Cervelo is a Canadian manufacturer of road racing and track bicycles. They make some of the most sought after bicycles in the world. Cervelo isn’t just any other ordinary bicycle manufacturer. They’re known to create top-end machines with a racing pedigree that is tried, tested, and even used by much-acclaimed professional cyclists.
From the very beginning, in 1995, Cervelo bikes were built on the concept of being fast and competitive bikes. Cervelo designers Gerard Vroomen and Phil White were hired by a top pro cyclist to build a faster TT bike than ever before, and they did – with the Cervelo Barrachi. Years after the production of the Barrcahi, Cervelo realized that a truly aero frame can only be successful if you pay attention to the details of the bikes’ aero shape and aspect/chord ratio.
Cervelo really hit it off with their P2 model bikes. These bikes went on to win a few national championships in Canada and Germany and everyone wanted to know what exactly Cervelo was all about. Cervelo started moving forward and, in a few years, had made a real name for themselves by producing the slipperiest UCI legal TT frames money could buy. People liked the fact that you did not need a whole lot of money to buy them and soon the name Cervelo started popping up in a few bike shops here and there.
WHY CERVELO?
Why spend your hard earned money on a Cervelo? For starters, Cervelo has a bike for everyone – “S”, “R” ,”C”, “P” and the “T” series of track bikes are the distinct lines of road bike offerings from Cervelo.
Here are 5 reasons to consider a Cervelo as your next bike:
- FOCUS – Road and tri bikes are what Cervelo does. Do you want a bike designed and built by a company that is trying to do it all or one from a company that is focused on building bikes for the type of riding you are doing?
- AESTHETICS – We’ll admit that aesthetics and emotion count for something and Cervelo makes fast and sexy looking bikes. Just look at them! Who doesn’t want one of those?
- KNOW-HOW – No major bike company has a higher percentage of engineers on their staff. Additionally, no other manufacturer has invested as much into aerodynamics, tube shaping, and bike design than Cervelo.
- STRENGTHS – A static 73-degree seat tube angle philosophy bridges all of Cervelo’s road frame sizes and offers small size frame options that fit different from any other production bike. Cervelo’s frame geometry tends to follow a very linear and smooth stack and reach progression across the sizes.
- FUN FACTOR – What’s the point of a bike that’s no fun to ride? Cervelo designs and manufactures bikes that are run to ride all day and are race-proven.
CERVELO PRODUCT LINEUP
1. “R” SERIES
The R series of Cervelo bikes are designed around creating a performance-based chassis that provides as balanced a ride as possible. By “balanced”, we mean not focusing on just one or two variables at the expense of others. The Cervelo R series bikes provide the smoothest ride, laterally stiffest platform, and lightest frames in Cervelo’s offerings. If you’re a performance and weight weenie, these are just the bikes for you.
Snappy drivetrain response, compliant and smooth ride, excellent main triangle torsional stiffness, a versatile geometry that fits a variety of riders well, low frame weight, and better aerodynamics than standard round tubing are all hallmarks of Cervelo R series bikes.
2. “C” SERIES
The Cervelo C series of bikes are adventure/gravel oriented bikes. Cervelo Cycles have always been made race capable performance oriented. So, while the Cervelo C series bikes don’t accept tires that measure over 34mm in width, you can put a fairly wide tread on a C bike and take advantage of that same snappy and refined ride that has made the R series bikes so popular.
The Cervelo C series of bikes are more than just disc brakes, wider tires, and a different fit. The layup of the frame and the handling of the frame are engineered specifically for the needs of a rider traveling at a real variety of speeds on different surfaces. A bottom bracket that is about 1cm lower than other Cervelo road bikes helps lower the center of gravity on the Cervelo C3 and C5 is combined with more relaxed headtube angles and long stays to maximize stability.
3. “S” SERIES
While aero-road bikes are much more common these days, they weren’t when the first S series of bikes came out. The S series initially was a great hit amongst triathletes and time trialists who didn’t want TT/Triathlon specific bikes. The aero tubing and the reversible seatpost, in combination with the geometry, actually made for a great tri platform that fit a wide number of athletes.
The S bikes when compared to other Cervelo series bikes tend to have a slightly more rigid feel and the frames weigh slightly more (they are still plenty light) due to the additional material required to make an aero tube shape. The aerodynamics become very apparent the first time you hit a nice long flat and start to put the power down –these are slippery fast frames that still have snappy and responsive drivetrains.
4. “P” SERIES
The P series of Cervelo bikes are reserved for TT and Triathlon usage only. You probably know by now that Cervelo actually specialise in this domain and actually originated and changed the entire marketplace.
The current Cervelo P series geometries offer a more moderate stack and reach compared to the previous Cervelo TT/Tri geometry and this has really helped their models fit a broader number of athletes well. The P series bikes now offer stability and handling characteristics better suited to triathletes than the previous generation of Cervelo aero bikes without sidelining the responsiveness for the dedicated TT rider.
That’s all folks! Our take on the latest Cervelo bikes available here in India. We hope you found the right bike for yourself. If you need any further assistance, please do contact us.
Happy riding!
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT CYCLING
I’m an avid mountain biker and I like riding fast and flowy singletrack. As I keep riding, I continuously work on honing my riding skills. I like to ride whenever possible, especially with friends. I also like to influence folk into getting to ride more often.
Working on bicycles has also been a keen interest of mine for quite some time.
DISCIPLINE: Mountain biking and Road biking
CURRENT BIKE: Merida One Twenty 9.600 & Specialized Allez Elite DSW
DREAM BIKE: Santa Cruz 5010
