Cervelo R3 Ultegra R8000 Complete Bike

The R3 Ultegra R8000 Complete Bike from Cervelo is the road cyclist's road bike. It's a frameset that's simply one of the best all-around chassis we've come across, placing an emphasis on stiffness to weight that makes it a joy to pedal up high mountains. However, with a nod towards comfort and a proven track record for durability over the harshest cobbles, it's plenty capable on all-day epics and fondos too. We also really dig the simplicity of its mechanical shifting and rim brakes which are both extremely reliable and keep this build lightweight. The R3 is no stranger to the limelight. Consistently a winner in bike shootouts and with numerous editor choice awards to its credit, it also has a Tour victory to its palmares under Carlos Sastre and was the first bike to enter the Roubaix velodrome under the likes of Cancellara, O'Grady, and Vansummeren. This tells us a few things. The frameset is durable enough to handle brutal cobbled roads, it's light enough to scale hors categorie climbs, and it's comfortable enough for a 3-week stage race or a 6+ hour one-day classic.There's no need to fear any climb when aboard the R3. The frameset is built using special carbon layups and construction techniques, allowing Cervelo to reduce the frame's weight while making it stiffer at key points. This remarkable stiffness to weight ratio means the R3 is agile and responds instantly to pedaling efforts and tracks through turns with authority. Cervelo uses advanced engineering software like Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that allows it to better understand exactly how each layer of carbon fiber is working and if it's being used properly. Its carbon expertise prescribes a specific frame layup by placing hundreds of individually cut plies of carbon in a mold in a certain order and orientation. By precisely cutting these plies, the frame is able to be made lighter while still achieving the desired strength and reliability. And because different areas of a frame experience differe...