It’s been a long time in the making but we can now announce that Cervelo frames are available through PBK (if you’re from the US or Canada I’m afraid we can’t currently sell Cervelo to you, sorry). Cervelo frames truly push the performance envelope, this is thanks to the massive input from both engineers (they employ eight, full time!) and the Garmin Cervelo pro team (and the former Cervelo Test Team).
So, without further ado let’s take a look at the bikes and some of the key technologies from Cervelo; a company who openly apologise about their marketing saying:
We like!
A Quick History Lesson.
Cervelo with DZ, the easy to work with mannequin which allows Cervelo to realistically model the bike with a rider on it which influences design.
Cervelo was founded in 1995 by Gerard Vroomen and Phil White, the current owners of the business and the names behind the V.W.D. – Vroomen. White. Design. tag line you see on several frames. The first bike was a TT bike, a radical redesign, it marked the beginning of Cervelo, when Vroomen and White decided to turn this one-off project in to a business. From the beginning they had Pro athlete involvement, with Cervelos being used to race in and win triathlons, TT’s and Olympic TT races. In 2000, the UCI announced stricter controls on frame design, this was anticipated by Cervelo who came to market with a new, improved range. This improved range quickly became the bike of choice for Team CSC in 2003. This relationship lasted for five years until 2008, then in 2009 Cervelo established their own Pro team; The Cervelo Test Team which made way for Garmin Cervelo in 2011.
Cervelo use advanced aerodynamic engineering and cutting edge materials to continue to revolutionise industry standards in the cycling world. Employing engineers instead of marketeers, a Cervelo frame looks like it does for one very simple reason – performance. Supported by expensive wind tunnel testing and real world Pro feedback, Cervelo frames give riders a tangible advantage which is why they’re on podiums around the world; from races like the Paris-Roubaix to the Kona Ironman triathlon where in 2011 more riders rode a Cervelo than any other.
The 'off centre' BBright system.
Tech Talk:
The story of Cervelo is fundamentally a technical one, there are some key technologies which have played a huge part in making them the force they are in the highly competitive Pro cycling world:
BBright Bottom Bracket:
The BBright bottom bracket standard uses an oversize 30mm axle that allows for oversized frame tubes (up to 16% wider than a standard BB). Because of this, it offers the optimum combination of stiffness and weight for the overall system. Slightly uneven, the BBright system has a narrow drive side bearing position which makes it compatible with power meters, but a wide non-drive side bearing position which makes the entire system stiffer thanks to the wider downtube, seat tube and left chainstay. Using the correct bottom bracket adapter, it’s compatible with some chainsets from Shimano, Campagnolo, Zipp, SRAM, FSA and Rotor (some chainsets may require an adaptor). What makes the system even nicer is it’s an opensource design, developed by Cervelo and available for all.
Squoval tubing, used in the R series bikes primarily.
Squoval Tubing:
Cervelo are now using the second generation of Squoval tubing, developed at their Project California facility. The squared profile of the tubing reduces side-to-side flex, whilst the material is laid to create convex walls. Another innovation from the Project California facility.
Smartwall Engineering:
The Smartwall design which increases stiffness without adding weight.
The strength of carbon fibre tubing depends on the size, shape, material and direction of the pieces of carbon fibre. Smartwall design puts more material on the sides of the tubing, this increases the stiffness of the tubing whilst removing material where it’s not needed, saving significant amounts of weight.
TrueAero Shapes:
Cervelo spend a lot of time in the wind tunnel, apart from giving them a great windswept look, it’s helped them to create the TrueAero ‘library’ of shapes which are used throughout Cervelo aero frames to minimise drag. These shapes are based upon a long tail airfoil with a 3:1 ratio, or better which Cervelo found that this gives the lowest drag.
However sometimes Cervelo truncate these airfoils, this can be useful where the frame interacts with another shape; take a bottle mounted on a downtube, or the curved rear seattube wheel cut-out for example, here a truncated TrueAero profile is used to great effect to minimise the aerodynamic impact of objects like bottles and wheels. In fact, the S series Cerelo’s are proudly marketed as being ‘no bottle’ – even having two bottles mounted on the downtube has no aerodynamic impact.
The Bikes.
Van Summeren rocking it at the 2011 Paris-Roubaix aboard an R3.
Enough tech talk – let’s take a look at the bikes and ranges. If you’re keen on finding out more about the Cervelo tech story, check out our Cervelo Brand Shop.
The R Series:
The R series of bikes use Squoval tubing for optimal stiffness, strength and comfort without a weight penalty. Led by the flagship R5ca frame; a masterclass in frame design and manufacture, it also carries quite the price tag! If you’re after a little more bang for your buck, check out the R5 VWD. 10% lighter than the R3 team, the R5 is phenomenally light and stiff making it an amazing choice for racing, climbing and general riding. The R3 and R3 Team combine comfort with strength, stiffness and a phenomenally low weight, if you’ve got any concerns about its pedigree it’s the bike Johan van Summeren rode to victory at the 2011 Paris Roubaix, making it six podium finishes in six years and three victories.
The S Series:
Hushovd aboard his custom yellow S5 at the Tour de France this year.
The brand new S5, as seen at the 2011 Tour de France is available in three different variations according to your budget – The range topping S5 VWD which weighs just 990g, the S5 Team which is the standard choice for Team Garmin-Cervelo, and the S5. The epitome of everything Cervelo has learned, the S series brings aero design to a bicycle which is ride-able everyday whether you’re tackling a Col or the cobbles of northern france.
The P Series:
The P series of triathlon and TT road bikes have won more pro-races than any other. At the 2011 Kona Hawaii Ironman World Champs, over 25% of the field were riding Cervelo’s. With their distinctive rear wheel cut-outs and aerodynamic shapes, these are some of the most copied TT bikes in history. We’ll have the P4 coming soon, but in the meantime, check out the legendary P3 and the P2 which has won the Hawaii Ironman twice. The P2 is better suited to those who like to run a slightly higher handlebar, making it perfect for long TT’s and Triathlons.
The T Series:
With the best stiffness for sprints and aerodynamics from Cervelo’s road range for the endurance events, the Cervelo T1 is taking Cervelo’s success on the road to the wooden boards of the velodrome. Used by the likes of Magnus Backstedt, the T1 uses TrueAero design to ensure as little energy as possible is wasted whilst the frame transmits the enormous power of the most experienced sprinters.
