I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a 2009 RS frameset (don't care for the 2010 paint scheme), but have been hesitating. What's been holding me back is the nagging concern that Cervelo will be making long-awaited upgrades to their frames, including the RS, for 2011 (e.g., wider BB and better cable management) and it won't be long before I regret not waiting if I pick up a 2009 RS now. Am I the only one in this predicament? Am I being irrational?

 Do you want the BB30 BB?  It is supposed to be lighter.  I love my 2008 RS. It is great on long rides. It all depends if you want to ride now or wait.  It is your personal preference

AlpeDHuez:

I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a 2009 RS frameset (don't care for the 2010 paint scheme), but have been hesitating. What's been holding me back is the nagging concern that Cervelo will be making long-awaited upgrades to their frames, including the RS, for 2011 (e.g., wider BB and better cable management) and it won't be long before I regret not waiting if I pick up a 2009 RS now. Am I the only one in this predicament? Am I being irrational?

BB30 is better but not nearly to the extent that they want us to think. I read the test this month in Velo News and it is only stiffer by a couple % though it is quite a bit lighter. It is not enough of a reason by itself to get a frame for. I do agree that cable management on the R series leaves something to be desired but any shortcomings would be so far outweighed by the additional time you would be riding the new bike I think you should buy it now and worry about 2011 in 2011. Cervelo plays it close to the vest and right now any improvements for that model year are just speculation and not worth putting off a purchase for, not to mention by then the price increase may even make it cost prohibitive.

Who knows if there will even be BB30 on 2011 Cervelos? So far Campy and Shimano are avoiding it. I thought the BB30 shell afforded greater width to attach wider tubes, but according to Velonews, it's the same old 68mm. Frankly I think that until Campy and Shimano adopt, it will be marginalized. Trek and Cannondale have maximized the design by using a wider shell, but noone else is doing that.

Don't get caught up in the marketing hype. Next years bike will always be better. Buy now, ride now - I gaurantee that everytime you have a regret, a ride on your 2009 RS will quickly kill it.

mudrock:

Trek and Cannondale have maximized the design by using a wider shell, but noone else is doing that.

There are other BB30 frames on the market. Specialized Tarmac, BH G4 and G5, PedalForce CG1, Van Dessel, Moots, and others. Trek does not use BB30. Their design is called BB90 or BB86 as used by some other frame makers, but it differs from BB30 in that even though it uses a wider shell it is still using the Shimano standard crank spacing and bearing diameters. BB30 on the other hand uses a narrower crank with an aluminum spindle a narrower bb shell and larger diameter bearings. BB30 is gaining traction but somewhat slowly. It seems like a bit more hype than anything else. There are benefits but it is not the revolutionary development that Cannondale and FSA want consumers to think.

Jasann:

Don't get caught up in the marketing hype. Next years bike will always be better. Buy now, ride now - I gaurantee that everytime you have a regret, a ride on your 2009 RS will quickly kill it.

 Yeah... its always something new, better and shining coming out next year... every year..... you could end up waiting forever.... say you wait until late 2010 and get ready to order your 2011 modell, and then theres a whole new "magic" item coming in 2012.... would you wait again? thats alot of years without your dreambike man.... go shopping right now! :D You might find a 2009 modell in your size on sale right now....

I ordered a 2009 R3 just before we saw anything about the 2010 models, because I thought that the R3 was *perfect* and I wanted it just in case they "ruined" anything on 2010 (not likely, but you never know).....

 

Buy now and ride now!

However, it partly depends on how happy you are with what you're riding at he moment. If you like your current bike, then you might as well keep riding it whilst you wait to see if something better comes along.

Life is short.  We can't ride bikes when we get too old and fragile.  I would just buy what you want right now.  If the next iteration comes out as a 2011, just sell what you have on E-Bay. 

Look at the history of the company. The R3 has not changed appreciably since 2006, other than a skinnier seat post. The Soloist Team, now S1 hasn't changed virtually at all. The S2, is not a whole lot different than the original Soloist Carbon, save internal cable and some revision of the seatstays. So, if you really want an RS I wouldn't wait until 2011 to see if changes radically. Chances are it won't ! So Buy it now and enjoy. Of course, there may be something new in the R line by then...

do you really feel the rs is getting long in the tooth, it has only been out a couple years, and is a dominant frame in its catagory.  So why would they just do some upgrades, for the sake of it. 

I am happy some people on hear or commenting on the bb30 being marketing hype, I have said it on this forum plenty maybe people are starting to realize it.  I hope cervelo does not ues it, but if the market demands it in time they will have to.  And trek-cannondale maximizing design, all they did was add more weight to the frame, to reduce any weight gains that you gained in the crank, and now you have to deal with a proprietory system and its problems when you want to switch to a different brand of crank

I am curious what some of you have mentioned about cable routing on the R series.  What is it that you do not like? And what is it that you would like to see?  for this style of frame I feel it is the way it should be, and a large percentage of frames on the market of this style use the same basic cable routing.  If it aint broke dont fix it, so just curious what the complaint is.

Last, to the original poster, if you keep waiting to find something better, you will just be waiting your whole life, as next year there may always be something better.  so go for a ride and enjoy.

 

Tough decision, not sure what the 2011 RS will be, but if you can get your hands on a 2009 RS at a discount that might be a good decision and then spend some money on upgrading.  I just bought my 2009 RS at a 10% discount, so I upgraded the wheelset (just today and it's raining and I hope the sun comes out tomorrow.  It is a great bike for long rides.  I've been putting on some miles and my body feels no pain.

Thanks to each of you for the thoughtful comments. Didn't mean to start a BB30 debate. Just my own speculation that the next generation RS would likely go wider, whether BB30 or something else. Personally, I just like the cleaner look of more flush mounted cranks. Same for the cable management. I know, superficial. To those who commented--appropriately enough--to pull the trigger and get out and ride, rest assured that getting out on the road certainly isn't a problem. I'm okay with my current ride, but have been bitten by the dreaded New Bike Bug!

1406racer:

mudrock:

Trek and Cannondale have maximized the design by using a wider shell, but noone else is doing that.

There are other BB30 frames on the market. Specialized Tarmac, BH G4 and G5, PedalForce CG1, Van Dessel, Moots, and others. Trek does not use BB30. Their design is called BB90 or BB86 as used by some other frame makers, but it differs from BB30 in that even though it uses a wider shell it is still using the Shimano standard crank spacing and bearing diameters. BB30 on the other hand uses a narrower crank with an aluminum spindle a narrower bb shell and larger diameter bearings. BB30 is gaining traction but somewhat slowly. It seems like a bit more hype than anything else. There are benefits but it is not the revolutionary development that Cannondale and FSA want consumers to think.

Yes, that was my point. BB30 is 68mm wide. But BB90 is 90 mm wide, and BB86 is 86mm wide. If your going to insert the bearings in the frame, why not widen it as much as possible to give the frame designer more real estate to attach wider (and stiffer) tubes?

Update: Based in part to the vast majority of recommendations on this forum, I've decided to go for a 2009 RS frameset with a SRAM Force gruppo. Just haven't had any luck negotiating price. 10% off is about the best I can find.