Buyer’s Guide: Cervélo P5

It was one of the most anticipated product launches in triathlon history. Tri-geeks were desperately trying to unearth pictures and even hacked into the Cervélo website to get pre-release photos. All for a bike. Did the bike, which was officially introduced to an exclusive group of journalists on the tiny Canary Island of Fuerteventura, live up to all the hype? You betcha.

The most striking aspect of the new P5 is that Cervélo founder Phil White and the rest of the crew at Cervélo have managed to make a super-fast bike that’s moved away from the complicated setups we’ve come to see in the super-bike category over the last few years. The P5 is a rocket … but one that you’ll be able to take apart and pack up without having to make a trip to the local bike store. It’s also a bike that will allow you to get all the aerodynamics of the fastest bikes out there while also using your favourite aerobars, hydration systems, storage options and more – there’s very little that’s proprietary on this bike. I can’t think of a better slogan than the one Cervélo has come up with. “Simply Faster” describes it all – the bike is fast, but it uses lots of simple components and ideas to achieve that speed. To top it all off, the P5 comes with an incredible new brake from Magura that offers both a revolutionary design and incredible stopping power – something many aerodynamic bikes seem to lack.

There are four key areas that White uses to describe what differentiates the P5 from other super-bikes on the market.

Frame:

Cervélo bikes have long been renowned for their aero shapes and designs. Internal cable routing is a given, of course, including for Shimano’s Di2.The P5 takes all the aero knowledge the company has gleaned over the years to the next level. There’s a longer head-tube chord and a thicker chord at the top of the seat post to ensure airflows past those areas in the optimal direction to reduce drag.

As aerodynamic as the frame is, what is possibly the most impressive aspect of the P5 is the way it’s been built to optimize stiffness and handling without sacrificing any comfort or adding any weight. The BBright bottom bracket and crank are beefed up and provide incredible power transfer, while the slightly thicker head-tube area offers outstanding steering and responsiveness. The standard-sized fork has been matched perfectly to that head-tube area, and is compatible with normal stems and headsets, which gives you lots of choice for set up.

The geometry of the bike has been designed to offer an incredible range of fitting levels- from the most aggressive aerodynamic to a more upright position on the bike.

The frame manages to provide all this performance and handling without sacrificing any comfort – you are not going to feel a ton of road vibration while riding this bike. Using “Comfort Ply” technology, the engineers have come up with the optimal and best carbon fibre weaves in just the right places to ensure a smooth, but stiff, ride, and have taken out material where it’s not needed. Finally, the rear-cut out, another Cervélo mainstay, will accept all tires and wheel diameters.

The Aerobar

Cervélo teamed up with 3T on the new aerobar that is used on the P5. It offers three macro height adjustments (High V, Mid and Low) and lots of micro adjustments (the adjustable pads have 75 – 115 mm of lateral movement and 50 mm fore and aft) to ensure that you get the optimal position on the bike. Since Cervélo pretty much pioneered internal cable routing, and did the aero design on these bars, it is once again a given that the cables are internally routed.

Brake

Anyone who has ridden a bike with a hidden rear brake can probably concur that, while it might be the most aerodynamic spot for a brake, that setup doesn’t always make for great stopping power. That has all changed thanks to Cervélo’s partnership with Magura. The new hydraulic brake offers an incredible amount of stopping power and modulation. In keeping with the goal of making things simple, the brakes use standard tools for adjustment (and the rear brake is quite accessible – no taking off the crank to get at it). It’s a self-lubricating hydraulic system that uses mineral oil and, the word is, will require very little upkeep. Since hydraulic brakes are so new to us in the triathlon world, we’ll have to wait and see on the maintenance end of things, but I can tell you that the brakes work really well.

While the P5 is set up for any type of standard brake, I can’t imagine why you would want to use anything other than the Magura brake – it really makes that much of a difference.

Storage

Triathletes, especially those who compete in longer distance events, need to have lots of room to store stuff. Gels, bars, water bottles, spare tubes – all these need to go on the bike. It is kind of funny, when you think about it, how we spend crazy amounts of money for the most aerodynamic bike we can get, then add things like pouches on the top tube or huge water bottles on the handlebars.

Cervélo has now made it easy to get all that stuff on your bike without sacrificing any of the aerodynamic properties you purchased in the first place. There’s an option to add a water bottle on the handlebars, or in the classic down tube position. There are also placeholders for boxes right behind the stem (look for some P5 specific boxes to come from Torhans and other manufacturers) and even one down at the bottom of the frame where the water bottle used to sit on the P4. (It turns out that lots of people were finding that bottle a long reach and were using it as a storage compartment.)

There’s also a hidden compartment behind the bottom bracket for a Di2 battery, which you could also use for a tube if you aren’t using Shimano’s mechanical shifting.

What really matters: The ride

Of course all of this technical stuff means nothing if the bike doesn’t ride well. How does the P5 feel on the road? The simple answer is excellent. You can genuinely feel the difference the improved stiffness makes in the steering and handling of the bike. It’s uncannily stable, too. My test ride was done in very high winds here on Fuerteventura (one of the Canary Islands that is renowned for it’s incredible winds) and I had no qualms getting down on the aero bars and pounding away. It felt great going into corners and accelerating out of them. Climbing both in the aero position and standing up is excellent – you can feel the stiffness in the bottom bracket coming to play here – so you can really power your way over the top of any hill.

Suffice it to say, Cervélo has put together a winner with their latest triathlon/ time trial wonder.

Prices:

There are two levels of P5. The regular P5 will retail for $4,500 and include the frame, fork, seatpost and Tektro rear brake. Built up with Dura Ace, that bike will retail for $6,000. P5 Tri will come with the frame, aero fork, seatpost, full aerobar set, nose cone brake cover and the Magura brakes and will retail for $6,500. Built up with Di2 it will sell for $10,000.