Cervelo R5 Long Term Video Review

cyclelogue

Hello all,

I run a YouTube channel about cycling and have a video about the Cervelo R5. I make these review videos because when I was shopping for this bike I found it very difficult to get straightforward advice from someone who actually owned and used the equipment, especially via video.

At any rate, check it out here, and I hope this helps!

Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddKPD0vefUA

tim_wand

Good, Honest straight forward review, which answers a lot of the questions prospective owners would ask, without going through the pain barrier. Completely agree and cant understand why manufacturers of such high end framesets persist with PF BB technology, Was the first thing to go on My Evo Six, for the same reasons as OP stated.

cyclelogue

tim wand wrote:

Good, Honest straight forward review, which answers a lot of the questions prospective owners would ask, without going through the pain barrier. Completely agree and cant understand why manufacturers of such high end framesets persist with PF BB technology, Was the first thing to go on My Evo Six, for the same reasons as OP stated.

Yep, I had a Cannondale previously and used an after market module to make the BB what it should be - stiff, and creak free! Thanks for watching!

sloppyschleckonds

cyclelogue wrote:

Yep, I had a Cannondale previously and used an after market module to make the BB what it should be - stiff, and creak free! Thanks for watching!

How did it make it stiff?

cyclelogue

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

cyclelogue wrote:

Yep, I had a Cannondale previously and used an after market module to make the BB what it should be - stiff, and creak free! Thanks for watching!

How did it make it stiff?

It was a machined aluminum insert which added strength to the BB and gave it a more stable and aligned platform to spin in

bernithebiker

Why do Cervelos have such tall head tubes?

Wheelspinner

bernithebiker wrote:

Why do Cervelos have such tall head tubes?

Because 99.5% of the people who buy them would only have to put in a stack of spacers if they used short head tubes. They make frames to suit people who buy them. Structurally, a longer head tube with no spacers is a better design than 40 mm of steerer tube poking out of the headset.

Their pro team riders often resort to long -17 deg stems slammed on the headset to compensate to get low enough because they are flexible, fit, strong skinny types. The rest of us can't really ride that position for long, if at all.

Bobbinogs

bernithebiker wrote:

Why do Cervelos have such tall head tubes?

I think they vary a lot with rider size. The R2/R3/R5 have a fairly normal* headtube length of 147 for a 54...but this increases massively to over 170mm for the 56. Whenever I see photos of those Cervelos they seem to be the 56+ so look a bit less than the racing machines they are supposed to be. I guess that is why a lot of the pros ride the 51/54 with a big seat post and a -17deg stem.

*as in, very similar to the Spesh Allez, which is fairly common and has 145 headtube for a 54.

Bobbinogs

As an aside, that review did make me chuckle. The overall tone was really positive...yet the paint job was so thin that bib shorts scuffed it (!), the crankset kept mis-shifting, the BB was replaced and he found the bike harsh to ride. Oh, he changed the saddle and the wheels as well*. Still great bike for £4k ;-)

*yes, I know that was personal choice.

harry-s

Thanks for the vid cyclelogue, I built up an R5 earlier this year, so it's interesting to hear another owners long term view. I've only got about 1-2K miles on mine so far, so not as much as you yet.

There's a few pics here, it's a 58 frameset:

viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13040728&start=60

I'd agree with a few of your points, - I too swapped out the Rotor BB and replaced it with a Shimano adaptor, - no creaks yet. I've made a note of your third party BB though, just incase I need to give something else a try.
No problems with the paintwork, - I've put helitape on the usual spots, along with a chaincatcher, I'll keep an eye on it. I would say though, that if your top tube is scratched from your shorts, it's nothing to do with the thickness of the paint/lacquer, but more a case of it not being hard enough. Two pack lacquer should be harder than lycra, - maybe I misunderstood you. The inside of my right knee tends to brush against the top tube on most bikes, - I haven't seen any effect on the paintwork yet. Or my knee.
I don't find the ride harsh, in fact the opposite. I'm running GP4000s and Spesh Turbos on different wheelsets (C50 &C24s), both with latex tubes, at 100psi. It's not as harsh as my spesh Tarmac. Closer to a Ti ride I'd say.
I agree about the handling, it's by far the easiest bike to ride I've had, point and turn and it just goes there without any drama. I'm sure my nerve would go before the bike started twitching.
All in all, I'd struggle to find a complaint.

cyclelogue

Bobbinogs wrote:

As an aside, that review did make me chuckle. The overall tone was really positive...yet the paint job was so thin that bib shorts scuffed it (!), the crankset kept mis-shifting, the BB was replaced and he found the bike harsh to ride. Oh, he changed the saddle and the wheels as well*. Still great bike for £4k ;-)

*yes, I know that was personal choice.

Ha yeah, there are always niggly bits about any stock bike that bug me, but at then end of the day I do love riding the bike!

cyclelogue

Harry-S wrote:

Thanks for the vid cyclelogue, I built up an R5 earlier this year, so it's interesting to hear another owners long term view. I've only got about 1-2K miles on mine so far, so not as much as you yet.

There's a few pics here, it's a 58 frameset:

viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13040728&start=60

I'd agree with a few of your points, - I too swapped out the Rotor BB and replaced it with a Shimano adaptor, - no creaks yet. I've made a note of your third party BB though, just incase I need to give something else a try.
No problems with the paintwork, - I've put helitape on the usual spots, along with a chaincatcher, I'll keep an eye on it. I would say though, that if your top tube is scratched from your shorts, it's nothing to do with the thickness of the paint/lacquer, but more a case of it not being hard enough. Two pack lacquer should be harder than lycra, - maybe I misunderstood you. The inside of my right knee tends to brush against the top tube on most bikes, - I haven't seen any effect on the paintwork yet. Or my knee.
I don't find the ride harsh, in fact the opposite. I'm running GP4000s and Spesh Turbos on different wheelsets (C50 &C24s), both with latex tubes, at 100psi. It's not as harsh as my spesh Tarmac. Closer to a Ti ride I'd say.
I agree about the handling, it's by far the easiest bike to ride I've had, point and turn and it just goes there without any drama. I'm sure my nerve would go before the bike started twitching.
All in all, I'd struggle to find a complaint.

6.6 kilos holy smokes, that's awesome! All up with cages, pedals, and computer mount mine comes in just shy of 7 kg. How do you like riding those C24's?

harry-s

The C24s are great, I like them a lot, although I usually keep them for days when I know I'm going to be doing a lot of climbing. The 50s tend to be the day to day wheels on this bike.
Spares are tricky though, I recently had to replace a spoke on the front wheel (after a coming together with another bike), and most suppliers here in the UK were quoting a mid July delivery date. That's dictated by the UK importer, Madison. In the end I found a shop, near Toulouse I think, that would ship to the UK, but it was all a bit of pita!