New Cervélo R5: first ride on Jumbo-Visma's climbing bike

Not yet rated

Our first impressions of the bike Roglic has been riding all year - that has just been launched to the public

Cervelo R5
(Image credit: Simon Smythe/Cycling Weekly)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Cervélo R5 is a beautifully balanced bike that feels in command of every situation, whether climbing, descending or hard riding on rough roads. The low weight and high stiffness make it surge uphill, while the work Cervelo has done to make the front end more 'liveable' seems to have paid off - though I can't claim to have ridden 100 miles every day for three weeks just yet.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Low weight

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    High stiffness

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    Rear end comfort

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    Front end directness

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    Classic looks

Reasons to avoid
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    The usual one: WorldTour-level bikes are expensive

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

The new Cervélo R5 has been dangled in front of us all year, steadily racking up a season of stunning wins under the likes of Primoz Roglic and Wout Van Aert while all we journalists could do was take photos and speculate.

It’s not the way bike launches normally happen, but it’s a surefire way to build up excitement. Additionally, a new bike that already has an impressive palmares that includes Grand Tour wins, and which was one of two bikes along with the Cervélo S5 aero bike to win the Vuelta, is more race proven than most.

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