Cervelo 2017 product news

[maquisard]

Mr.Gib is wrong again...

I see a trend

[Mr.Gib]

Wrong about what?

Although these Cervelo hiccups are common knowledge, they have stayed with me because a regular riding buddy of mine suffered three of them. His R2.5 came apart, his R3 bottom bracket shell came loose from the frame, and on the first upshift to the big ring on his new R5, the front derailleur tab snapped. The best thing about Cervelo in those years was the warranty.

Same guy also has the version of the P3C time trial bike that could not accommodate what was at the time Zipps latest and fastest disc wheel (sub 9) but I don't count that one for my buddy because he didn't have the Sub 9 disc, he did his TT's on Zipp 808's and they fit. And yeah, CSC was sponsored by Cervelo and Zipp and supplied with P3C's and Sub 9's...but that combo didn't quite work out.

The best part of of the P3C/Sub 9 fiasco was the when Cervelo discovered that the wheel didn't fit, they announced that the frame was actually faster with older technology from Zipp. That was Gerard Vroomen for you though.

I rode the first version of the R3. I thought it was an incredible bike. Ahead of its time in a number of areas. But the failures were disappointing. I really pulled for the brand but lost the faith as they faltered. And over the years I don't know how some of the marketing spin was presented with a straight face - just a turn-off in terms of how I felt about the brand. But the company has changed and I would have no objection to owning an R5 - great bike IMO.

So again, what was I wrong about?

[newforker]

Yup. Don't forget the soft derailleur hangers and creaky bottom brackets.

[wingguy]

Mr.Gib is wrong again...

Not this time. I love Cervelo's design but historically their failure rates have been way over par. Great warranty backup, but a decent chance of needing to use it. Better since PON for sure.

[TwiggyTN]

The worst of Cervelo was pre POM purchase, and it was bad. Our whole team, except one, cracked their R3 bb and needed warranty. Towards the end Cervelo got tight with the warranty replacements (right about the time Cervelo Test Team went bankrupt) so my LBS dropped them and is still pissed about having to replace their crap products on his dime because Cervelo refused. Again, this is all pre-POM ownership.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[uraqt]

I bought a Cervelo because of how they handled the R2.5 failures. This message board is full of big brands not standing behind their warranty and Cervelo has went above and beyond for my issues.

C

[cyclenutnz]

Same guy also has the version of the P3C time trial bike that could not accommodate what was at the time Zipps latest and fastest disc wheel (sub 9)

The P3 predated the Sub9 by 3 years, not really fair to lambast them for not fitting a wheel that didn't exist. Nor fair to expect them to spend a fortune on updating the bike to fit one wheel.

The P3 and P2 have been the standouts of TT/Tri (for aero, durability, fit) for over a decade, the abuse inflicted on them by triathletes has proven their toughness time and again.

The road models have definitely had issues but nearly all the light frames do (I know a guy who has paid for 1 tarmac but had 9 frames).

I agree about this chainline issue. Will not be buying any bike that forces me to use FSA cranks.

[Mr.Gib]

Excellent response on the R2.5. Every frame replaced, most with R3's IIRC, regardless of ownership history - so not original purchaser only.

Now the other option was to drag their feet, and only offer returns on the frames that failed, and take the chance of losing the entire company in US jury award for a cyclist rendered quadraplegic by the failure of an R2.5. Not much of a choice really. You can bet there were interesting conversations with lawyers and insurance companies.

[Mr.Gib]

The P3 predated the Sub9 by 3 years, not really fair to lambast them for not fitting a wheel that didn't exist. Nor fair to expect them to spend a fortune on updating the bike to fit one wheel.

I'll cop to that, but the thing that made me smirk back then was Vroomen's response. Why not just tell the truth - frame designed to accept wheels only up to a certain width - that would actually be great marketing. Of course the bike was slower with the Sub 9 - 'cause rubbing against the chain stays tends to slow things down. (What Vroomen actually said was that he had done some wind tunnel testing and the bike was slower with the Sub 9. Strange though that he didn't announce that until after a bunch of sponsored athletes and consumers reported the incompatibility.

[ghisallo2003]

My R3SL was an outstanding frame, both light and with exceptional feel, and changed fine after I used an aftermarket hanger.

Unfortunately cracked in head tube after <3000 miles.

Brilliant warranty though !

[Stueys]

I was out in the alps last year with a guide who had a 7-8 year old r3 that had just suffered a cracked bottom bracket. Cervelo were shipping him a brand new r5 frame to replace. I've always been impressed by what I've heard of their customer service.

Bbright I think is a press fit done right. Personally I've got more respect for the brands that have just ignored the whole pressfit nonsense but bbright was a step forward from bb30 at the time. The soft hangers I agree on, my r5 never stays perfectly aligned.

[kgt]

This is how this new kind of 'post-marketing' (like post-truth) works. Take the risk to make an inferior product for very cheap so that you can afford to replace it often or whenever it needs.
Since cosumers are ok with that the company is ok with that too...

[jeffy]

Q:How do we get great customer service reputation?
A:Release a product that breaks!

[Shrike]

Interesting thread. When I bought my Cervelo the dealer wouldn't shut it about the warranty. I mean seriously, a ten minute conversation, repeating the same points over again. Any issues, make sure I call them directly, don't let anyone else touch the bike anywhere else in the world if I'm travelling without speaking to them first - all this stuff, over and over. Telling me it was important. Properly drilling it into me. I was like seriously.. I get it, bike breaks, call you.

What else, stuff about climbing on the bike in certain gear ratios? Forget what he was saying about that, just warning me to be careful in certain ratios. I was tuned out at that point though - just wanted my bike out of the shop to blast it up the hill back home

Is that a common experience for all high end bike purchases in other people's experience? When I got the Bianchi, it was like, here's bike, see ya.

Oh yeah, other thing - I notice durianrider in some vids pisses on Cervelo a lot for quality issues. Though he tends to piss on anything more expensive than a Giant, but do sometimes wonder if there's a grain of truth to it. Doesn't make me love mine any less, wouldn't trade it for any bike in the world, but do wonder about potential issues down the line..

[maquisard]

There were some issues in the UK/Ireland with Madison selling reduced price Cervelo frames through certain channels that were effectively 'seconds'. This is one of the reasons Madison was dropped by Pon in favour of Derby. I know of at least one Cervelo retailer which nearly lost the brand from their stores as a result.