The new Cervélo S5 landed this summer, rather overshadowed by Factor’s new prototype aero bike, which remains unreleased at the time of going to press. The Factor, with its wider set fork legs and bare black carbon, strolled into the light in Lille, with an air of mystery, stealing the gaze of the media and fans alike. It must have been galling for the engineers at Cervélo to be upstaged by a bike which, by definition, wasn’t even finished yet.
Dressed in more mainstream aero attire, the subtle updates to the new S5 were just an evolution of the previous version, already one of the best aero road bikes, and if you were to squint, you’d struggle to see the differences. It was, we dare say, conservative in comparison.
