote:

I have had my eye on these and now the late season deals have started to appear I am getting tempted to raid an Isa.

I don't suppose you've seen any of the Navy disc in 54 have you? I'm kicking myself for not having bought sooner. There don't seem to be any more around and I can't stand (yet) the fluoro.

I don't know directly of any 54cm disc bikes available.

The reason I say that I have found cycle store websites are not a great indicator of current stock and my first question was looking for rim brake only.

It does seem as if the blue/red combo has been more popular.

I can only suggest calling UK Cervelo suppliers and asking directly.
Good luck!

clu

Hi clubsport. I bought a Navy/Red R3 disc size 54cm back in March, thought I'd give myself a birthday present. When I read the articles and saw pictures last year about the updated R3 it initially grabbed my interest. I already had a Black/Blue coloured 2014 rim brake R3 which I liked, but found the limited tyre clearance at the fork an issue and always want to be able to fit wider tyres.

When I purchased the R3 disc I went for a wheel upgrade. Decided to replace the Mavic Aksiums that are supplied with the bike, for a set of Ksyrium elite disc UST wheels with the Mavic Yksion Pro tyres (25mm width) that come with the wheels. I inflate the tyres front and rear to 85psi.

No problems so far with the bottom bracket on the R3 disc. I have had some clicking/creaking on my 2014 rim brake R3 though, but not enough though to bother me. The rim brake R3 has a rotor chainset compared to my R3 disc Ultegra chainset. So the bottom bracket on my R3 disc I think is different compared to my rim brake R3, perhaps that has made the difference.

So far though I absolutely love my R3 disc. I still have my rim brake R3, but it hasn't got a look in so far as I prefer to ride my R3 disc. Just can't fault the handling or ride at all, it corners and accelerates exceptionally well. It's super stable going downhill, the ultegra disc brakes are phenomenal I find in both dry and wet conditions. I find it's a very forgiving bike and it doesn't beat me up. This year I managed to do my first century on the bike and didn't feel broken at the end either.

All in all it get's a big thumbs up from me, for me it was worth the money. If you want one and can find one that you like just go for it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

clubsport

Hi Clu,

Thanks for your endorsement, that sounds like exactly the bike I was looking for.

I came close to buying a 2017 R5 last year, but when I saw the change to Shimano chainsets, that was enough for me to hold out for a 2018.
That was why I was interested in how the bottom bracket on the 2018 was behaving itself, so far.
Cheers.

rwoofer

clubsport wrote:

Thanks Rwoofer,

Glad to hear you are enjoying it without issue and the comfort aspect is welcome.

I appreciate the point on the wheels that most people are likely to replace them.

I am looking at an 8000 or maybe 8050 variant with rim brakes, saddle aside (personal) is there anything else that lets the spec down?

It has a full Ultegra with no corner cutting, saddle is down to personal preference (I find Antares are good for me), so no complaints on the rest of the spec.

I pulled the trigger in June and noticed that my size 61cm in Navy immediately went out of stock. Glad I got in there just in time, particularly as the Navy colour scheme looks very classy to my eyes and is not offered for 2019.

Nesfyl

Hi all. Wrote a review about my R3 Disc 2018, here: https://www.cyprusroadie.com/blog/2018/ ... 3-disc-di2

rwoofer

Nesfyl,

Great review - I enjoyed reading it. I'm certainly appreciating my R3 the more I ride it - it just seems to get on with the job with no fuss, particulary downhill as you point out.