Tadej Pogačar's weapon of choice, the Colnago V5Rs, reviewed: Not a bike that WOWs but one that wins you over

After dominating every corner of the WorldTour calendar, from the cobbles of Flanders to the summit of Isola 2000, Colnago’s V4Rs exits the stage with a palmarès few bikes in history can rival. Its successor, the V5Rs, made its debut at the Amstel Gold Race and wasted no time stepping into the spotlight, racking up wins at La Flèche Wallonne, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and a stage of the Giro d’Italia.

Meet Tadej Pogačar’s new weapon: a bike that’s lighter, sharper, and built to push the limits of modern road racing.

Meet the V5Rs

At first glance, the latest generation of Colnago’s V series doesn’t look all that different. Still understated, still classy, the updates are subtle. Some weight savings, of course. Some aero advancement. Minor tweaks to the geo. And thankfully, in my opinion, no obvious resemblance to the radical Y1Rs.

For a full breakdown of the updates, be sure to check out our launch story or take a deep dive into Colnago’s white paper, but let me give you the TL;DR version:

Subtle as the updates may be, the V5Rs does come with one bold superlative: it’s the lightest frame Colnago has ever produced. Thanks to a revised carbon layup and refined manufacturing, the frameset comes in at just 1027 grams, putting it in league with the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 or Cervélo R5.

Yet, the V5Rs didn’t just go on a diet. It was designed to be faster, more aerodynamic and more responsive. In other words, a true all-rounder purpose-built for today’s dynamic racing and one racer in particular.

Highlights:

• Weight Savings: At just 685g unpainted (size 485), the V5Rs is Colnago’s lightest-ever frame — 12.5% lighter than the V4Rs.
• Improved Aerodynamics: The V5Rs features a new tube profile, slimmer fork blades, a drastically thinner seatpost, and a reduced frontal area. Wind tunnel tests show a 9-watt saving at 50km/h.
• Shared Development with Y1Rs: Aerodynamic learnings from the Y1Rs project helped shape the V5Rs – specifically designed for riders who prefer solo attacks and high-speed breakaways.
• Racing Geometry Tweaks: Slightly steeper head and seat tube angles, refined trail and fork rake for quicker handling and better climbing. Also: size-specific forks.
• New Bottom Bracket: The V5Rs switches from T47 to a BSA bottom bracket

While the silhouette remains familiar, a closer look reveals the changes made. The latest gen comes with some stealthy aerodynamic improvements. These changes are most evident in the refined tube and joint shapes, a slimmer head tube, new fork blade profiles and an impossibly thin seatpost. (So much so that the Di2 battery required a new home. It now lives just above the bottom bracket in the downtube, accessed via a dedicated port.)

While the Y1Rs serves as Colnago’s out-and-out aero machine for the fastest, flattest races, we’re sure to see a lot of the V5Rs this July as Pogačar's go-to weapon at the Tour.

I’ve had this next-gen all-rounder in my possession for the past two months. Here’s how it fared.

The Ride

“You’ve been riding that a bit.”

I’ve heard it more than once from riding buddies who noticed how often I was out on the V5Rs. As someone who gets to ride and test some of the best bikes on the market, it’s not often they see me ride the same test bike over and over. At first, I didn’t notice it myself, but the V5Rs became the bike I kept reaching for, week after week. That alone says a lot.

Off the bat, I’ll tell you: there is nothing flashy about the V5Rs. It doesn’t even have an obvious “wow” factor. There are lighter, faster and snappier bikes out there. But the more I rode it, the more I reached for it. It’s fast and fun to ride, yes, but it’s got a quiet competence to it that kept drawing me back.

The bike as reviewed:

• Make & model: Colnago V5Rs
• Size: 455
• Colourway: UAE Emirates team colours (SDM5)
• Drivetrain: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 (note my bike came with 167.5mm crank arms, which is not an option in the online ordering process)
• Wheels: Enve SES 4.5
• Cockpit: Colnago CC.01
• Saddle: Prologo Skratch M5 Tirox
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero TLR Race SL
• Bottle cage: Colnago bottle cage x 1
• Tape: Colnago Grip Handlebar Tape
• Actual weight: 15lbs /6.8kg ready to ride with 1 bottle cage

First Impressions

While aesthetics are a matter of personal taste, I think the V5Rs is a good looking bike. The black-white-and-red colourway has been done dozens of times before, sure, but the UAE Team Emirates edition V5Rs still turns heads. In person, the white has a pearlescent sheen that catches the light just right. And the slimmed-down silhouette makes it look classy yet modern at the same time. A close-up look will reveal not a single round tube yet you wouldn’t know it from afar. Plus, those wind-channeling lines, especially where the top tube flows into the head tube, add a sense of speed even when standing still.

Fit-wise, I tested a size 455 (I normally ride a 51cm in most brands) with a 90mm stem and 39cm wide bars. The bike fit me well without the need for any adjustments beyond swapping out the saddle for one I prefer. If the bike were mine for a longer term, I probably would have removed one of the five 3mm spacers but now we’re just nitpicking! I did appreciate that my test bike came with 167.5mm cranks, which is not something that is offered during the buying process – at least not online. Here, 170mm is the smallest option. Likewise, the integrated cockpit with a 90mm stem and 39cm bars is as small as the offerings go, even on the smallest, size 420 bike.

And finally, another notable limitation when ordering your Colnago online is the lack of seatpost options. The bike comes with a 15mm setback seatpost. A zero-offset post is available only as an aftermarket purchase. Considering the bike’s astronomical price tag, I’d expect seatpost options to be included as part of the build. But more on the pricing later.

On the road

The V5Rs may have one of the stiffest front ends of any bike I’ve ridden. That stiffness translates into precise, predictable steering and a notably planted feel. Whether you're out of the saddle climbing or sprinting, or cornering on rough tarmac, the bike doesn't flinch or drift. It simply holds its line and goes exactly where you point it.

There's feedback too. Both good and bad. It’s not a harsh ride by any means, but the front end doesn’t mute the road either. You’ll feel the texture of the surface, the grip of the tyres, and, occasionally, your shoulders and lower back will remind you to stop skipping your strength workouts.

The V5Rs is stiff but not punishing. Light without being twitchy. Some bikes are so reactive that if you so much as sneeze, you’re veering off your line, but Colnago has struck a remarkable balance here. The handling is composed, responsive, and never nervous. It’s not the snappiest or most playful of bikes but I trusted it immediately. And for me, trust is everything when it comes to riding fast. You need to know, instinctively, that the bike will respond the way you expect it to, without having to fight it or push it into position.

The V5Rs earned that trust quickly. It put a smile on my face as I bombed down technical descents and railed through tight corners, confident that it would hold its line. Confident that it would move according to the shifting of my body.

Geometry plays a big part in this, too. The V5Rs puts the rider in an aggressive, rather forward, position but not uncomfortably so. The V5Rs is perfectly suited for long back-to-back days as well as short, all-out efforts like a criterium (though Colnago-sponsored teams will have the option of riding the Y1Rs for that).

The head and seat tube angles are nominally steeper than its predecessor and Colnago is using size-specific fork rakes to improve ride feel for smaller riders. As such a rider, I’m appreciative of this. All said, one feels engaged with the bike, not perched on it, allowing you to lean harder, braking less, and just enjoy the ride.

My persistent feeling I had while riding this bike was that the V5Rs would be a great bike for an American stage race. It would be a blast in crits, a great companion in climbing stages and, depending on the terrain, it would even be pretty competitive in an Eddy Merckx style time trial.

Again, it’s not the lightest bike out there. It also doesn’t have the whip-like snap some other superbikes have but it’s a very capable, very complete bike, one that will serve you well in just about any racing scenario. It may not be a bike that will WOW you when first you clip in, but it will win you over.

There is no faulting the build kit either. The ENVE SES 4.5 wheels are excellent: competitively light, aerodynamic yet stable, and with a beautifully smooth ride quality. Nice sound, too. Shimano’s trusted top-tier componentry delivers some of the best ergonomics on the market, paired with familiar, reliable and precise shifting and powerful braking.

But, for the price tag, I would have liked to have seen the inclusion of a power meter and, maybe, ENVE’s AR One-Piece Handlebar. Not that there is anything wrong with Colnago’s CC.01 cockpit, on the contrary, I quite like it. But between the price tag and this being a UAE team issue, it would have completed the build.

To that end, let’s dive into one of the biggest talking points of this bike: the price.

The price

The V5Rs, as tested, comes with quite the sticker shock or Tadej tax, as I like to call it.

It retails, as is, for $16,500 / €15,900 / £ 13,689.59. Even in today’s superbike market, that’s… a lot.

Specialized’s S-Works Tarmac SL8, also with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 build, comes in at $12,999 / £12,000; the Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 retails for $10,499 / £7,899.00; and the newly released Cervélo S5, with a Shimano Di2 and a power meter, comes in at $14,250 / £12,500.

Let’s break it down, shall we:

Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 — $4,200
Wheels: ENVE SES 4.5 — $2,950
Cockpit: Colnago CC.01 — $965
Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 — $219
Tyres: Pirelli P Zero TLR Race SL (x2) — $180
Tape + Bottle Cage: ~$68

That adds up to $8,582 in components. The frameset itself retails for $6250, and that extra $1600? Colnago’s margin? The Tadej Tax? Who’s to say.

All joking aside, for the price of the complete bike, I would expect a power meter, the ENVE AR One-Piece Handlebar, and more options for crank length, bar width and seatposts. Those aren’t wild requests at this level, and in my opinion, customers spending this kind of money deserve that level of fit and personalisation.

Final Thoughts

Let’s be honest: if you’re even thinking about buying a $16,500 race bike, there’s a good chance you’re a masters racer — or at least in the income bracket that includes doctors, lawyers, CEOs and other folks who can swing that kind of money on a hobby. And if that’s you? You won’t regret it. The V5Rs is a very capable, very complete bike that will serve you well in just about any racing scenario.

Now, if you have no plans to pin on a number, I might point you toward Colnago’s C Series instead. Something a touch more relaxed with a superior ride quality. But, with that said: I don’t race anymore, and from the moment I clipped in, I felt at home. And I kept choosing to ride it. I very much enjoyed riding the V5Rs, so why wouldn’t you?

The price is hard to ignore but if you're looking for a modern all-rounder with subtle class and WorldTour pedigree—and you’re willing to pay for it—the V5Rs won’t disappoint.

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