While the new Madone and poorly disguised Bullied grabbed all the attention before the tour, Cervelo snuck the new S5 into the wild under all our noses without anyone noticing. Hiding in plain sight, enjoying the stage and all-out victory, the new S5 has finally been launched.
current yield of The best bikes They take as much design inspiration from their TT cousins as they do from what we think of as a “standard” road bike. Perhaps more than any other model, the Cervelo S5 is the most TT of the bunch, with a radical rear-wheel slot in the seat, a split stem reminiscent of the TT’s air extension struts, and a hinged header arrangement as well.
The latest S5, already with a yellow and green jersey to his name at the Tour de France, along with multi-stage victories thanks to Van AertAnd the VingguardAnd, the Laporte, it has little left to prove, and it features a slew of small updates rather than the major overhaul we’ve seen on some new models this year.
The main modifications were made in the name of “simplify, refine, improve”, all of which are basically synonyms. What it amounts to is a frameset that is visually very similar to its predecessor, but with tweaks to the tube contours, tire clearance, and bit improvements that were hard to live with on the front end.
new frame shape
The Cervelos’ trademark visual has always been the glaring rear-wheel cutout in the seattube – which is still a feature of the new S5. Tube profiles are generally deeper, in line with the latest UCI suits. The bottom bracket area is longer as well, as we’ve seen on other new bikes like the New Scott Foyle.
The rear edges have also been reshaped to be more aggressive in search of more valuable watts. The shape of the fork has also been redesigned, with an updated nose on the hinge (the entire front edge of the bike).
The frame is now electronic and disc only, reflecting the likes of New Trek Madone And many of the best bicycles, which allowed to arrange rear dropouts. The tire set itself was designed in conjunction with the new Reserve wheel set, and while it’s improved around a 28mm tire, it can handle up to 34, which is on the big side even by modern standards (considering it’s above the UCI limit for cyclocross, it’s hard to tell The reason you need a bigger size for a road bike).
Streamlined front end
Among the sea of proprietary rod-bar combinations we see on modern bikes, the Cervelo S5 is perhaps the most unusual setup, with its two-shank system. This has been criticized for being difficult to work with, and not highly modifiable, so the new version has been simplified.
Now there are no stack height specific screw lengths to contend with, and the standard screw length is used between shanks of different lengths and between different stack heights making tradeoffs relatively simpler. The rails also attach more simply to the stem as well, and have a five-degree swivel for better contact in your fit. The entire system is now 53g lighter thanks to this simplification.
The shape of the strap has also been subtly modified with the goal of having a perfectly flat transition between the crossbar and the hood, to allow for most UCI legal positions with the forearms on the rails behind the hoods.
At the rear, the previous 25mm seat post has been replaced by a 15mm aged, to keep pace with recent trends in bike fitting. If you’re taking a more extreme stance, the old offset 25mm posts are forward compatible.
Range and pricing
The new Cervelo S5 is available in three colors; Black, purple/white, red/black. Since it’s only electronic, it’s offered with Dura-Ace, Ultegra, Red and Force, or as a frameset if you want to run it with the new Shimano 105 for example.
The Red eTap version will set you back £12,999, all the way to the Ultegra version at £9,199. The set of frames will retail for £5,499. US pricing remains unclear, but we expect to see roughly $15,700 to $11,100 for the complete models and about $6,650 for a set of tires.
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