Cervelo

C3 Disc Ultegra R8020 Road Bike

Some cyclists may crave cramped up aero positions, and quick sprints, but you're more for taking the scenic route and hammering out serious miles on the bike. When your sense of adventure has you craving centuries, Fondos, and road rides that go well beyond the pavement, look to the Cervelo C3 Disc Ultegra R8020 Complete Bike. We know — Cervelo has long had the reputation of speedy aerodynamic road machines, but don't write them off too quickly. Years of development and careful engineering has gone into the C3, earning a place in the Endurance lineup, with a longer wheelbase, and slightly more upright geometry that stays comfortable when your rides take you from sun-up to sun-down. And this particular frame doesn't stop with comfortable geometry, it's also fully equipped with Shimano's sleek Ultegra drivetrain that keeps things reliable when you're beyond the last cell tower charging down an old mining road.

The C3 may lend some visual queues to Cervelo's Race-series bikes. You'll spot the same Squoval down-tube technology that offer the rigidity of square tubes for torsional stiffness, much like its siblings, and it even packs in the oversized BBRight bottom bracket shell that adds an extra 11mm of material to the non-driveside adding even more rigidity to the frame with its beefy anchor point. But from there, things start to stray to a different zone with a slightly longer head tube to provide a slightly more upright fit, and significantly lower bottom bracket. The low bottom bracket pairs up with long chainstays to stretch out the wheel base and elevate stability, keeping you in control when you're departing the tarmac for new adventures.

Cervelo's designers try to find a balance when it comes to riding position. While sitting upright is undoubtedly comfortable, we don't want to feel like we're on the way to go grocery shopping on a beach cruiser when we're hammering into mile 85 of a Gran Fondo — but inversely we prefer to avoid a cramped up aero fit through the long miles. Cervelo strikes an ideal balance in between the two extremes with a 7mm lift above the head tube in the R3, and a steep seat tube that still keeps you forward in the cockpit. In the rear end things differ a bit, with arced seatstays and seat tubes that are designed to soak up some of the jarring forces from rough roads, while beefy chainstays keep the flex in seatstays from altering your positioning on the bike. This translates to a bit more comfort, without completely tossing aerodynamics out the window, so you can go far, fast.

If your bike research has left you glancing at Cervelo's C3 and C5 and scratching your head to figure out the difference, we'll tell you that you won't find any in the geometry department. That means, despite the break in price, the C3 will offer you the exact same quick-and-comfortable engineering as its pricier partner. However the two frames drift apart in the carbon-fiber department. The C3 opts for a more economical layup, that, while stiff, doesn't provide quite the same feathery outcome as the C5's top level carbon, making the C3 an ideal option for those who don't mind a couple of grams, especially when it comes with a more pocket-friendly price tag.

This C3 is decked out with a Shimano Ultegra groupset that takes queues from it's pricier partner, Dura-Ace, like deliberate shifting, precise engineering, and clean profiles that hold up even if you lay your bike down. It comes along with Shimano's disc brakes for exceptional modulation, with large 160-millimeter rotors to keep heat dispersed on long descents. The build is wrapped up with DT Swiss hoops for quick engagement, and a wide enough rim to toss on up to 32-millimeter tires when you're craving some extra vibration damping and traction on the road, or dirt, ahead.