# Opinions: Cervelo R3 vs Colnago C-50



## ciclisto (Nov 8, 2005)

Have a C-50 on order but recently test rode a R3 . this is a fantastic bike, light and stiff yet comfortable. Sloping tube is a put off but otherwise no faults. Any one with long term experience with a C-50 that has tried this new frame , I would like your contrasting them.
thanks.


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## GnarleySpoke (Mar 20, 2006)

I have put 300 miles on my new R3 and I love it. I am primarily interested in long, steep rides. I am coming off an Orbea Orca and noticed that the R3 is more stiff, less nervous on the downhills and feels very solid with a low center of gravity while the Orca seemed jumpy and twitchy. Hope this helps.  I have posted elsewhere some minor issues with the unusual gear cable stops.


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## [email protected] (Feb 7, 2006)

I'll never buy another Cervelo again. I had 3 R2.5's. First one broke 2 hours into its first ride. Second had a seat tube that was not right and would not hold a seat post. They sent me a third frame which I promptly sold.


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Agreed. .*



[email protected] said:


> I'll never buy another Cervelo again. I had 3 R2.5's. First one broke 2 hours into its first ride. Second had a seat tube that was not right and would not hold a seat post. They sent me a third frame which I promptly sold.


They have a horrible track record. Carbon framesets begin and end with IMO three companies: Colnago, Time and Parlee. Anything else in a compromise.


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## ciclisto (Nov 8, 2005)

katz , i would like you to expound on that statement please very interested in your comments
jac


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Simple. .*



ciclisto said:


> katz , i would like you to expound on that statement please very interested in your comments
> jac


All companies have awsome track records, and a long history in working with carbon fiber. When's the last time you heard of a C40/C50 falling apart?


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## GonaSovereign (Sep 16, 2005)

KATZRKOL said:


> All companies have awsome track records, and a long history in working with carbon fiber. When's the last time you heard of a C40/C50 falling apart?


I guess Calfee sits slightly above these companies, based on time in business, carbon expertise and failure rate...


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Hummm. .*



GonaSovereign said:


> I guess Calfee sits slightly above these companies, based on time in business, carbon expertise and failure rate...


I know ATR suppiles the lugs/tubes for Colnago. . I know ATR from Ducati, Ferrari etc.. No thanks I'll take a Colnago over "garage made" frameset.


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## divve (May 3, 2002)

...that's about as meaningful as faulting Colnago for mass production PVC pipe gluing assembly technique.


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## GonaSovereign (Sep 16, 2005)

KATZRKOL said:


> No thanks I'll take a Colnago over "garage made" frameset.


Perhaps you should ask Bob Parlee to send you a photo of his facility. His bikes are excellent, but his space is no more advanced than that of Calfee. In fact, neither is Ernesto's C40-C50 room. You can park a car in any of them.

ATR does do good work, and so does Maclean, which supplies Calfee, Parlee and some others with unidirectional tubing. They also sell to the aerospace industry, so their lineage should meet your specs. Very nice stuff.


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## [email protected] (Feb 7, 2006)

I think its safe to say that Calfee has more than proved himself and his product, they are super frames.
Cervelo seems to have (or had) serious QC problems. I've read about a lot of problems with the steel frame they offered a couple years ago (forget the name), and big probs with the r2.5 coming apart...
On a positive note, their customer service was excellent. Too bad the product wasn't.


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## Clevor (Sep 8, 2005)

ciclisto said:


> Have a C-50 on order but recently test rode a R3 . this is a fantastic bike, light and stiff yet comfortable. Sloping tube is a put off but otherwise no faults. Any one with long term experience with a C-50 that has tried this new frame , I would like your contrasting them.
> thanks.


One thing the R3 has going for it is price: pocket change compared to a C50. Bicycling Mag did a review and I dunno if that price is right, but $2500 for the frame. If you can get it discounted somewhere, perhaps just over $2k for one. Even at $2500 that is hundreds under what a C50 costs from Maestro even.

If you can get used to the pencil-thin seatstays (which they said you can bend with your thumb and forefinger), they said the bike is stiff and comfortable. Main cons was you are stretched out in an aero position and the fork doesn't do as good a job of dampening as the frame. Cervelo said it's their stiffest frame so far and weighs 880 gms. The test bike build with high end components came out to 14-15 lbs!

Face it, if Basso wins the TDF this year, the R3 will be the hot thing, just as Time frames are hot now mainly because of Boonen, when it had a reputation for being flexy.


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