Best Cervelo Bikes

‍Whether you are a pro racer shaving seconds off a trial or a casual rider pedaling for fun, Cervelo has a bike to fit. What are the best Cervelo bikes?

The best Cervelo bikes are listed below.

• Best Road Bike: Cervelo R5 Red ETAP AXS
• Best Time Trial and Triathlon Bike: Cervelo P5
• Best Cross Country Bike: Cervelo ZHT 5
• Best All Round Bike: Caledonia-5 Ultegra Di2
• Best Gravel Bike: Aspero

For the avid cyclist, there is always a need to push the edges of performance. Whether on the track, riding through a stage run, or pedaling daily, these warriors constantly look for ways to shave seconds. They know that even the most minor adjustments can mean the difference between wearing the yellow jersey or hovering back in the pack. While this passion for excellence drives them, the same philosophy and mentality motivate one of the top manufacturers of bicycles in the world. Cervelo understands the need of cyclists everywhere, whether professional or novice and uses the same passion for perfection to manufacture some of the best bikes on the market today.

‍Who is Cervelo?

Cervelo is a Canadian company that produces quality bicycles for racing, track, time-trials, cross-country, and everyday riders. The company utilizes computer-aided design (CAD), wind tunnel research, and computational fluid dynamics to construct a bike that reaches optimal goals in speed and endurance. While pursuing perfection is a never-ending race, Cervelo comes about as close as any company could. The fact that their bicycles have been ridden to the finish line in almost every grand tour, the Tour de France, the Girod d’Italia, and the Vuelta a Espana, is a testimony to the quality of their performance.

The company has been active in the bike world since 1995, when Gerard Vroomen and Phil White took their research on bike dynamics and started Cervelo Cycles. From humble beginnings in a university basement to a full-fledged manufacturer, Cervelo has worked hard to embrace and nourish many innovations and advancements in bicycling. The company is known for giving actual riders a voice in suggesting ways to improve their product.

The name is a derivative of two base words, the cervello, the Italian word for brain, and velo, the French word for a bike.

Cervelo has a history of success. In 2008, Cervelo became the bike supplier for Team CSC, which was ranked 14th in the world. It didn’t take long for the team to rise to prominence as Carlos Sastre of Spain won the Tour de France on a Cervelo bike.

The company's early success led to forming a professional road racing team, Cervelo TestTeam, which began to dominate the sport, filling podiums in the World Championships, Tour stages, and Olympics. While the Cervelo Test team did not last, the company is now the sponsor of Team Jumbo-Visma, a Dutch racing team with some serious players. Of course, as you might expect, Jumbo-Visma Team member Jonas Vingegaard won the 2022 Tour de France, including the King of the Mountain title, so it didn’t take long for Cervelo to rise back into its place of prominence.

Over the years, the Cervelo name has graced the podiums for Triathalon and Time/Track racing. Cervelo has been dominant in both categories, winning 14 major races in both cyclo-cross and time trials in the last two years alone.

What are the Best Bikes from Cervelo?

Cervelo makes bicycles for both professional riders and novices. Here is a list of some of the best bikes the company makes.

Best Road Bike: Cervelo R5 Red ETAP AXS

This is the fourth rendition of the R5 (which has dominated professional road racing). In 2021, Primož Roglic won the Vuelta a España riding an R5. Even with its impressive racing record, the bike dynamics have been researched to provide optimal advantage and comfort for many riders. For both the premium racer and even the casual rider, this classic road bike is an exercise in excellence.

The new Cervelo R5 sports a carbon-fiber frame that has always been lightweight but sturdy. This year, the company has cut out about 130 grams of weight (about 16%) from the previous model, which is supposed to make the bike move faster. Cervelo claims that the reduction, combined with an internal cable system that lowers drag, will improve performance. Still, a few seconds' difference will matter little for the everyday rider. While the bike does seem to slice through the wind a fraction quicker, all things being equal, any minor tweak in weight or drag certainly couldn’t hurt. Of course, the proof is in the pudding: the R5 continues to perform very well in races and is one of the most popular road bikes for non-pro cycling enthusiasts.

The frame is designed with Squoval tubes, which are more aerodynamic than the round tubes of other competitors, and the seat post is a slim D shape to aid in the wind flow dynamics. The new R5 has worked to improve the front fork (due to some criticism of being too stiff and not absorbing vibrations through the contact points). The new rendition compensates for road imperfections but adjusts the stiffness to better suit a more comprehensive range of riders.

The bike is equipped with SRAM hydraulic brakes that perform very well in all weather conditions, which Roglic discovered in the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana in 2021 when the morning rains soaked the pavement and made the downhill descent more difficult than usual. Luckily, the R5 performed admirably, allowing Roglic to carve the hairpins on the descent and finish well ahead of the nearest competitor.

Pros

• Excellent ride and improved speed over the previous R5s
• Carbon fiber frame
• Integrated Cable System wired inside the tubes
• Hydraulic brakes

Cons

• Expensive - high price will push some toward other brands

Price

• For more information, please see the manufacturer's website.
• For Today’s Price, see Mike’s bikes website.

Best Time Trial and Triathlon Bike: Cervelo P5

When the P5 was redesigned, Cervelo claimed it was the fastest TT and Triathlon bike on the planet. They must have been right because the top cyclist in the world (Primos Ruglic) won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics with a blistering 55.04.19 time. The P5 has won in time trial races across Europe in the last couple of years. In 2022, the Cervelo P5 won the UCI Time Trial World Championship, with Tobias Foss pedaling his way to victory.

For the latest rendition, Cervelo has redesigned the frame, added disc brakes, and improved the bike's aerodynamics. All these tweaks have been made with an eye toward keeping the bike UCI legal so it can compete in races. The new iteration has made some significant upgrades from previous models, including,

• 22% additional stiffness at the tube
• 26% more strength at the bottom bracket
• 17 grams less drag from wind resistance
• 18% less weight (now only 1,100 grams)

While the P5 borrows from the P5X (built with disc brakes but not UCI-legal), the bike has a firm and fair ride, gobbling up the pavement with little effort. Their front end, aptly named the Speed Riser, is adjustable with a 4 mm allen key so riders can quickly make changes and find the perfect fit. In addition, the aero bars are moveable, further increasing a rider's comfort level.

Pros

• Improved aerodynamics over previous models
• UCI compliant
• Carbon fiber frame
• Hydraulic disc brakes

Cons

• This bike is more costly than other brands

Price

• For more information, please see the manufacturer's website.
• For Today’s Price, see Epic cycles website.

Best Mountain Bike: Cervelo ZHT 5

It is no secret that a lighter bike is faster, which is why the ZHT 5 hard-tail mountain bike sports an ultra-lightweight carbon frame built for that very thing. This MTB weighs a mere 870g, which shows how dedicated the designers were to satisfy their lust for speed. At the same time, the bike is built for optimal efficiency. There is no question that it attacks the course, gliding through the track while never losing its sense of control or poise. The front fork compliments the bike’s design well, and the RockShox SID SL suspension provides enough stability and stiffness for any rugged mountain terrain.

The SRAM Level TL w/ SRAM Centerline 6-Bolt braking system applies enough force to slow the bike down for effective cornering and maneuverability, even in muddy conditions. With a 68.5-degree head tube angle, the bike keeps the rider’s weight centered and focused.

As the newest addition to the Cervelo family, the ZHT 5 has made the mountain bike racing circuit take notice. With the introduction of the hard-tail ZHT 5, Cervelo is trying to repeat its dominance of the World Championships and is setting its sights on the Paris 2024 games. With the addition of dedicated mountain biker Milan Vader, the Jumbo-Visma team seems poised to rise onto the podium again.

While the bike is not as expensive as some of Cervelo’s other racers, it is still rather pricey as far as mountain bikes go. But with the track record Cervelo has in other disciplines. It might be worth the money to own a bike that will take you to the top of the medal podium.

Pros

• One of the fastest mountain bikes ever
• Carbon fiber frame
• Hydraulic disc brakes

Cons

• This bike is built for mountain racing, not necessarily for general use
• Still a bit pricey for an MTB.

Price

• For more information, please see the manufacturer's website.
• For Today’s Price, see Mike’s Bikes website.

Best All-Round Road Bike: Caledonia-5 Ultegra Di2

In the simplest terms, the Caledonia-5 is built for the long haul. This bike is primarily for riders who start riding when they reach the 100-mile mark. Since most marathon bikers who travel long distances never know what kind of pavement (or weather) they will encounter, Cervelo makes a great all-rounder that can handle almost anything. Cervelo knows that long riders tend to put their bikes through tremendous punishment, not just from the length of use during a long race but over all terrain and road surfaces. Rain or shine, mud or pavement, the Caledonia-5 can do everything well.

To handle the hills that can come with a long road ride, the 52/36 t crankset and the 11–34 t rear cassettes provide a gear range that can accommodate even the steepest inclines or descents. The Ultegra brakes with 160 mm rotors provide ample braking force to inspire confidence when sudden braking is needed. An integrated cable system runs the braking and shifting cables inside the downtubes to aid in aerodynamics and reduce the amount of drag. Cervelo also provides an ergonomic seat to ease the comfort of a rider who has been in the saddle for extended periods (as anyone who has gone on a 100-mile ride knows, this is paramount).

The broader but shallower front tire is combined with a narrower and deeper rim at the rear. This combination gives the bike tremendous stability even when being pushed after hours of riding. The tires are designed in such a way as to provide ample traction no matter what kind of pavement or off-road surface might be encountered.

Pros

• A long-haul bike built for marathon riders
• Carbon fiber frame
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• Tires to handle different road surfaces

Cons

• Still a bit pricey for a long rider

Price

• For more information, please see the manufacturer's website.
• For Today’s Price, see Mike’s Bikes website.

Best Gravel Bike: Aspero

For riders who want the thrill of riding on gravel trails without choking on the dust that other bikes in the pack can produce, the Aspero is for you. Designed with speed in mind (as every other Cervelo bike is designed for), this bike will keep you ahead of the cloud of dust.

The carbon frame is lightweight and yet, has a good deal of stiffness to it. The designers have borrowed from the wind tunnel studies of their road racers, the R5 and S5, and incorporated those findings into the Aspero. The tubes are shaped for optimal aerodynamics, and the integrated cable system keeps cables and wires where they should be - inside the frame tubes.

The trouble with most gravel bikes is that they are not designed for speed and versatility; instead, they sacrifice performance for production. They place their bets on durability, leaving the power quotient to the racer's skills. The result is a slower bike that can take the abuse of gravel roads but doesn’t have the oomph it needs to leave the competition behind. The Aspero balances both speed and stability. It is the best of both worlds, and Cervelo has somehow discovered how to harness the genie in the bottle. This passion for speed excellence gives Aspero a decided advantage.

The Aspero gives a choice of tires, allowing the rider to customize with either a speedy 700x42mm or a more gripping chunky 650x49mm tire. The bike can accommodate either tire, which creates excellent versatility for riding on the kind of tires each racer prefers.

Pros

• A gravel bike that can keep you ahead of everyone else
• Carbon fiber frame
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• Options for two different tires.

Cons

• Still a bit pricey for a gravel racer

Price

• For more information, please see the manufacturer's website.
• For Today’s Price, see Mike’s Bikes website