Cervelo R3

Stuart O’Grady on his way to winning the 2007 Paris-Roubaix

“Best bike we’ve ever ridden” – 220 Magazine

Two wins at Paris-Roubaix, one second. That’s the R3’s unparalleled record in the world’s toughest bike race. But to the pro team mechanics, more incredible than the victories is the fact there has never been any mechanical issue with an R3, even though it is the lightest frame to be used in that race. In a race where every manufacturer lies awake worrying the night before, that’s simply unheard of. Yet the R3 is much more than just a Paris-Roubaix frame.
 
Carlos Sastre (not exactly your prototypical Paris-Roubaix rider) uses it for most of the season as well. There is perhaps no better proof of the R3’s extraordinary performance than the speed with which several other bike companies try to copy its looks. But of course, the R3’s performance is more than paint-deep, and its superiority is safely stowed away in all its small details and proprietary lay-up designs.

Squoval downtube & chainstays - Optimized for the highest possible stiffness-to-weight ratio (STW).

Multi-shape toptube - Squoval at both ends and oval in the middle to counter the complex loads.

Oversized bottom bracket area – Large diameter and smooth, optimized shapes increase bottom bracket stiffness for excellent power transfer from pedal to rear wheel.

Lay-up optimization – Approximately 300 pieces of carbon, each optimized in shape, fiber type and fiber direction.

Ultra thin seatstays - With the Squoval chainstays resisting forces so effectively, the seatstays can be very minimalist. By making them wide but thin, they resist rear triangle torsion while providing vertical compliance. In other words, the rear triangle is stiff where it needs to be for efficient power transfer from pedal to rear wheel, but compliant where it can add rear wheel tracking and comfort. Thus the small seatstays save weight, without any compromise. 

Squoval Downtube

The dominant forces on the downtube and chainstays are lateral bending forces. The best way to resist those is with a lot of material far away from the center plane. Square tubes do this best, but can easily buckle. A slightly ovalized square creates the best of both worlds, which explains why Cervélo’s Squoval shaped frames win stiffness and lightweight tests everywhere.

The front and rear of the toptube also use the Squoval shape to counteract lateral bending, but it transitions to oval in the center to counteract the torsional loading in that section.

R3 frames ready for assembly at our Toronto facility

Upon hearing Smartwall, most people immediately think of Cervélo’s method to obtain excellent lateral stiffness in an TrueAero tube. But the Smartwall principle is universally applicable, not just on aero tubing. After the tube shapes are optimized, the lay-up allows us to further refine the character of the bike. In fact, Squoval tubes are very well suited for the Smartwall application as they have two sides that are very far removed from the central plane – i.e. adding even a small amount of extra material there increases the lateral stiffness significantly. To properly distribute the loads from the Smartwall section into the rest of the tubes, the additional plies are feathered.

220 Magazine pronounces R3 "The best road bike we've ever ridden"
The goal is superlight, but functional, in TopVélo’s Spécial Light
VeloMotion tests R3, Willier Scandium and Litespeed Ghisallo (English translation)
VeloNews tests top frames including R3 for high stiffness and low weight
TOUR Magazin reviews the top carbon frames including R3 (English translation)
Bicycling review of the R3 in their 2006 Buyer's Guide
Cyclingnews.com rides and reviews Stuart O'Grady's Paris-Roubaix winning R3

No custom Cervélo is needed even for the most demanding pros, that’s our conclusion after supporting hundreds of the world’s best athletes. The reason we don’t need customs where other bike companies do lies in our unique reach-based geometry. For an exhaustive explanation on why 6 Cervélo sizes fit more people than 12 “normal” sizes, check out our geometry tech presentation.

The R3 is available as a frameset or with the following components:

Every Cervélo frame comes with a limited lifetime warranty for the original owner. For full details on this warranty, please click here. Please note that frames not purchased from an authorized dealer are not covered by any warranty.

Here you will find Cervélo’s general owner’s manual. Additional information, as well as fitting information to optimize performance (as opposed to fitting information for safety purposes described in the manual) can be obtained from your Cervélo dealer. To read the owner’s manual, please click here.