![]() ![]() ![]() “We aimed at stiffness and torsion figures that are absolutely equal to our road bikes, so the Caledonia is pro bike stiff where it needs to be.” “Thousands of iterations designed in-house as the building blocks of the design, taking into account strength, compliance, weight and even aerodynamics. “The tube shapes all come from our tube library,” Cervelo told BikeRadar. Over the last few years we’ve heard just about every brand out there talk about tube shape libraries of one sort or another, be it BMC’s super computer-driven ACE+ system, used on the latest Teammachine, Specialized’s win(d) tunnel-derived tube shapes, or Cannondale’s aero department, headed up by aerodynamicist Nathan Barry.Īll of those brands owe something of a debt of gratitude to Cervélo, who started formulating its own tube shape library way back in 2010, with the still mind-bendingly light 675g R5CA (Project California). The combination of a 52/36t chainset and a broad 11-34t cassette on our test bike should offer wide appeal. The Mud edition R5 also introduced a bit more compliance than the standard R3, to improve comfort on the cobbles.Ĭervélo says the new Caledonia mimics the same lateral stiffness characteristics as the Aspero, while torsional stiffness closely matches the R-series bikes. The R3 Mud expanded tyre clearance to a 30mm tubular tyre – massive in 2011, a time when most riders were still using 23s as standard and 25s for rougher days. Led by head of engineering, Graham Strive, and director of product, Maria Benson, they looked into the Cervélo back catalogue for inspiration and found the team-issue R3 Mud, designed to handle the rigours of Paris-Roubaix. ![]() This, Cervélo says, led to the engineering team setting out to make a bike that could handle the needs of real-world riders and still meet the requirements of racing – not to mention simply making a bike that they wanted to ride (not a bad thing in itself). ![]() CervéloĬervelo’s team at the company’s HQ in Toronto have a fiercely competitive Thursday night group ride, which normally takes in the nearby Caledonia road, notorious for its poor condition.Īs a result, riders often choose between the brand’s race-bred R5 or the Aspero gravel bike, squeezing the biggest tyres they can into the R5 or road-tuning the Aspero with slicks and slamming the position. With mounts for full-length mudguards (not fitted here), the Cervélo is an endurance bike with year-round appeal. The primary design goal of the company’s latest addition was to make a bike for a wider riding audience a true endurance bike to compete with established names from Trek, Giant, Cannondale and Specialized.īut, Cervélo being Cervélo, where competition is at the very core of the brand, the added challenge was to make this a bike that would still serve the pro ranks for racing on the tough roads of the Classics. That changes with the new Caledonia, according to Cervélo. The C-series, which remains in the range, was somewhat of a departure an early entry into the all-road arena and a bike capable both on- and off-road, but it still retained more of a performance outlook than most in the category. Cervélo A Cervélo bike with a twistĬervélo has always been one of the most race-focused bike brands out there, with a commitment to aerodynamics stretching right back to the Soloist in 2001.Īero has remained at the heart of Cervélo’s bikes, right through to the current S-series machines, and the P-series time trial and triathlon bikes, while the latest R-series bikes built for GC riders combine lightweight and aero shapes.Įven last year’s Aspero gravel machine brought low weight and wind-cheating profiles into the mix for a fully race-focused dirt bike. Whereas the regular Caledonia has a more conventional shape. ![]()
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