Cervelo R3 2010 Frameset

Two wins at Paris-Roubaix, one second. That’s the R3’s unparalleled record in three participations 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. Its low weight and high stiffness also make it ideal for climbers and even sprinters. No wonder that its looks have been widely copied. 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.

DESIGN BENEFITS

Squoval (Square Oval) Tubing - A square shape put lots of material far away from the center plane of the frame to create more lateral stiffness. The slight ovalization makes the shape extremely resistant to denting. The resulting frame is very light, very stiff and very strong.

Razor-Thin Seatstays - Super-small cross-section for seatstays reduce weight and increase vertical compliance for the rear wheel.

Multi-Shape Toptube - Each cross section is optimized in shape and lay-up for local loads, creating a shape that handles lateral and torsional loads very well at a very low weight.

Oversized Bottom Bracket - Big shape and fluent form aligns the carbon fibers with the complex loads in this area for better lateral stiffness (excellent power transmission).

SQUOVAL TUBING

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.

Smartwall Carbon

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 Cervelo 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.

frame

Squoval Carbon Tube Shapes

Fork

3T Funda Pro

Headset

FSA IS 3

Seatpost

3T Dorico Team

Front Derailleur

Braze-On Required

BB Type

English

Frame Weight (appr.)

850 grams

geometry

Size	Seat Tube (C-T)	Seat Tube (C-C)	Top Tube Length	Head Tube Length	Chain Stay Length	Seat Tube Angle	Head Tube Angle	Stand Over Height	Wheel Size
48	-	-	515	100	399	73	72.5	709	700c
51	-	-	530	120	399	73	73	729	700c
54	-	-	545	140	399	73	73	746	700c
56	-	-	565	160	399	73	73	764	700c
58	-	-	580	180	399	73	73	781	700c
61	-	-	592	200	399	73	73	800	700c