Ridley or Cervelo?

AlexMer

Hi guys,
Im currently in the market for a new bike and have it narrowed down to a Ridley Helium or Cervelo R3 but cant decide between the two. Budget is aprox 3500 euro, can go a tiny bit more. I will be racing with the bike and the reason i have it narrowed down to these two bikes is i believe some of the aero bikes around are two harsh for our roads especially over the longer distance races. Any advice or points would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

fat bloke

R3 all the way for me.

The touch of class, innit.

funnyclub

I have a Cervelo s3 and as far as being an aero bike its very comfortable.

Agent Smyth

That's a hard choice to make, both are great brands and very similar bikes but for me its Cervelo.
if I was to give just one reason it would be the lifetime warranty that comes with Cervelo.

custom_build

The current r3 is a beautiful bike and the lifetime warranty is faultless in my experience. You won't be disappointed with whichever you choose.

on_the_nickel

Ridley for me. I seem to be in a minority of one who think Cervelos are a little bit.....boring and....ugly.

pedro_colnago

Id have been a ridley fan up to recently til I had to send a faulty frame back and Madison UK wouldn't stand over it so never again, it came back minus a fsa slk seat post aswell. I Limit my dealings with Madison since. I did race on it tho and I did like the ridley and heliums are a nice machine. Can't comment on cervelo tho

Raam

pedro_colnago wrote: »

Id have been a ridley fan up to recently til I had to send a faulty frame back and Madison UK wouldn't stand over it so never again, it came back minus a fsa slk seat post aswell. I Limit my dealings with Madison since. I did race on it tho and I did like the ridley and heliums are a nice machine. Can't comment on cervelo tho

Get a faulty Cervelo and you will be sending it back to the same place.

Agent Smyth

Raam wrote: »

Get a faulty Cervelo and you will be sending it back to the same place.

Madison haven't been Cervelo agents since 2013

Raam

Agent Smyth wrote: »

Madison haven't been Cervelo agents since 2013

Oh, who does 'em now?

Agent Smyth

Raam wrote: »

Oh, who does 'em now?

Prima sports

TheBlaaMan

Ridleys are fantastic IMO, I'd love another, but I was told (by a staff member) that cyclesuperstore stopped selling them for exactly the same reason as above - poor distributor back-up to the point of refusing to honour fairly clear-cut warranty issues. I'm not 100% sure if this relates to a UK distribution point or the factory in Belgium. Shame, as the Helium is an amazing frame.

AlexMer

Thanks very much guys, still torn but think the life time warranty is just about swaying me. Actually looked a bit into the S3 afterwards Funnyclub and seems you are right,it seems to be quite a serious bike also, not as harsh as most aero bikes according to a lot of reviews, light and fast. So now im torn between the two Cervelo's?! 1st world problems!! Thanks for everyones input

funnyclub

AlexMer wrote: »

Thanks very much guys, still torn but think the life time warranty is just about swaying me. Actually looked a bit into the S3 afterwards Funnyclub and seems you are right,it seems to be quite a serious bike also, not as harsh as most aero bikes according to a lot of reviews, light and fast. So now im torn between the two Cervelo's?! 1st world problems!! Thanks for everyones input

S3 all the way it's a beauty ;-)

Beasty

AlexMer wrote: »

So now im torn between the two Cervelo's?

I've found a way round that particular problem....


Oh and I keep the Ridley for winter training and commuting.

pedro_colnago

That's where I bought it, I was actually dumbfounded by Madison, it was sent back as a result of a bent dérailleur hanger issue, cycle superstore sent it to England to Madison saying yeah it should be covered and Madison returned it for having an alleged crack in the frame that I knew nothing about. Cycle super store Told me they weren't taking in any more Ridleys as a result of Madison. Pity as I liked the ridley brand. Damn fine bike just a shame about their distributor in ireland and the UK

AlexMer

funnyclub wrote: »

S3 all the way it's a beauty ;-)

Whats it like to climb?

funnyclub

AlexMer wrote: »

Whats it like to climb?

It climbs fine saying that I ain't been up the alps with it. One thing I will say is the stock mavic wheels the S3 comes with are quite heavy, I sold them and have a set of fulcrum racing zero now and it's even better. Mine is a 58cm and weights in around 7.5kg with bottle cages, pedals, garmin mount and sensors fitted.

Charlie69

S3 all the way,fantastic bike. Fast aero and comfortable. Climbs very well and I have been to the Alps with it, and more importantly it descends like a dream.

fat bloke

I'm going to add an aesthetic cervelo caveat. Because of the way cervelo engineer their geometry, particularly with regard to the head tube length, to my eyes the larger frames suffer aesthetically. Size 54 is the sweet spot, with the larger sizes looking increasingly ungainly at the front.

Charlie69

fat bloke wrote: »

I'm going to add an aesthetic cervelo caveat. Because of the way cervelo engineer their geometry, particularly with regard to the head tube length, to my eyes the larger frames suffer aesthetically. Size 54 is the sweet spot, with the larger sizes looking increasingly ungainly at the front.

Agreed, mine's a 54 btw😜

Agent Smyth

fat bloke wrote: »

I'm going to add an aesthetic cervelo caveat. Because of the way cervelo engineer their geometry, particularly with regard to the head tube length, to my eyes the larger frames suffer aesthetically. Size 54 is the sweet spot, with the larger sizes looking increasingly ungainly at the front.

Gotta agree on this, the 54cm looks the business.
Personally I think the aero frame is over rated.
OP I know you have narrowed it down to Cervelo or Ridley but did you consider the Giant TCR advanced pro 1 which has a great spec Full Ultegra, Carbon Wheels and a freshly redesigned frame and the bonus is its cheaper then the Cervelo's.

Irish Raven

Cervelo all the way.....Ridley put too much effort into look the part, that they over do it and make them ugly.....Cervelo on the other had, well....it's the finer things in life....

It's like comparing a BMW to a Fiat. ....cervelo being the BMW....car is perfect, top of the range, no bull****. ..every frame is of a high standard....with the Ridley or fiat....your only looking at mediocre....but I suppose a cars a car right!!

vertigo1976

+1 for the Cervelo and particularly for their warranty. I had a 2011 Cervelo RS that developed cracks on the seat stays. It was replaced under warranty by a 2014/15 R3 with no quibbles or fuss. I love the new R3. Taut, direct and comfy enough for Irish roads.

A bike shop friend also had both an R3 and an S3 and preferred the R3. While the S3 probably had the edge in a straight line, he felt that for the riding that most of us do in Ireland, (climbing, descending, cornering, riding in a bunch and often poor road conditions) that the R3 was best suited.

Another friend of mine has a Ridley Helium in Lotto team colours and its a very nice machine too. The design philosophy appears very similar to the R3.

I would also advise strongly to see them both in the flesh if you haven't already.

Just My 2c

fondriest

Not exactly the models you are looking at but I've had both a Ridley and Cervelo (Noah and S5) and given the choice between the 2 brands I would choose Cervelo every time.

fat bloke

I think there's a sort of Apple effect with Cervelo in that they only sell higher end bikes - there are no sub 1500 euro Cervelo's so it creates a sort of expensive halo. Maybe that also firms up second hand residual values.

Ridley have a full range of frames from cheap and cheerful up, so there's more chance doing the "which one's mine again" dance at your sportive feedstop.

But, having said all that, there's no doubt but that whichever one you buy will be a great bike, and you certainly won't be able to blame race losses, or credit race wins, to having chosen one over the other.

custom_build

fat bloke wrote: »

there are no sub 1500 euro Cervelo's

You can add another thousand to that amount and you'd be closer.

fat bloke

custom_build wrote: »

You can add another thousand to that amount and you'd be closer.

You'd be surprised

http://www.bikelineshop.de/en/bikes/cervelo/cervelo-r2-shimano-105-22.html

Agent Smyth

fat bloke wrote: »

You'd be surprised

http://www.bikelineshop.de/en/bikes/cervelo/cervelo-r2-shimano-105-22.html

Well Holy God !!!:eek::eek:

hesker

fat bloke wrote: »

Ridley have a full range of frames from cheap and cheerful up, so there's more chance doing the "which one's mine again" dance at your sportive feedstop.

I see a lot more Cervelos on the road than Ridleys including at Sportives.

I have a lower tier Ridley than OPs budget is targetting and find it to be a great bike. I'm a bit dissapointed to hear about the warranty barriers. Hadn't heard that at time of purchase 3 years ago. But so far so good. It has held me up well.

outfox

Irish Raven wrote: »

Ridley put too much effort into look the part, that they over do it and make them ugly

+1. I have an alu frame Ridley that almost defies belief, what with all the shapes and angles. Diamond cross sections, square tapering, you name it. I found an indentation on the frame the other day by the front derailleur. God knows for what.

TychoCaine

I have the Helium with Ultegra 11s in team colours (2014 edition) and it's a very nice ride. Very comfortable. €3.5k might get you a DA equipped Helium, but it won't get an R3 with Dura Ace.

pedro_colnago

Irish Raven wrote: »

Cervelo all the way.....Ridley put too much effort into look the part, that they over do it and make them ugly.....Cervelo on the other had, well....it's the finer things in life....

It's like comparing a BMW to a Fiat. ....cervelo being the BMW....car is perfect, top of the range, no bull****. ..every frame is of a high standard....with the Ridley or fiat....your only looking at mediocre....but I suppose a cars a car right!!

Nonsense. Rubbish comparison. Ridleys are a top class frame. There UK and irish suppliers are utter tools tho but ridley make great frames anyone who told you otherwise doesn't have a clue what there talking about.

perrier

Irish Raven wrote: »

Cervelo all the way.....Ridley put too much effort into look the part, that they over do it and make them ugly.....Cervelo on the other had, well....it's the finer things in life....

It's like comparing a BMW to a Fiat. ....cervelo being the BMW....car is perfect, top of the range, no bull****. ..every frame is of a high standard....with the Ridley or fiat....your only looking at mediocre....but I suppose a cars a car right!!

Nonsense+1. I currently have an R3 but my brother has a Noah and it's an unbelievable bike. I have to admit the Cervelo quality is fantastic but there is definitely an "Apple" factor for many people where the bike is seen as a status symbol. If they produced a total turd people will still buy it. But unfortunately you get a lot of that in the cycling world, be it Bib shorts or brake pads.

For the OP it's a nice choice to have.

AlexMer

Thanks everybody for all the input, very much appreciated, Cervelo S3 is on route.
Thanks again