I have a 2015 Cervelo R3 with Ultegra 6800 groupset and rim brakes. I now have the infamous bottom bracket creak. It’s a fine bike but I’m a little bored with it and maybe taking it for granted, and I need to fix the BB. If I sold it and bought a new Aethos (probably with Di2), is there objectively enough new in the Aethos that would find it a worthy upgrade? Or would I feel like I’m just riding my Cervelo again (with a $$$$ price tag). They’re both lightweight, fun bikes.
Thanks for helping me puzzle through this!
by TheBigCicero
5 Comments
I went from a 2016 Trek with ultrgra 6800 and rim brakes to a 2023 Aethos comp with 105 di2 and disc brakes.
It was a huge jump in tech and was totally worth it for me.
A few thoughts
1. You’re not going to get that much money for that bike, relatively speaking. The used bike market is a buyers market, and you’ve got a 10 year old bike with rim brakes and a creaky BB. Regardless of what road you go down, I would fix your bike, and consider relegating it to trainer or bad weather duty.
2. Yes, a modern di2/disc bike is going to be an upgrade – honestly going from 10 to 12 speed shimano is a nice upgrade in control ergos alone. Is it worth it to you? That depends on you and your budget. That R3 is already a great bike – it was when you bought it, and it continues to be. A di2 aethos would be a better bike, but I can’t speak for whether it’s $5-7k better.
I have a 2010 dura ace R3 that I recently replaced with a colnago c68. I don’t think I’ve ridden the r3 once since I got the c68 fwiw.
I’d keep it and used the money you would have used to buy the aethose and get some wheels and get a used Ultegra di2 groupset. You have a beautiful bike and it’s def got some years left on it. You don’t even need the full set just shifters FD and RD, wires and battery, crank and brakes are fine and it’s already internal routing so it’ll look pretty modern with a refresh. Plus you are comfortable on it, and that goes a long way.
I went from mechanical Chorus 11sp to 105DI2 and discs. The shifting is a wash, but being able to ride long downhills without getting hand cramps from feathering mechanical brakes is a game changer for me.
I really like modern electronic shifting and hydraulic disc brakes. It won’t make you faster but it’s a nice improvement to the overall experience of riding IMO.