cervlo b Bikes

Cervlo R5

The Canadian companys affordable

flagship turns out to be an ultra-bike

Words James Spender

rear end
Etymologists would
have a tough time tracing
the words pencil-thin
seatstays back to anything
other than the original
R5Ca, and subsequent
offspring such as the R5
show no signs of deviating
from the super skinny
template. Good news for
frame weight, bad news
for carbon farmers.

The spec
Model
Cervlo R5
Groupset
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
Deviations
Rotor 3D+ chainset
Wheels
Hed Ardennes Plus Lt
Finishing kit
FSA K-Force Compact bars;
FSA OS-99 CSI stem; FSA
K-Force SB25 seatpost;
Fizik Antares saddle
Weight
6.69kg (54cm)
Price
5,199 complete / 3,499
frameset
Contact
cervelo.com

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ts a simple enough concept: take something

good and make it better. Only Cervlo doesnt
do simple. While redesigning its top-end Rca
frameset in California last year, Cervlo carried
out what it calls a cross-disciplinary parametric design
study to determine the sensitivity of aerodynamics,
stiffness, comfort and weight to the systemic
dimensional variation of 15 different design areas.
The result was a frameset that the Canadian company
claims weighs just 974g (size 56cm, fully painted, frame
and fork) and costs a staggering 6,500. However, as
with all good technological family trees, this top-end
development has had a direct influence on the
generations below it, most notably the Cervlo R5.
Finite element analysis [FEA] and structural
engineering work is conducted in Cervlos Toronto
facility, then the carbon technology development is
done by our engineers at the factory in California,
says Cervlos Russell Mather. The process is very

slow and very costly, but paves the way for the same
layup to be used on the R5 thats built in the Far East.
The extra time taken and some slightly different
materials used in the Rca yields a lighter final product
than the R5 roughly 150g per frame but that comes
at a cost: 6,500 for the 667g Rca versus 3,499 for the R5.
In other words, bar a bit of boron filament here and
some syntactic foam there (both used to strengthen and
lighten the 277g Project California fork), the R5 is and
here one must interpret the word somewhat loosely
an affordable version of the no-holds barred Rca.
Family values
When the R5Ca (the father of the R5, released in 2011,
and predecessor of the Rca) arrived in 2010 it redefined
the classic racing bike concept by pushing several
widely accepted design principles to their extremes.
One, chainstays should be really fat for a stiff pedalling
platform. Two, seatstays need to be extremely thin to P

cervlo b Bikes

P provide a forgiving ride. Three, you can never have

enough bottom bracket standards. To those ends, the
latest R5 boasts chainstays that beef up to 49mm at their
widest point, seatstays that narrow to 9mm and Cervlos
confidently named BBright bottom bracket standard,
where a 79mm wide BB shell supports 30mm crank
spindles. But thats not all.
The R5 includes a completely new tube shape,
Squoval 3, for the head tube, down tube and seat tube,
which has an aerodynamic leading edge, helping to
improve overall aerodynamic frame performance by
7.4 watts at 40kmh compared to the previous R5, says
Mather. Up front stiffness has been improved by 15% and
compliance measured through the seat tube improved
by 10%. Frame weight has also decreased by around 15g.
Lighter, stiffer, more comfortable and faster? Now
theres a thing you dont hear every well actually you
do. Yet take even a short turn aboard the R5 and its hard
to refute such claims, even if youll have to take Cervlos
word on the numbers.
Great expectations, great executions
At 6.69kg this off-the-shelf R5 is indisputably light, and
straight away it has that feel, but not in the way other
light bikes demonstrate their lack of weight. Its certainly
easy to flick the R5 from side to side during climbs or
stand-up sprints, and it punches its way from low to high
speeds like the proverbial off a shovel. Yet it rides over the
rough stuff and cruises on the smooth like its a much
heavier bike, staying resolutely grounded over uneven
surfaces while feeling like its still carrying speed two
things I think help back up Cervlos claims.
Just as a tyre run at low pressure is more apt to deform
around an object than one run at high pressure, a more
compliant, softer frame is more likely to absorb bumps
in the road without skipping all over the place. Secondly,
if a bike is more aerodynamic, on the one hand its going

Cable routing
The cable routing on the
R5 couldnt be smoother,
entering neatly through twin
ports on the down tube and
on the underside of the top
tube. Entry and exit points
can also accept Di2 cables
and hydraulic hoses.

The R5 punches
its way from low to
high speeds like the
proverbial off a shovel
to go faster for the same effort, but on the other it will take
less effort to maintain a given speed. That the R5 delivers
in both departments, tracking undulations like its fully
suspended and bowling along like theres a perpetual
tailwind, speaks to its all-round comfort and speed.
Stiffness is a bit harder to quantify without a series
of lab tests, and sadly Cyclist has yet to gain access to
a local university research department. However, the
real-time results that came back from my big-stomp
experiments were overwhelmingly positive, though
not off the charts. There are stiffer bikes out there, but
for this type of road racer one that I see as a traditional
all-rounder theres no need for things to get much
stiffer. Certainly, if someone could engineer a bike
whose frame didnt flex at all under pedalling load,
that would be entirely preferable from an efficiency
standpoint, but having ridden a few bikes that edge
towards such immovable status, its not favourable P

cyclist

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Bikes b cervlo

head tube
The R5 head tube gets the
hourglass treatment for
aerodynamic gains. However
Cervlo says the R5 isnt
meant as an aero bike, but
rather one thats reaped
some aero benefits from
Cervlos years of extensive
aerodynamic research.

wide rim profile shod with 25c tyres delivers comfort,

low rolling resistance and stability in crosswinds. Plus, at
a claimed 1,564g and with a high level of stiffness, they
roll easily up the climbs. If theres a chink in the spec
its the tyres I would have preferred the more supple
Continental Grand Prix 4000s II tyres as opposed to
the straight up Grand Prix but such things are easily
remedied, and wouldnt even crop up if Cervlo wasnt
selling the R5 as a fully built bike as well as a standalone
frameset. So whats the catch? Well, the thing is the
Cervlo feels a bit clinical, a bit too good, a bit robotic.
Theres a line in Terminator 2 that sums it up. John
Connor asks Arnold Schwarzeneggers T-800 Terminator
if it has any emotions, and it replies, No. I have to stay
functional until my mission is complete, and so I feel it
is with the R5. Cervlos given it a mission to be the best
road bike in the world and its fulfilled that brief to the
letter. Yet its done so in a supremely efficient way and the
result, for me at least, is a bike thats lacking a little soul.
But hey, maybe Im being too sentimental. Bikes arent
people after all. Then again, neither are they robots. ]

In each of the Holy

Trinity of marketing
categories the R5
excels its stiffer,
lighter and more
comfortable
P from a ride feel standpoint. A touch of spring goes a long
way to making you feel connected to the road and giving
the sensation that youre really influencing the bike.
Artificially intelligent
So, the Cervlo R5 is the perfect bike then? Well, nearly.
In each of the Holy Trinity of marketing categories it
excels stiffer, lighter and more comfortable. And then
there are the apparent aero benefits of the redesigned
Squoval 3 tubes too (for those wondering, Squoval is
a portmanteau of square and oval, just like the tubes
shapes). Its also specced in a thoughtful manner.
The Rotor chainset may not be to every groupset
completists tastes, but it is certainly stiff, enjoys the
latest mid-compact 52/36T chainring configuration
and its 30mm spindle makes use of the BBright standard
without annoying step-down BB adaptors (Dura-Ace
spindles are 24mm). Likewise, carbophile fashionistas
might turn their noses up at the shallow section Hed
Ardennes Plus LT wheels, but their alloy brake surface
provides excellent all-weather braking. Their shallow,

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The detail
The relationship between Cervlo and
Rotor dates back to the Cervlo TestTeam
days in 2009, with the teams feedback
helping inform the design of the Rotor 3D+
chainset thats specced on the R5. The result
is a crankset that weighs a claimed 475g,
or 610g with rings. Not too shabby when
you consider a Dura-Ace chainset comes
in at around 630g. Another long-standing
relationship seen in the R5 is between
Cervlo and the late Steve Hed, the founder
of Hed wheels who sadly passed away in
November 2014, aged just 59. Hed was
instrumental in fostering Cervlo founders
Phil White and Gerard Vroomens early work
on aerodynamics back in the 90s. Steve
had some crazy ideas, whacky wheels that
youd be like, Man, how does this thing even
work! says Phil White. Today Heds wheels
appear across the board on Cervlo bikes,
testament to the respect White and Vroomen
have for them, and the man himself.