After 5 GREAT years on an R3 i am looking to buy a new one. I realize the 2018 R3 with R8000 is available however i am looking at an R3, 6800 the model with the white top tube. Can anyone speak about any issues with this model in regards to that white top tube and does it easily get dirty and does it easily clean up? Thanks

Hey harryray, I bought my R3 in the spring of '16 and it's the one with the white top tube. After a couple of years it still is pretty white. When it gets dirty I'll give it a wash with some car wash solution and a sponge and it cleans up nicely. If there is some tough grease on it I'll use some Windex and that seems to take care of it. The white handlebar tape is another story....it's pretty grungy now and doesn't seem to clean up easily. I'll probably replace it this spring.

Thanks Brad, the white bar tape will be replaced with black and my saddle is also black.

I was told that model was pretty hard to clean when I was looking at it? I take it you are getting a good deal- the 2018 frameset looks to be a significant improvement

Hard to keep clean but not difficult to clean at all. Following recommendation from this forum I bought some Chemical Guys Matte Detailer spray and it cleans the white top tube with ease.