Cervelo

R-Series Disc Force eTap AXS Road Bike

The R-Series Force eTap AXS Road Bike pairs a frameset with an impressive pedigree with SRAM’s latest drivetrain for a premium race bike. If racing and fast group rides are part of your training agenda and you value a bike that's ultra-lightweight, super stiff, and comfortable, while still maintaining a bit of an aerodynamic profile, we can't think of many other frames we'd rather throw a leg over. Factor in its aggressive geometry and the precision of eTap and you can begin to see why it's one of the most bikes in the peloton.

The first thing you notice when you hop aboard the R-Series frame is its impressive stiffness and geometry that magically shapeshifts between stability and agility when you need it most. Cervelo was able to make the R-Series stiffer at key points while still remaining featherweight. In fact, it claims the disc model is its stiffest road frame to date. By placing such an emphasis on that stiffness to weight ratio it results in a bike that leaps forward with each pedal stroke yet isn't a wet noodle that's unruly on steep, technical descents and remains predictable at speed.

Cervelo achieves this feat by building up the frame using special carbon layups and construction techniques, allowing it to reduce the frame's weight while making it stiffer. It uses advanced engineering software like Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that allows it to better understand exactly how each layer of carbon fiber is working and if it's being used properly. Its carbon expertise prescribes a specific frame layup by placing hundreds of individually cut plies of carbon in a mold in a certain order and orientation. By precisely cutting these plies, the frame is able to be made lighter while still achieving the desired strength and reliability.

And because different areas of the frame experience different loads while climbing, sprinting, and descending, to better cope with these forces, Cervelo creates different layups by placing the fibers at different angles in specific areas for the desired metrics. In addition to reducing weight, maximizing strength and stiffness, it's also instrumental in how comfortable the bike is to ride and it's backed up with extensive in-house testing and real-world experience.

We can't talk about a racing bike without touching on frame geometry and the R5-Series has Cervelo's Pro Road Fit, which is its lowest frame stack height and it enables a more aerodynamic riding position. It’s a well-known fact that the majority of the resistance you must overcome while riding comes from the air and most of that drag is caused by the rider, so Cervelo heeded the advice of its pro racers on Sunweb, and made the stack low. It's certainly more aggressive than its Elite Fit Road on the R3 and R2 and the Endurance Fit of its C-Series bikes, so if comfort is paramount, you might want to glance at the geo charts.

Returning Cervélo features include its BBright bottom bracket and Squoval Max tubing. It developed the wider BBright standard in an effort to increase stiffness by taking advantage of the real estate at the bottom bracket shell, seat tube, down tube, and chainstay. Squoval Max tubing allows the design engineers the ability to use the best attributes of a square and oval shape to improve the bike's ride quality while minimizing weight and maximizing stiffness. And while not as out-and-out aero as its S-Series lineup, its tube shapes and internal cable routing do serve as some aero tricks up its sleeve when you're driving off the front of the pace line. Paired with SRAM’s eTap Force AXS group, there won’t be any drag from shifting cables either.

A frame of this caliber deserves components that can keep up, and Cervelo masterfully paired every part of this build. Most notably, SRAM’s eTap Force AXS group, the 12-speed range reduces the jumps between rear cogs for smoother shifts with each lever push. With SRAM’s AXS app, you can set up your shifting preferences to best suit your riding style and course demands. Mid-depth aero wheels, with Vittoria’s top-end Rubino Pro tires, maintain the riding stiffness and limit rolling resistance to give us every advantage on race day.