Fastest bike I’ve ever ridden.
I’ve been riding the S5 and only the S5 for the past week or so and yup, it’s hands down the fastest bike I’ve ever ridden. I usually average 30km/hr each ride on the Tarmac SL8, but on the S5 I’ve clocked 32.4km’s/hr average and that was on a day with 30-35km/hr winds (the following day was 40-45km/hr winds and I clocked 31.8km’s/hr).
My initial impressions of the S5 weren’t so hot. It felt like a plank of wood (much like the Dogma F), but I’ve taken a kilo out of it since and gotten my fit right too. The XMCS 155mm cranks are working out for me and from a visual perspective I’m super happy that there’s 15mm more seatpost showing.
Right now I’m using an Alugear 48T chainring as the 52T XMCS narrow wide chainring doesn’t work with a Shimano 12-speed quick link. The chainline isn’t perfect with the 48T in the smaller cogs on the rear cassette (which I’m using a lot on the S5) and I’m thinking a 50T would be perfect so I’ve ordered a few things to try out; 50T ring, lighter YBN chain (since I’m no longer using Shimano HG) and I’m still waiting for my Hylix seatpost to come in the mail (as well as a few more smaller weenie bits).
One thing that I really had to address was crosswinds. The bike came with 30C tyres which ballooned out way past the rim. I replaced them with 28C Conti GP5000 TT TR’s which also ballooned out past the rim and in 30km/hr winds the wind would catch the front wheel in a sharp and abrupt manner.
These ENVE 5.6 wheel specs are now far from modern (19mm internal width, 29mm external width) and designed to be used with 25C tyres. I begrudgingly ordered a GP5000 TT but then realised I had a 29C Aero 111 in the parts bin so I thought I’d at least give it a shot, and man, the Aero 111 truly is magic. Even though it balloons past the rim, the front wheel was perfectly manageable in 40km wind gusts.
I then realised I have a perfectly good set of Roval CLX II’s in storage so I’ve put the Aero 111 on the front wheel and now have that on the bike. The Roval front wheel is 35mm wide and it’s lighter than the ENVE 5.6 too so… happy days!
Super happy with the bike. Riding position is pretty low, long and aggressive forcing me to sit more on the nose of the saddle. Took me a while to get the angle of the saddle right but I think I’m there. Very tempted to order a lighter set of ZEN Carbon Bike or XMCS wheels. Was tempted to go deeper, but pretty decided on 50/60 if I do. A 1,100g wheelset would get the bike down to 6.2kg’s but honestly it feels plenty fast as is and I god damn love the sound of the ENVE hub now that I’ve removed the dust cap and some grease out of it.
CURRENT SPECS:
Frame: Size 51 2023 Cervelo S5 Five Black
Groupset: Dura-Ace 9270 12-Speed Di2
Direct Mount Hanger: Cervelo (16g)
Bars/Stem: Cervélo HB14 380 x 90 (271g)
Bar Tape: Burgh stealth lightning (55g)
Bar Ends: CarbonWorks (2g)
Bottle Cage: Celoco + CarbonWorks bolts (9g)
Brake Rotors: Galfer 140mm/140mm (79g/79g)
Brake Pads: Shimano K05TI-RX (12g/12g)
Cassette: ZTTO SLR Gen3 12 Speed 11-28 (117g)
Cassette Extras: SRAM stealth ring set (5g)
Crankset: XMCS carbon 155mm (330g)
Spider: XMCS carbon (43g)
Chainring: Alugear 48T (116g)
Chainring bolts: XMCS (6g)
Pedals: Xpedo Thrust SL Titanium (165g)
Wheelset: Roval Rapide CLX II front/ENVE SES 5.6 rear (705g/853g)
Tyres: Continental Aero 111 29C/GP5000 TT 28C (272g/247g)
Inner Tubes: RideNow TPU 65mm/Magene Exar TPU 85mm (20g/35g)
Saddle: Berk Lupina Short padded 132mm (90g)
Bolts: Ti-Parts stem, handlebar, Di2 mount (31g)
WEIGHT: 6.83kg
