Cervelo R5 Force eTap AXS 2022

Cervelo's R5 is an excellent all-rounder. For everything from long and steep climbs to big rides over questionable surfaces, it's sufficiently light and supremely comfortable. The aero touches and stiff frame meant I was equally happy pacing around the flat and sprinting up short climbs. Of course, there are lighter and more aero bikes, but the blend of qualities here is just so.

I have to say, I wasn't blown away when I was first setting up the Cervelo R5. In my hands, sure, it wasn't at all heavy, but equally, it didn't quite have that feathery feel of a build that plays around the 6.8kg UCI weight limit. Once I was out and rolling, though, the R5 quickly began to show how wrong I was to take just one metric and focus on that in isolation.

> Buy now: Cervelo R5 Force eTap AXS for £8,599 from Wheelbase

Plump but quick rolling tyres and a super-comfortable seatpost made for a smooth – and, ultimately, fast – ride over the coarse tarmac of South Wales' most significant climbs. On the ungodly steep ramps of the smaller roads, where I'm searching for every watt, I was thankful for just how direct the power transfer felt – particularly the lack of flex around the head tube.

Of course, if you were riding a bike a kilo lighter, you'd likely come back with even more flattering times, but there's plenty the R5 still has left to offer.

On the way back down those hills, for me, the handling was spot on. The movements of my hips translated exactly to the lines I wished to take – the results were immediate, yet still with the feeling of being in complete control. Although one caveat to the excellence of the geometry for descending is that the relatively short front centre leads to some pretty significant toe overlap on tighter switchback climbs.

Although not an aero bike, it's still a pleasure ticking over at higher speeds. On a trip back to the more rolling terrain of Sussex, it didn't feel like a constant fight keeping the pace up – and would have been faster still with a set of deeper wheels. Of course, if you really wanted to maximise speed on the flat, you'd go for a different bike, but it's nice to still get a flavour of that on just the one.

And although not a plodding endurance bike, the ease with which it's possible to adjust the stem height and the exceptional comfort from that D-shaped seatpost has meant I've been more than happy on the R5 for rides up to six hours.

Frame

Cervelo claims that the new R5 is 130g lighter than the previous model, with a claimed weight of 703g in a size 56cm. This is impressively light, although not boundary pushing – not many frames slip in under the 700g mark, but there are a few.

The other big change from the previous iteration regards the stiffness. I didn't ride that model, but David Arthur said: 'For the most part it's reasonably smooth, but get onto a patch of broken tarmac and it struggles to soak up the vibrations and sends the shocks through to the contact points.'

Addressing those criticisms, Cervelo has reworked the fork to retain its lateral stiffness while dialling back the longitudinal stiffness. Presumably the new fork helps soak up some of the vibrations that would otherwise travel through the cranks to your pedals and feet.

The seatpost itself is super flexy too – just resting my arm on it makes it move noticeably.

Additional cushioning can be provided by the tyres, with widths of up to 34mm able to be accommodated by the generous clearances.

The bottom bracket area, though, is quite overbuilt to minimise flex when pedalling and it still uses a press-fit interface rather than a switch back to threaded – as some brands are doing.

Being a race bike, the front end is pretty low at 547mm in a size 54cm. That's 1mm higher than the Canyon Ultimate but 10mm lower than the Merdia Scultura – so quite aggressive for a climbing bike.

The reach, on the other hand, is notably short at just 380mm (Ultimate 385mm; Scultura 395mm). Combined with the steep 73-degree head angle, this leads to a fairly significantly degree of toe overlap. Naturally there are things you can do – shorter cranks and longer stems – but this is the canvas you're working from.

With 410mm chainstays, the rear end is pretty middle of the road for race bikes, which tend to sit in the range of 405-415mm. However, the seat angle is notably slack at 73 degrees.

Cervelo does have its own particular views on bike geometry and there's no way of really knowing how it will all come together before simply riding it. My experience was that everything meshed brilliantly, just with the proviso that I had to be careful of the position of my cranks on the tightest switchbacks.

Groupset

Cervelo has made the pretty bold move of designing the frame to be electronic groupset only, something we will probably be seeing more of on race models.

All the components we have here are from SRAM's second-tier Force line, with hydraulic braking and 160mm rotors front and rear, as well as a crankset-based power meter as standard.

The gearing is 48/35t chainrings with a 10-33t 12-speed cassette, giving a huge amount of range. To put that into perspective, the top gear is larger than a 52x11 combination, while the bottom gear also manages to be smaller than the 34x32 combination typical of a generously geared endurance bike.

The 10-33t 12-speed cassette also manages to cram in more single-tooth jumps than you get on a racing 'classic' 11-28t 11-speed cassette. This makes the jumps between more of the gears that bit smaller and therefore smoother. At least, for the most part. The jump between the second largest 28t sprocket and final 33t sprocket is pretty massive – but I can't complain as every time I've reached for it I've been very much glad to have it.

Wheels and tyres

The wheels are the Reserve 34/37s which have differing rim heights of (no prizes for guessing) 34mm at the front and 37mm for the rear. The set comes with a claimed weight of 1,300g, which is really quite light, although again, not boundary pushing.

Along with the depth, the internal rim width varies between the wheels as well, the front being really quite wide at 24mm and the rear a more modest 22mm. Together, the differing rim profiles are supposed to provide a better balance between stability, weight, and optimal aerodynamics.

They are fairly shallow, but still provide an aerodynamic boost and you benefit from not being pushed about as much as you would in crosswinds if you were riding deeper section wheels. This is definitely something I appreciated on exposed roads; as a lighter rider the differences can be more obvious – for the better in this case.

Wrapping the wheels are a pair of Vittoria Corsa G2.0 tyres in a nominal 25mm width, although they measured up to bang on 28mm at the rear and fractionally wider still at the front, thanks to those roomy internal rim widths.

Like the rims, the tyres are tubeless ready for lower rolling resistance and added defence against punctures. The bike came set up with inner tubes and I didn't swap them out for sealant, yet I still never punctured. Considering the roads that some of my 'optimistic' route planning has led me down, that is quite an impressive track record.

Finishing kit

Up front is Cervelo's own HB13 Carbon handlebar paired with an ST31 Carbon stem. The first thing to mention is that, although the cable routing is entirely hidden, the cables actually run in a groove in the handlebar, rather than being threaded internally, while the headset spacers are split and can be stacked on top of the stem.

Being able to easily adjust the stack height without cutting or bleeding anything would have gone without saying on most bikes half a decade ago – but for the current crop of race bikes this is one of the better designs.

The ergonomics of the bar, with its 80mm reach and 123mm drop, are quite compact, but not unusually so. The flattened tops of the bar might well save a little drag, but do stop you from playing around with the roll of the handlebar, though this didn't really need that kind of tweaking.

I've already talked about the seatpost, with its significant degree of flex that you can literally see when resting your arm on it. Perched on top is Prologo's short and rounded Scratch M5 PAS TiRox saddle.

Its padding is separated into five zones, with the foam density tailored in each for optimal support, while the fairly long central cutout helps with relieving pressure and promoting blood flow to prevent numbness and discomfort.

Value

Priced at £8,599, this is certainly an expensive option for a bike built up with SRAM Force eTap AXS.

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Specialized's ultra-light Aethos Pro is specced with the same groupset but costs £699 less at £7,900 (we tested the Shimano Ultegra Di2 model in 2020).

Giant's TCR Advanced Pro 0 Disc AX has a very similar spec for just £5,599 – as does Canyon's Ultimate CF SLX 8 Disc eTap, which costs £5,149.

Conclusion

The Cervelo R5 is expensive, even for a bike of this spec level. It's also not ultra light – if striving for the minimum mass weighs most heavily on your mind, you'd likely be happier on a Specialized Aethos or Canyon Ultimate. But as a genuine all-rounder that's quite easy to live with, the R5 stands out.

Verdict

Fantastically fast all-rounder that also delivers impressive amounts of comfort