Cervélo Project California R5ca frame weighs in at US$10K
Posted by By Gary Roethenbaugh at 29 May, at 00 : 00 AM Print
Cervélo has showcased its new R5ca road frame, the first output from Project California, Cervélo’s research and development facility. The R5ca frameset with Rotor crankset retails for US$9,800. It is produced at the Project California facility and will begin shipping in the next few weeks.
“We set-up the Project California facility in late 2007 to expand and enhance our capabilities in design and manufacturing of complex carbon structures, predominantly frames,” said Gerard Vroomen, Cervélo co-founder. “It is knowledge-driven, not product-driven.
“The facility enables us to set up new production techniques, build and test prototypes and refine layup designs all in one location. This reduces our development time substantially and also allows more opportunities for product experimentation. In addition it provides much better protection for our intellectual property.”
The R5ca therefore represents two years of research. Tipping the scales at a mere 700g, the frameset incorporates updated geometry with a zero offset seat tube. It was developed using real ride data collected from a strain gauge bike also created by Cervélo.
“Project California has provided us with a new way of looking at things,” said Phil White, Cervélo co-founder. “It’s given us the opportunity to see what we can do and how to apply this knowledge to our entire product line. To that goal we have been focusing on improving our lab tests to better reflect reality.
“The bike industry shows an increased emphasis on lab tests (especially in marketing). But if the tests do not reflect the real world, they are meaningless.”
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