The Cervelo C5 - fast, light and comfortable

Cervelo are known as an aero bike specialist with the S5 and P5 being the height of their art. For the ‘endurance’ C5 model they took a different approach to most and started with a fast race bike, with all the high end features of their R series, and then added comfort. It has paid dividends produced a bike that would be ideal for most amatuer riders.

The head angle is slacker than normal to give increased shock absorption on rough road surfaces but the fork offset has been increased to stop the steering becoming too slow. The chainstays are slightly longer as well - the combination giving more stability relative to a full race bike but without sluggish handling.  

Compared to the R-series road bikes the stack is higher and the reach is a little shorter - giving a more upright and relaxed riding position that will be comfortable for long distances.  They’ve done this by adjusting the fork height rather than using a very long headtube which is arguably better looking that an extra long headtube.

Comfort comes from the carbon layup with the thin curved chain stays and slacker fork giving compliance at both front and rear.  Wider tyres play a big part as well with 28mm fitted as standard with space for mudguards or the option 32mm or more without.

With most endurance bikes one of the compromises is weight but Cervelo claim the C5 frame is the lightest in the segment - frameset weight for the 56cm is claimed at just 840g with the full bike coming in at just over 7.5kg as specced. For a disc brake equipped frame that's even more impressive.

It’s picked up great reviews with Cycling Plus shortlisting it for bike of the year in 2015. They praised it’s comfort - placing it right up with the Cannondale Synapse or Giant Defy.  Road.cc described the ride as “sublime”, commenting on it’s ability to soak up road imperfections while remaining responsive and taut.

It’s an impressive bike - light enough to keep up with the chaingang, comfortable enough for an all day epic and with the capability to put even wider tyres on and that downtube bashguard meaning you could take it on some off road adventures as well. On top of that it has Cervelo’s quality and attention to detail and look great.

Check our Cervelo stock