Cervelo RS Dura-Ace 2008 Bike

Cervelo constantly receives feedback from riders across a wide spectrum of abilities, from relative novices to the pros of Team CSC. With regards to geometry and fit Cervelo always receives positive feedback, the only request that is sometimes received from riders with higher than average handlebar positions - including a few at Team CSC - is to offer headtube lengths to match that higher bar position. The new Cervelo RS, has a new stiffness-to-weight (STW) design to accommodate these more upright positions while maintaining the high performance characteristics that set Cervelo apart. After all, your flexibility has nothing to do with your performance level, even a good portion of the pros have rather limited flexibility (which is not that strange, they were not selected for their ability to touch their toes, but for their excellent leg muscles, heart and lungs).

Of course, they as well as any serious cyclist understand the importance of improving flexibility, but there will always be those who are more flexible than others and so we have the Cervelo R3 and Soloist models for those with average or above average flexibility, and the Cervelo RS for those who prefer a higher handlebar position.

Just to be perfectly clear, the Cervelo RS does not fall into the trap so often found in the bike industry of equating a higher handlebar position with less of a desire for high performance. From tube shapes to carbon lay-ups to stiffness & strength, the Cervelo RS is so good that some CSC riders will use it next year, while those pros and regular riders with average or low handlebar positions will continue to be perfectly served with the R3 and Soloist ranges.

HIGHLIGHTS

Squoval downtube & chainstays - Optimized for the highest possible stiffness-to-weight ratio (STW), the downtube and chainstays have a Squoval shape.

Multi-shape toptube - The toptube loading case is a lot more complex, hence it is Squoval near the headtube and seattube and oval in the center section.

Oversized bottom bracket area - The increased volume of the bottom bracket area provides great STW. The smooth contours of the BB volume help both for this BB stiffness and also for its strength as the fibers have a much more continuous path to transfer the loads better.

Lay-up optimization - The stiffening plies are added to the sides of the tubes where they have the greatest effect in bending. They are feathered to distribute the loads into the structure. Cervelo also adds more plies on the bottom of the down tube, the headtube and the toptube to distribute the loads from a potential headtube impact. Finally, Cervelo added Kevlar to that same area and downtube to prevent catastrophic failure.

RS Seatstays - Based on the revolutionary R3 seatstay design, the RS seatstays offer even more vertical compliance thanks to their built-in deflection mode.

Longer headtube length - Same handling philosophy as their other road bikes, but with longer headtube for those who prefer a higher handlebar position.

Special XS size - The new XS size completely eliminates toe-overlap.