New Cervelo R5 bike spotted at the Dubai Tour – Gallery

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A new and significantly redesigned Cervelo R5 bike has been spotted at the Dubai Tour, with Dimension Data riders Jay Thompson and Bernhard Eisel possibly set to use the bike on Friday’s key stage to the uphill finish on Hatta Dam.

The two new bikes were seen at the Dimension Data team hut in the start village of the Dubai Tour, and Cyclingnews saw them on the team car during stage 2 as spare bikes. The Dimension Data riders and staff were not allowed to reveal any details about the new bike, with a formal presentation likely during the Giro d’Italia in May. The two bikes are likely to be final test models and a way for Cervelo to offer a teaser of the new R5 before an expected formal presentation during the Giro d’Italia in May.

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Mark Cavendish and most of the Dimension Data riders use the aerodynamic S5 in races, but the R5 is lighter and so ideal for hilly races and mountain stages in Grand Tours.

The two bikes are covered in camouflage wrap to help hide some of the new tube shapes and characteristics of the frame. It is the same camouflage wrap that carmakers use to hide new models when they test out on the road. The new Cervelo R5 was quietly published on the UCI approved models list on January 6. The new bike is listed as ‘R5 rim brake version’ with an FK56 fork. There is no information concerning a disc brake model, but Cervelo says the frame will be made in six different sizes from 48cm to 61cm.

The current R5 was revealed in the summer of 2012, and so the climbing bike was due for a major update. Cyclingnews managed to capture a series of photos that reveal some of the technical details of the bike.

The new R5 clearly has differently designed frame tubes that are oversized and aerodynamic. The down tube appears to be bigger than ever, with a more pronounced curved front profile and an aerodynamic flat Kamm Tail rear profile. The frame again has pencil-thin seat stays but beefy chain stays to provide comfort and transmit the power to the back wheel.

What stands out on the new R5 is the new seat clamp area. Instead of a traditional seatpost collar, the new R5 has the seat post clamp integrated into the seatstay yoke, which flows smoothly around the seat tube and seat post into the top tube. While at first blush the frameset looks similar to Trek's Domane in this area, it appears that the R5 has a rigid connection, not the flexing IsoSpeed Decoupler design that Trek offers.

Upfront the electronic gear cables in these models pass through the Enve stem but there is also an entry port on the top tube head the headset for the bigger mechanical cables.

The specific nature of this ‘R5 rim brake version' name suggests there is also a disc brake version of the same bike soon to be announced. It is possible that a disc brake version will be announced later, perhaps in time for the May presentation.

Click or swipe through the gallery to see the new Cervelo R5 frame.