There exists, between road race and gravel/allroad, a bike category that truly captures the attention of many road cyclists who will never race in their life, but might take on the occasional gran fondo or long distance benefit event. This is the endurance genre, or road bikes for long days, perhaps some mixed surfaces, and the need for a little more comfort. In the current iteration, the Cervelo C3 frame design is nearly perfectly executed for cyclists who are considering an endurance bike. Capable of handling tires up to 700x32, with fender use, the C3 utilizes flat mount disc brakes and 12mm thru-axles to offer stable, sturdy all-weather platform with many of the performance capabilities of the incredibly popular Cervelo R3, with even more vertical compliance for long days and rough roads. Offered here as the C3 Ultegra 8020 Bicycle you get Shimano's precise, reliable Ultegra R8000 drivetrain with mechanical shifting and R8020 hydraulic disc brakes. Mavic supplies their Aksium Allroad Disc clincher wheelset to offer optimal versatility and durability.

The geometry of the C3 is somewhat typical of the endurance category. You'll find a taller headtube, for a higher cockpit position and less stress on the body. The stack height increase necessitates a slacker headttube angle and a fork length and rake that allows the bike to retain front end stability and balance. Other advantages are greater tire clearance and a more frame slope, so standover height is increased. That set-up allowed Cervelo's engineers to lower the bottom bracket, which improves handling and stability, as does lengthening the rear center to 420mm. The one-piece rear triangle gets curved thin seatstays which attenuate more vibration and give a little bit under impact, ensuring more overall comfort. With the asymmetric 79mm wide BBright bottom bracket shell and beefy chainstays, lateral stiffness and power transfer is excellent. Cervelo is using their square-oval tubeset, or Squoval, which increases overall tube strength, mildly improves aerodynamics over round or many flatter tube shapes. The headtube and bottom bracket junctions are stronger, defeating lateral torsion. This process is aided by the overall integrated frame design, plus the new 1⅛ x 1 ½" tapered steerer Cervelo carbon flat mount disc fork and the use of the 12mm thru-axles front and rear, which deliver a tangible effect riders coming off the quick release dropout/axle type will notice.

Of course disc brakes have truly opened up the possibilities for larger tires and other accessory use. With better performance overall and excellent reliability when wet or muddy, disc brakes also move the braking load to the axle, and closer to the ground. So you don't have rim wear and when you have to brake more firmly it is more predictable in response. Along with frame comfort, geometry, and additional tire volume, a real increase in rider confidence, even at the end of a long day on the bike, is much improved over a race bike experience. Think of a how a sport sedan drives versus a race car. Still very capable, but less twitchy, more comfortable, and more pleasurable over a long day.

Shimano's Dual Control shift levers for cable-actuated shifting and hydraulic disc braking have been upgraded and sculpted more efficiently in the Ultegra R8020 version. The lever feel and pivot point have changed from the RS685 version, and Shimano also designed new flat mount (R8070) calipers and Center Lock disc brake rotors for the R8020 system. The whole assembly feels more integrated, more Shimano, if you will. Cervelo spec'ed 160mm rotors on this C3,over the 140mm option. From the shifters back, the drivetrain is exactly what you expect from Ultegra. The R8000 draws from Dura-Ace R9100, with a new shift lever feel, new front derailleur, and an offset to the chainrings that improves clearance and chainline as rear triangles and tires have gotten wider. The rear derailleur offers you more range per cage size, and the more compact Shadow mountain design. For gearing Cervelo is mindful this is still a road bike and yet you will want range, so the crankset features 50-34T rings and the cassette is an 11-30. The entire braking and drivetrain system is R8000 series, with the exception of the BBB bottom bracket adapter system to run the Ultegra crankset with the BBright sheel standard.

Mavic's Akisum Allroad CL Disc Wheelset features a 19mm internal rim width so you can take advantage of better mating with tires up to 32mm. Stable, sturdy and smooth rolling the Aksium Allroad is a great every day riding wheelset. Supplied with 700x28 Continental Grand Sport clincher tires and tubes, the overall wheel package is great for putting your C3 to the test. The rest of the kit is balanced as well. Cervelo opts for their setback SP-19 27.2 x 400mm Carbon Seatpost and Ultra Light Alloy Stem. The popular FSA Energy compact alloy handlebar sets up well, and is wrapped with Cervelo's bar tape. Closing out the cockpit is the Fizik Antares VS saddle, which fits many and has just enough padding and a relief channel to work well for most cyclists.

As a complete package the C3 Ultegra 8020 Bicycle offers great quality, value, and a wonderful riding experience. You don't sacrifice performance, though you may need to adjust a little to the longer wheelbase. but you'll likely praise the stability and control over some loss of precision in fast tight corners. That is what racing bikes do well, and endurance bikes do so many other things well that you will adjust quickly. If you are looking for a road bike that gives you some versatility, increased comfort, and all-day smiles, you have found it.