Cervelo R5.

bristolpete

Cervelo R5. This machine has been a labour of love and a selling exercise in getting my 'fleet' down to one very good bike, my gravel bike and my single speed commuter. Several reasons one being getting older yet doing more hill work than every before, two being not enjoying 'overly' stiff bikes anymore and three wanting something that could accommodate 28mm tyres if needed as read good things about 28mm. As a build it made more sense to buy the Ultegra mechanical bike and rebuild it with my kit as the frame was effectively the same cost. No brainer.

So here it is. R5 Cervelo 2018. Dura Ace brakes and chainset running Stages gen 3 left side 52/36. Ultegra Di2 shifting with an 11/32 cassette, R8000 pedals, Power saddle, Giant SLR0 wheels, Pro one 28mm tubeless, Zipp SL stem 100mm and Zipp SL70 38cm bars. Waiting on new cages to freshen it up. Clever bike with a tall fork crown which effectively adds 20mm to the head tube and 150mm + this 20mm at 170mm tall enough for me with reach being great.

As a bike it is great. Stiff BB, responds to torque and cadence well and the frame overall a nice smooth ride, not buzzy in anyway and adding 28mm adds to the plushness. Could ride it 200 miles no issues. Cervelo cite it as a pave ready do it all bike grand tour capable and I bought it for everything really after narrowing down the R5 from a select few. Devon roads are battered and of course super hilly and at times stupid. Riding out of Sidmouth on Peak hill hit 44% according to my wahoo. What goes up must come down and does all that well, no complaints and netted PB's on the dreaadful Haytor, the famous Cheddar and a couple of big hills called Clapham and Mamhead in the last couple of weeks. Would say it is at it's best on rough roads as seems to float along even on 25mm.

Only phone snaps. The last image shows how much more climbing moving to Devon yeilds hence choosing this machine. Pre 2010 BG (Before garmin). Hardly the alps and hardly a climber but here you either do it or jack it in. Nothing is flat. Up and down like a fluffers elbow. I did knock it on the head in 2014 hence the break, but missed it so tried to reinvent myself. Should break the 200,000 feet this year no problem. Not bad for a fatty who still in relative terms hates hills

Mauro69

Have you tried the disc v ersion?
There is difference in the efficiency between the two frames?
I'm talkin about stiffness, descending precision, harshness......
Thank you

bristolpete

Not tried or indeed looked at disc what so ever. Sorry !

Mauro69

Thank you

wotnoshoeseh

Nice - top work!

pedrojake

Beauty, am so looking forward to joining the Cervélo club

Mauro69

bristolpete wrote:

Cervelo R5. This machine has been a labour of love and a selling exercise in getting my 'fleet' down to one very good bike, my gravel bike and my single speed commuter. Several reasons one being getting older yet doing more hill work than every before, two being not enjoying 'overly' stiff bikes anymore and three wanting something that could accommodate 28mm tyres if needed as read good things about 28mm. As a build it made more sense to buy the Ultegra mechanical bike and rebuild it with my kit as the frame was effectively the same cost. No brainer.

So here it is. R5 Cervelo 2018. Dura Ace brakes and chainset running Stages gen 3 left side 52/36. Ultegra Di2 shifting with an 11/32 cassette, R8000 pedals, Power saddle, Giant SLR0 wheels, Pro one 28mm tubeless, Zipp SL stem 100mm and Zipp SL70 38cm bars. Waiting on new cages to freshen it up. Clever bike with a tall fork crown which effectively adds 20mm to the head tube and 150mm + this 20mm at 170mm tall enough for me with reach being great.

As a bike it is great. Stiff BB, responds to torque and cadence well and the frame overall a nice smooth ride, not buzzy in anyway and adding 28mm adds to the plushness. Could ride it 200 miles no issues. Cervelo cite it as a pave ready do it all bike grand tour capable and I bought it for everything really after narrowing down the R5 from a select few. Devon roads are battered and of course super hilly and at times stupid. Riding out of Sidmouth on Peak hill hit 44% according to my wahoo. What goes up must come down and does all that well, no complaints and netted PB's on the dreaadful Haytor, the famous Cheddar and a couple of big hills called Clapham and Mamhead in the last couple of weeks. Would say it is at it's best on rough roads as seems to float along even on 25mm.

Only phone snaps. The last image shows how much more climbing moving to Devon yeilds hence choosing this machine. Pre 2010 BG (Before garmin). Hardly the alps and hardly a climber but here you either do it or jack it in. Nothing is flat. Up and down like a fluffers elbow. I did knock it on the head in 2014 hence the break, but missed it so tried to reinvent myself. Should break the 200,000 feet this year no problem. Not bad for a fatty who still in relative terms hates hills




Size?

dstev55

Love R5's. If my mate didn't already have one I think I'd have got one over my Bianchi.

bristolpete

Cheers all. Good bike overall, no complaints, seems to do everything well. I bought inline but actually feel it is a better bike with the set back post as the inline is utterly stiff and tends to bounce you about a bit. Looks a bit better optically with the inline in but certainly far more give/deflection in the set back post.

bristolpete

58 comeback specials on. Fastest wheels I have yet ridden.

vespario

Lovely looking bike. Not heard of these wheels but they look great with the frame.

bristolpete

vespario wrote:

Lovely looking bike. Not heard of these wheels but they look great with the frame.

https://ridefullgas.com

Great wheels. Hand built to your spec and this is my second set - the others being 45mm. Drew the wheel builder is a top chap who consults during the build process and advises what wheels are right for each rider in reference to spokes, hubs, rims and so on. Cannot fault these wheels and after having the usual rubbish performance from ZIpp in terms of spoke tension, stiffness and handling these wheels are simply streets ahead in performance and not just straight line speed. They corner, climb and roll well but his wheels descend incredibly well. As with all great wheels they transform the bike and I have a a combo of 30mm, 45mm and 58mm dependant on my mood and where I am riding ( though I may narrow it down soon).

keef66

That is absolutely gorgeous! You must be such a proud parent.

Must admit to being quite envious. Of the bike and your cycling budget which appears to be the GDP of a medium sized country...

bristolpete

keef66 wrote:

That is absolutely gorgeous! You must be such a proud parent.

Must admit to being quite envious. Of the bike and your cycling budget which appears to be the GDP of a medium sized country...

If only . To be honest, on the whole it has been a sell to buy hobby but occasionally, the 'fleet' expanded due to my over excitement or bargains here and there. Having looked empirical data and concluding that most weeks commuting aside, due to work I ride on a Tuesday and a Saturday unless on a break from work so decided to trim things down and have one good bike. Biggest mileage 180 miles in 5 days this year, would love to ride more but can't due to time, energy, need and of course recovery as these hills hurt from time to time. Oh and laps of Regents park just to far away

When researching the R5 I concluded that the complete build was a better option than the frame as I sold the groupset, chainset and wheels once delivered thus clawing back night on £500 of which £60 went to the guy who sorts my bikes in North Devon and we managed to reuse the non tacky Cervelo bar tape. I now have a Cervelo stem and FSA bars in the shed which can go, but last time I sold bars on here I nearly fainted with fright at the postage cost so going to drop them off at the local bike charity. Rotor chainset sale and Power2max meter funded the Dura Ace and Stages Gen 3 so again breaking even on the whole.

Have two weeks off now and just took the dogs out for a three hour blast around Dartmoor so having a good 60 mile + ride tomorrow all being well.

keef66

Well I've benefited from your giant car boot sale to the tune of the 5800 calipers if not the seatpost which sadly vanished

I know what you mean about postage costs. My garage is filling up with low value used stuff which I can't afford to sell on at any price. Think it may end up being donated to a bike charity to get rid.

bristolpete

keef66 wrote:

Well I've benefited from your giant car boot sale to the tune of the 5800 calipers if not the seatpost which sadly vanished

I know what you mean about postage costs. My garage is filling up with low value used stuff which I can't afford to sell on at any price. Think it may end up being donated to a bike charity to get rid.

A loss for both as never came back sadly.

Vino'sGhost

i dont generally like cervelo bikes but that looks cracking, nicely done!

bristolpete

Vino'sGhost wrote:

i dont generally like cervelo bikes but that looks cracking, nicely done!

Thanks, I agree not a head turner at times, but boy it rides well. Just in from 55 hilly miles in East Devon and such a good well rounded bicycle.

Vino'sGhost

bristolpete wrote:

Vino'sGhost wrote:

i dont generally like cervelo bikes but that looks cracking, nicely done!

Thanks, I agree not a head turner at times, but boy it rides well. Just in from 55 hilly miles in East Devon and such a good well rounded bicycle.

Its fantastic when theyre just right, a real pleasure. Ive got an Evo hi mod and thats the same, planted but fun and really good to ride.

mikeyj28

Lovely bike and the comeback 58 specials look good!!

bristolpete

mikeyj28 wrote:

Lovely bike and the comeback 58 specials look good!!

Hope people are getting the mild Elvis reference. Along with my other favourite Junkies Lance Armstrong and Brian Wilson they are my hero's

mikeyj28

bristolpete wrote:

mikeyj28 wrote:

Lovely bike and the comeback 58 specials look good!!

Hope people are getting the mild Elvis reference. Along with my other favourite Junkies Lance Armstrong and Brian Wilson they are my hero's

All you need is a black leather jacket and some 68s and you're truly in Elvis land!!

clu

Like your bike a lot, particularly with the deeper section wheels I think they suit the bike. What are the wheels like though during windy conditions?

Earlier this year I bought a Cervélo R3 disc in the Navy/Red colour. I absolutely love the bike, it rides and handles brilliantly. Managed to do my first century on it of which I think the comfortable ride I get from the bike helped. So I can understand your comments about how your bike feels when you're out on it.

bristolpete

Clu wrote:

Like your bike a lot, particularly with the deeper section wheels I think they suit the bike. What are the wheels like though during windy conditions?

Earlier this year I bought a Cervélo R3 disc in the Navy/Red colour. I absolutely love the bike, it rides and handles brilliantly. Managed to do my first century on it of which I think the comfortable ride I get from the bike helped. So I can understand your comments about how your bike feels when you're out on it.

Thanks. Hope you like the R3 as much as I like my R5. No complaints. Just a good do it all bike.

Wheels are superb in all conditions. Not ridden deep section like these before and had my fill of branded crap from Shimano and Zipp over the years. Over priced, over marketed and poor quality led my to these hand builts. To easy to say this on a forum, but genuinely the best deep section wheels I have owned. Since 08 had 404, 303, C50 in various guises and 808's on my TT bike but these out ride the lot for speed, swoosh sound and above all else safety. Had 404 firecrest last Spring and scared the crap out of me, even on a non aero frame. Just very poor in winds. But, here is the rub, I live in a super hilly area so not getting the use that they should so I keep thinking about selling them on but something is holding me back.

pauly69

Hi buddy nice looking bike
Did you build up from frameset? Just wondering if you have the spare frame rubber grommets/blanks for wireless I.e. etap. I’m stripping a vanilla Ultegra bike to add etap so it didn’t come with the frameset spare grommets. Willing to pay postage and a reasonable fee if you can help.

bristolpete

pauly69 wrote:

Hi buddy nice looking bike
Did you build up from frameset? Just wondering if you have the spare frame rubber grommets/blanks for wireless I.e. etap. I’m stripping a vanilla Ultegra bike to add etap so it didn’t come with the frameset spare grommets. Willing to pay postage and a reasonable fee if you can help.

Alas, no, but they are all over the internet. Here you go -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cervelo-R-Se ... ctupt=true

pauly69

Ah, thanks anyway. Yeah I can find the di2 ones but it’s the full wireless ones I want. Cervelo customer service are as much use as a chocolate fire guard!
Cheers.