Like I said last post, I really didn't plan on getting a new frame. When the offer was made, I spent more than two weeks debating if it was the right thing for me to do. It all came down to me being able to purchase my dream bike frame for a song, and I just couldn't pass that up. They Allez has a good new home, and is in the process of getting built up to a very respectable level. I wish it the best, and honestly, if I have the opportunity to buy it back in the future, I may do it.
If you don't know much about Cervélo or the R series of bikes, here's a little background. Cervélo is a Canadian bike company based in Toronto that is very engineering based. Their bikes aren't flashy, but they're cutting edge and stupid light. My frame weighs around 700g. They are a relatively small company (compared to Trek and Specialized) and they make the most popular bikes for Triathletes. The practically started the aero road bike segment in the early 2000s and are still very far ahead of just about everybody else in that category. Their aero bikes fall into their S series and consist of the S2, S5, S5 team and the S5 VWD. They're very cool bikes, and Cervélo's engineers are quick to point out that the S bikes are faster than the R bikes in every situation accept if you finish on a long climb of 8% grade or higher.
The R series of bikes are Cervélo's traditional road bikes. There isn't a single aero shaped tube on there bikes and they don't even run the cables internally. There purpose is the be lighter, stiffer and handle better than anything else. The R5 CA (California, for where it was designed) was the bike Ryder Hesjedal used to clean up at the Giro. At sub 700g and $9,800 for the frame, it's the lightest mass produced frame on the market, and also one of the most expensive.
The R bikes consist of the RS, R3, R3 Team, R5, R5 VWD and the R5 CA. The RS is their entry level road bike (they only make carbon bikes now) and has a traditional bottom bracket. It's been tuned for comfort, and has different seat stays from the rest of the R bikes (very concave). The R3, Team and R5 bikes are all use the same mold. The standard R3 and the Team frames differ in fork weight. The R5 differs from the R3 with even less weight than the R3 Team. The VWD (Vroomen White Design, the in house engineering group named after Phil White and Gérard Vroomen, Cervélo's founders) R5 is lighter still than the R5. All R3 and R5 bikes are the same stiffness except for the CA which is stiffer.
I frequently get asked why Cervélo makes the R series if the S series is faster. Because Cervélo understands that aero isn't for everyone and the majority of riders prefer the R bikes. Hell, I'm just glad it's slightly more simple than having 3 lines of bikes like most of the larger companies.
I chose an R bike because it suited my riding style better and I enjoyed riding it more then the S bikes. I only chose an R5 over an R3 because of the offer I received. For all of you normal folks buying bikes, the R5 VWD frameset retails for $4,900. The R3 Team with Ultegra bike was $4,300 and is now $3,800. That's $1,100 in savings and you get the rest of the bike. Sure, the frame is heavier, but the R3 with Ultegra comes it at a hair over 16lbs with the stock wheels and without pedals. You're a set of tubulars away from a sub 15lb race bike. It is a ridiculous deal. When the shop started carrying Cervélo, our then rep even told up that if we were going to E.P. an R bike, get the R3 because the price difference didn't justify the weight difference. I will say, I've rode both bikes and the R5 does perform slightly better than the R3 team, but you'd be hard pressed to say that difference was worth the additional cost. It's an "I need to have the very best, cost no option" bike.
The R5 VWD is slightly different because its frame is so light. Carbon dropouts, carbon FD mount, and a fork that weighs close to 300g make for laughter when you first pick it up. Even after you put the derailleur hanger on and press the bearings in, it feels silly. The visual proportions of the frame do not match the lack of weight.
Because I couldn't afford to shell out for a BBRight specific crank, I went with taking the BSA Force crank off of my CX bike and using adapters to make everything work. The BB30 crank I was using on the Allez has a 30mm spindle, but isn't long enough to mount on the BBRight frame, which is 11mm wider than BB30. The BSA crank is wide enough, but the spindle is 24mm instead of being 30mm. Even with the lack of girth, the bottom bracket area is really stiff when climbing... or doing anything really. I also threw the 34T small ring on the crank instead of the 36T. I really, really like the 36T but the 50T Red front ring I have shifts better with the 34T, so I made the switch. It's taking a little to get used to, but it does make hills a tiny bit easier.
The rest of the Force group went on with little problem. Because I ran new cables and housing another break-in period is causing a few slight issues with front shifting, but it's no where near as bad as on the Allez. However, if it wasn't for the Allez nightmare, I would have had the same issues on the R5.
The only new additions to the cast are a 3T Team stem in the black on black colour scheme, nude carbon bottle cages (the white/red/carbon cages on the Allez looked terrible on the R5. They will live on the CX bike when I put it back together) and blue Roubaix bartape. I also put the CX wheels on this bike because the blue King hubs just set it off.
With the heavyish King wheels and being spec'd with a non BB30 Force group as opposed to a top of the line group from any of the big three, the bike comes in at 15.375lbs. The final weight on the Allez was 16.875lbs. that's 1.5lbs of weight saved in the frame and stem. 1.5lbs (680g) is claimed weight of the R5 CA frame (without fork) by the way.
To say that I'm happy with the bike is an understatement. The way it handles, climbs and descends is unlike any other bike I have ever been on. It is so stable and that stability only increases with speed. Bothe the tarmac and Allez had amazing turn in and could hold some crazy lines, but when riding straight they were always a little darty. The R5 feels just as bonkers on turn in as the Tarmac, but holds a line better and is so stable in a straight line that I can ride with no hands without giving the bike much thought. It's really confidence inspiring.
Climbing is nice because of the power transfer, but it's when the hills go down that I'm really blown away. The stability I mentioned above makes picking the right line and holding it through fast downhill sweepers an non issue. You point it, it does it with no drama. No fear. Not a hint of "am I going to make it through at this speed?" I wish I lived in an area with longer downhills.
I've only done one ride on the bike so I'll continue to give feed back and let you know if anything negative comes up. But for the moment, it's all smiles.
Trek Domane
The shop recently got a 6.2 Project One version of Trek's 10yr late answer to Specialized's market dominating Roubaix. It's the bike that Cancellara basically made them build so he could be competitive at Paris-Roubaix since he won the race on a Roubaix and loved that bike so much. The "gimmick" that they use instead if Zertz Inserts is not molding the seat tube and top tube together. The use an elastometer that is mounted in between the two tubes to allow the seatpost to move back and forth over rough terrain and allow for more comfort. They also use gel under the bartape for more hand comfort and use a taller head tube as well. What they did do is make the bottom bracket really low and the down tube is massively wide. Most of the width seems to be added the the non drive side of the tube, similar to how Cérvelo does with BBRight. Trek still insists on using BB90 for the bottom bracket, and while I would love to talk shit right now, I'm basically using the same thing with my current bottom bracket set up on the R5.
As you know, I do not like the Madone. I think it makes too many compromises trying to be a semi comfortable race bike. I don't like the way it handles at all. I really like the Domane a lot. Trek says the Domane is stiffer than the Madone, and I believe them. It's the very first thing you notice. The second thing I noticed was how much better it turned in and held a line than the Madone; it's a good handling bike. The super low bottom bracket makes for a lower center of gravity and really helps the bike overcome the sluggish nature of "endurance" geometry. While trek had 10yrs to hit a non moving target in the Roubaix, I hope Specialized rides this bike and then makes the Roubaix actually handle like a proper bike. Imagine a comfortable bike that felt racy too. Win Win.
Speaking of comfort, the Domane feels weird. When you hit an impact with the Roubaix, you feel something, but it's very muted. It's a surprisingly plush bike for being made of carbon and it deserves to be the benchmark for that. The Domane hitting the same impact is so different because you really feel it in your hands, but feel nothing in the rear, but then your hands don't hurt. As you can read, I really can't explain the phenomenon, and it really needs to be experienced.
The only "down" side (pun alert!) is that the low bottom bracket makes the Domane the worst crit bike in the history of bikes. 5 out of the 6 of us that rode the bike (I was the only person who didn't have this problem) clipped a pedal when starting to pedal coming out of a turn. The BB is about half an inch lower than the Roubaix, and just about every road bike, so beware. But that's it. It's really an excellent bike and I'm glad I have something positive to say about a Trek bike again. I really hope the Domane and the Speed Concept are the way that trek bikes are going and not just two awesome bikes surrounded by mediocrity.
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