For 3 years the Cervélo R3 has been the standard by which all other ultralight bikes in the marketplace are measured. It's stiffer, stronger, and more beautiful than any Cervélo not built with an aerodynamic focus. The "Squoval" tubes on the R3 are part square, part oval, with the purpose of maximizing the stiffness-to-weight ratio of the bike. The Squoval downtube of the R3 is bigger in diameter than virtually any other sub-1000g frame, but the R3 weighs so little (~940g, depending on size) due to the fact that Cervélo uses the latest in ultra-high modulus carbon materials. Thanks to the combination of the weight savings and the increased diameter of the tubing, the R3 has a higher stiffness-to-weight ratio than any other bike Cervélo has ever designed or tested. Not only will the R3 easily build up into a sub-15lb wonderbike for the climbs, but when you accelerate the frame won't flex or flinch. No better option exists for the hills -- after all, owning a featherlight bike does you no good on the climbs if it rides like a wet noodle under power. The name of the game is to transfer every watt you expend into forward motion, and the R3 offers drivetrain efficiency like none other. Cervélo's goal with the R3 wasn't as simple as building something sub-1000g. Rather, it was building something that light that can withstand any condition or circumstance. In the 2006 edition of Paris-Roubaix the R3 lived up to its full potential under the awesome power of Fabian Cancellara. He was literally the biggest rider in the race (we've heard that his race weight is 185lbs), and he was on the lightest bike in the race. It was an R3 and he rode it to a solo victory in a race that will always be remembered for George Hincapie's catastrophic fork failure, and the fateful meeting between a commuter train and Peter van Petegem and Leif Hoste on the outskirts of Roubaix. Cancellara rode sans flat and sans mechanical on Mother Earth's most savage parcours. Most people recognize Cervélo as the world's leader in building aerodynamic bikes. The real story is this: They're also the world's leader at building bikes that are tough as nails. Cancellara's teammate Stuart O'Grady matched the feat in 2007: His 20km solo break on his R3 brought him solo into the Roubaix velodrome for the biggest victory of his career. O'Grady's one-minute time gap over the chasers -- an all-star group of wily veterans and super-hungry neophytes -- was definitive proof that he was the strongman of the day. In understanding the differences between the R3 and other bikes, there's one other important distinction: The R3 has unique seatstays specifically engineered to increase its compliance. They're thin and very flat, and in their shape and flowing appearance remind us of leaf springs. They bring a suspension-like feel you'll be delighted to have on long rides. In a way, you can't compare the R3 to similar bikes in the marketplace because no similar bikes exist. Nothing else out there is sub-1000g, race-proven in the most rigorous conditions of the UCI ProTour (both on the cobbles and on the giant Alpine cols), and comes with a lifetime warranty. Since nothing out there is similar, the best you can do is compare it to bikes that have a passing resemblance to the R3. What do you find? You get the limitations always associated with "climbing" bikes -- rider weight limitations, short warranties, and jaw dropping prices. Keep in mind that the R3 frameset has a reasonable-by-any-standard retail price, snd that anyone with one iota of taste for pro-quality, modern-era race bikes gets bedroom eyes whenever they see the sexy white paint on Team CSC's Cervélos. The R3 comes standard with a 3T Funda Pro carbon fiber fork, an FSA integrated headset, and an FSA carbon fiber seatpost. It's available in 6 sizes between 48cm-61cm. It is available in White w/Black decals. It requires the use of a braze-on front derailleur and an English bottom bracket. This 2008 edition of the R3 is identical to the 2009 edition, except that it comes with a 32.4mm seatpost instead of the new 2009 standard of 27.2mm.
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configure/buy R3
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