Cervélo Caledonia Force AXS review: simplicity and smoothness combine to speedy effect, but there are better-value bikes  

I loved Cervélo’s Caledonia-5 for its speedy handling and smooth ride, but I didn’t love the price tag. However, this simpler, more affordable Caledonia comes in at a huge £2,300 / $2,500 cheaper than that bike, with the same groupset and wheels – and it gets the ride right.

The Caledonia Force AXS combines a comfortable ride position and endurance-bike comfort with sportier-than-average handling.

Large 36mm tyre clearances and removable mudguard mounts offer a more practical and simplified design than the flagship Caledonia-5. The standard round seatpost, with a traditional external clamp, and a separate handlebar and stem, also reduce the complexity of a fully integrated setup.  
 
The Caledonia Force AXS joins bikes such as the Canyon Endurace SLX, Cannondale Synapse, Argon 18 Equation and Giant Defy as one of the best road bikes in 2026 for anyone who doesn’t race but still wants to ride far and fast. 

Cervélo Caledonia Force AXS performance 

Cervélo describes the Caledonia as “the ideal bike for your big, stupid, rides”.  

This latest iteration certainly fulfils that brief, with its simpler design that includes a threaded bottom bracket, SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) dropout and simpler cable routing. It’s a smart design for a fast workhorse of a bike that'll be ideal for year-round rides in all conditions. 

The frame design has a new carbon construction, with more compliance in the seat tube, a lower overall weight (988g in a size 54cm) and an increased 36mm tyre clearance (or 34mm with mudguards). 

Sadly, it doesn't get the Caledonia-5's clever down-tube storage – that's a shame because I’m a big fan of in-bike storage.  

Out on the road, the ride quality was immediately familiar, with the same get-up-and-go zip as its more expensive stablemate.  

The Caledonia feels swift, responsive, yet welcoming and not overly aggressive. You get the feeling of nippy handling, and a stiff, reactive and sharp-to-accelerate sensation down in the drops.  

The stack on my 58cm test bike is 605mm, which is 5mm lower than the Cannondale Synapse – my current benchmark for endurance bikes (and 2025 Road Bike of the Year). The reach is only 3mm longer at 396mm, but this slightly more aggressive layout lends it a real sporty edge.  

You can still get down into a sporty tuck on descents, or smash out a sprint out of the saddle and in the drops. If you want to take a breather and enjoy the landscape, you can sit up on the tops or hoods and maintain a decent speed.

Ride position aside, the Caledonia has impressive handling, thanks to the combination of nicely shaped contact points, quick-steering geometry and grippy 30mm-wide Vittoria Corsa N.Ext TLR tyres. 

Vittoria’s signature parallel-lined tread pattern resonates with a fizzy sound in a straight line, yet offers tenacious grip in corners that had me pushing the pace and braking later, even on particularly poor surfaces. 

The Reserve wheels, which combine a 40mm-deep rim at the front and 44mm out back, are excellent, being stiff under pressure and with quick freehub pickup.

When it comes to getting to the top of the hill, the Caledonia’s combination of smoothness and snappiness is welcome – on extended longer climbs, I enjoyed being able to switch easily from sitting and concentrating on my cadence to getting out of the saddle to punch up steeper ramps. In fact, I’d say the overall sense of smoothness bests the more expensive Caledonia-5.

I also have no complaints about the SRAM Force AXS groupset – like Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8100, it operates with real efficiency and is what I’d opt for over top-tier groupsets. 

While I like the simplicity and shape of the Cervélo HB23 aluminium handlebar, I can’t help but think a bike that’s north of £5,000 should get a carbon handlebar – options from competitors such as Canyon, Ribble, Ridley and Giant include a carbon handlebar on bikes that cost less.  

I rode the Caledonia in all weathers and a variety of roads through spring, from straight and fast dual-carriageways to twisty rural roads and the rolling terrain of south-west Wiltshire. This involved all qualities of tarmac, from fresh and smooth surfaces to pothole-strewn and frost-scarred surfaces. I even threw in some light-gravel excursions with a few four-to-five-hour endurance days out to see how the Caledonia fairs as a companion on longer rides. 

I also like that Cervélo has kept things simple. While the cables are routed internally through the headset, they don’t pass through the stem, which means you can remove the bar and stem without needing to split the hoses – a boon if you travel with your bike.  

The inclusion of proper mudguard mounts is a practical choice former digital editor Jack Luke would approve of – and the fact you can still run 34mm tyres with them is sensible, too.  

The Caledonia is still not quite as competitively priced as I would like, though. Yes, it’s a couple of grand cheaper than the equivalent Caledonia-5, but it’s still close to £1,000 more expensive than the similarly equipped Canyon Endurace SLX 8 Di2 and the new Ribble Ultra-Road Pro at £4,299 / $TBC. 

That said, it compares well to its bricks-and-mortar rivals. It’s much cheaper than the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 at £5,995 / $6,499, although that bike gets a more premium Reserve wheelset, a carbon cockpit and the brand’s SmartSense system.  

Other options include the Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0 with Ultegra Di2 at £5,499 / $6,999, the Specialized Roubaix SL8 Expert at £5,249 / $5,999 and the Trek Domane SL7 Gen 4 with Ultegra Di2 at £5,200 / $6,799.  

Cervélo Caledonia Force AXS bottom line 

When it comes to fast endurance bikes, Cervélo has good form – the aero-optimised Caledonia-5 proved that.  

However, this ‘standard’ Caledonia does practically everything that bike can do for a lot less cash.   

You still get the excellent handling and smooth ride quality, and it’s light enough to be an ideal companion on big days out. It’s a shame it doesn’t get the clever down-tube storage of the Caledonia-5, but the simpler cockpit is a plus, in my view.

The Caledonia delivers the fun factor you get from the best endurance bikes, and it’s a bike I highly recommend.