Jonas Vingegaard's new Cervélo S5 is 6.3 watts faster and 124g lighter than before

Cervélo has finally pulled the covers off the latest iteration of its S5 flagship aero bike and the message is clear: it’s all about pure, uncompromising speed. 

Already spotted in the pro peloton, and notably ridden by Jonas Vingegaard for the entirety of the Critérium du Dauphiné and at this year's Tour de France, the S5 has seen an aerodynamic overhaul that takes advantage of the UCI’s latest regulations governing tube depths. 

It’s said to be 6.3 watts faster than the old S5, a bike Cervélo already claimed as the fastest in the pro peloton. This is a result achieved thanks in part to an aero overhaul and a new Reserve wheelset, developed to work optimally with the new frameset. 

Despite the increase in tube depths, the new S5 is 124g lighter overall thanks to a refined carbon layup in the frame, seatpost and diamond-hole cockpit.

It’s available in four builds, with prices ranging from £9,200 / $9,950 / €9,999 to £12,500 / $14,250 / €13,999.

• Jonas Vingegaard’s unreleased Cervélo S5 has a 1x drivetrain and new, deeper Reserve wheels
• New Cervélo R5 hiding in plain sight at the Tour de France… and it’s right on the UCI weight limit

Faster at the front

Cervélo claims the new S5 is 6.3 watts faster than its predecessor, with the front-end redesign playing the major role in that performance gain. 

The fork legs and head tube are slimmer but feature notably deeper chord lengths, to help control airflow, making the most of the UCI’s latest 8:1 ratio tube shape regulations.

Cervélo has also reworked the cockpit into a one-piece design that removes the need for the split stem section to be bolted to the top bar. 

The stem arms rise at a significant angle (not unlike the Colnago Y1Rs’ cockpit), offering the necessary rise for fit purposes while enabling them to flow cleanly into the top tube. The hole has also been enlarged thanks to a stepped top bar, which is said to reduce wake turbulence.

The updated HB19 cockpit features Cervélo’s 'Plus-Four' shape concept, with the drops 4cm wider than the hoods, intended to offer a more aerodynamic position up top but more control when descending in the drops. The drops have been made slightly more compact, too, according to the brand.

Cervélo claims the design is UCI-legal, but this (alongside many other brands’ designs) is under threat for 2026.

The seat tube and seatpost have also been slimmed down, with sharper trailing edges also said to reduce the turbulent wake, further reducing drag. This complements the new Reserve 57/64 wheelset, which has been designed specifically for the S5.

Wheelset synergy: Reserve 57/64 

The wheels are designed to match the frame’s slimmer silhouette and asymmetric rim profile, with a more deeply offset spoke lacing pattern. 

Cervélo says this combination ensures smoother airflow across the length of the bike, while the lacing pattern increases lateral stiffness by 10 per cent.

Independently, the wheels are claimed to be 3 watts faster than the preceding Reserve 52/63, while maintaining the same weight. 

The wheels are tubeless-ready with a hooked rim design. The front wheel has a 25.4mm internal width and the rear is 24.4mm wide. 

All-in, Cervélo claims the new S5, with the new wheelset, is 6.3 watts faster than the previous S5 fitted with the outgoing Reserve 52/63 wheelset at 50kph, with consistent benefits seen across a +/- 15-degree yaw angle range.

Refreshingly, it has also tested the S5 against competitors, revealing an 8.7-watt gain over its closest tested rival, the Pinarello Dogma F, and even larger gaps to the Cannondale SuperSix Evo (12.9 watts), Specialized Tarmac SL8 (13.5 watts) and Trek Madone SLR (19.9 watts). 

Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that Cervélo has kept the exact testing protocol under wraps, while it’s unclear exactly what builds the competitor bikes were tested with.

For the Dura-Ace and Red builds, the wheels are specced with DT Swiss 180 Dicut hubs, while the Ultegra and Force builds see DT Swiss 240 hubs installed.

Weight loss 

Despite the claimed aero improvements, the new S5 frameset is said to be 124g lighter than the previous model (in a size 56cm). 

Cervélo says the majority of this was realised through the new cockpit (approximately 100g), optimisation of the carbon layup process (30g), where it used inflatable mandrels to reduce waste material, and resin use.

The seatpost’s clamp has been simplified, with a new carbon cradle and alloy cross bar – these collectively save 27g, and offer more fore/after adjustment.

That said, where the previous fork had a large alloy insert around the thru-axle dropout, the new model has a smaller support around the axle hole and separate receptacles for a flat mount caliper. 

This saves hardware weight, but represents a 53g net gain owing to the deeper leg profiles.

The brand has also developed its own UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) design, known as éUDH. The SRAM version saves 1g, while the Shimano version saves 5.8g.

Geometry

The S5 retains its racy geometry across six sizes, with a moderate reach-to-stack ratio that should appeal to aggressive riders and racers. 

Notably, the bike offers consistent 405mm chainstays across all sizes, which it claims keeps handling constant through the five frame sizes.

It says the handling has been optimised for use with 29mm-wide tyres. 

The cockpit is available in nine sizes, albeit these aren’t swappable at point of purchase. The seatpost can be had in a 15mm-setback and inline variants – Cervélo says these can be swapped via a Cervélo dealer.

Cervélo S5 build options and availability

The S5 is available in five specifications, all of which feature dual-sided power meters. 

Notably, there’s a 1x build with a SRAM Red XPLR AXS groupset. The nominally top-tier builds feature wheels with DT Swiss 180 Dicut hubs, while the Ultegra and Force-spec bikes come with DT Swiss 240 hubs. 

Prices start from £9,200 / $9,950 / €9,999 to £12,500 / $14,250 / €13,999. A frameset costs £5,400 / $6,500 / € 5,999.

Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 

• 54/40T, 11-34t gearing
• 4iiii Power Precision 3+ Pro dual-sided power meter
• CeramicSpeed SL bottom bracket
• Reserve 57/64 wheelset with DT Swiss 180 Dicut hubs
• Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR G2.0, 700x29c tyres
• Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo SuperFlow saddle, carbon rails
• Price: £12,000 / $14,100 / €13,999

SRAM Red AXS

• 50/37T, 10-33t gearing
• SRAM Quarq dual-sided power meter
• SRAM DUB Ceramic bottom bracket
• Reserve 57/64 wheelset with DT Swiss 180 Dicut hubs
• Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR G2.0, 700x29c tyres
• Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo SuperFlow saddle, carbon rails
• Price: £12,500 / $14,250 / €13,999

SRAM Red XPLR AXS 1

• 50T, 10-46t gearing
• SRAM Quarq dual-sided power meter
• SRAM DUB Ceramic bottom bracket
• Reserve 57/64 wheelset with DT Swiss 180 Dicut hubs
• Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR G2.0, 700x29c tyres
• Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo SuperFlow saddle, carbon rails
• Price: £12,000 / $14,250 / €13,999

Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8100 

• 52/36T, 11-34t gearing
• 4iiii Power Precision 3+ Pro dual-sided power meter
• FSA bottom bracket
• Reserve 57/64 wheelset with DT Swiss 240 hubs
• Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR G2.0, 700x29c tyres
• Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo SuperFlow saddle, titanium rails
• Price: £9,200 / $9,950 / €9,999

SRAM Force AXS

• 50/35T, 10-33t gearing
• SRAM Quarq dual-sided power meter
• SRAM DUB Ceramic bottom bracket
• Reserve 57/64 wheelset with DT Swiss 240 hubs
• Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR G2.0, 700x29c tyres
• Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo SuperFlow saddle, titanium rails
• Price: £9,200 / $9,950 / €9,999