Cervelo claims its new S5 is the fastest aero bike in the pro peloton and Jonas Vingegaard will look to prove it at this year’s Tour de France

Last month, we spotted Jonas Vingegaard aboard what appeared to be a new, unreleased Cervelo S5 at the Critérium du Dauphiné, speculating the bike was undergoing final testing ahead of the Tour de France. It seems we were correct, as the Cervelo S5's official launch has coincided with the opening week of La Grande Boucle.

While it looks remarkably similar to the outgoing model, Cervelo reckons the new S5 is even faster than before, thanks to “evolving the front end, and going on a bit of a diet, making it an even more potent partner for the fastest riders in the world.”

Cyclingnews' senior tech writer, Will Jones, managed to spend some time with Vingegaard's new Cervelo S5 at the team hotel in Lille ahead of Stage 1, so make sure to check it out.

Many of the new design changes stem from growing trends we’ve observed in the aero bike category over the past year, the most notable proponents being the Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 and the Factor prototype ridden by Jake Stewart. That's not to say the outgoing S5 is obsolete by any stretch; after all, it came out on top in our wind tunnel testing at zero yaw, but Cervelo claims the new model is six watts faster than the outgoing version.

A faster front end

The most significant tweaks are in the form of a subtly redesigned front end and a proprietary one-piece handlebar configuration, designed to function as a system, along with a notably deeper head tube and fork legs. While the iconic two-piece V-stem remains, the new 'HB19' handlebar was inspired by the HB16 bar/stem configuration seen on the Aspero 5, which utilises an aero wing-shaped top section that extends beyond the stem clamp.

The HB19 employs Cervelo's new 'Plus-Four' concept, which makes the hoods 4cm narrower than the drops. This new arrangement offers greater aerodynamic benefits for the rider in the aero position and is said to provide enhanced control in the drops during sprinting and descending situations – all sizes are in line with the UCI's new handlebar regulations.

Other notable features include a new front brake mount, a hidden seatpost wedge, a custom UDH mount, and lightweight, more aerodynamic dropouts.

As a result of these alterations, Cervelo claims that the new S5 is 6.3 watts faster than its predecessor. These gains, however, don't stem entirely from the front end but also from the integration of asymmetric profiling carried out on the seat tube and rear wheel.

According to the Canada-based company, the new Cervelo S5 is, on average, at least five watts faster than bikes from its rivals.

Geometry

All of the tweaks have had minimal impact on the bike's geometry and rider fit, which remains largely unchanged across the six-size model range (48 to 61cm). In size medium, stack and reach are pegged at 542mm and 384mm, respectively.

The head- and seat tube angles remain at a parallel 73 degrees, while the front-center figure has increased by 0.5mm to maintain the ideal trail – this is in line with wider and larger contemporary tyre sizes (29mm and above). The chainstays measure 405mm.

The most notable changes are a reduced standover height compared to the previous model – and the BB height, which has been lowered by 2cm across all sizes due to the move to shorter cranks and larger tyres.

Mass reduction

One of the goals for the new S5, Cervelo says, was to reduce the overall weight of the bike by at least 80g without affecting stiffness and aerodynamics. While the new frame's deeper chord length airfoils on the head tube and fork have resulted in a 24g weight penalty over the outgoing S5, (1,006g/465g vs 1,035g/412g), the company managed to trim some lard from the seatpost and HB19 one-piece bar/stem arrangement for a total saving of 124g.

New Reserve 57/64 wheel system

Co-developed between Cervelo and Reserve, the new 57/64 wheels were designed to work with the S5's asymmetric seat tube profiling, with the overall goal of creating a faster wheel system at the same weight as the outgoing 52/63.

The slight increase in depth has resulted in a claimed three-watt improvement, particularly at the front, where there's greater susceptibility to crosswinds. The rear wheel's profile was designed specifically for the asymmetric seat tube of the S5, featuring an added spoke offset for better power transfer and strength.

Both wheels are optimised for 29mm tyres, with cross-sections that create a cambered airfoil for improved airflow in high-yaw scenarios.

Pricing and model range

As expected, the new Cervelo S5 isn't cheap, but there is at least some variety in the range, including a frameset option. The range is available in three distinct colourways: Five Black, Carnelian Red, and Lithium White, each of which is matched to particular groupsets.

The range is spearheaded by the SRAM Red AXS build (US$14,250 / £12,500 / €13,999) and Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 build (US$14,100 / £12,000 / €13,999) – there's also a 1x-specific SRAM Red XPLR AXS 1 option at US$14,250 / £12,000 / €13,999.

The next tier down is SRAM Force AXS and Shimano Ultegra Di2, both priced at US$9,950 / £9,200 / €9,999. A frameset will set you back US$6,500 / £5,400 / €5,999.

All models come equipped with power meters as standard. SRAM models utilise Quarq spider-based units, while Shimano bikes feature dual-sided 4iiii Precision Pro Gen3+ power meters.