Five Black.
Feels like home again.
Dropped in to Wheelhaus Bicycle Boutique in Enmore to pick up some 38cm bars to replace the way too wide 40cm bars on the S5. Store owner Greg Chalberg runs a beautiful little shop. Lots of Factor bikes and he had the new S5 on display too (a complete Dura-Ace build in my size and one that I seriously considered buying before picking up this 2023 S5). He put the new S5 on the scales whilst I was there and it came in at 7.4kg’s (without pedals), so for sure, it’s lighter than the model I have out of the box, quite impressive as the head tube is SO much deeper on the new model.
Got home and got the bars on right away. They feel right! Burgh Lightning bar tape (IMHO the best bar tape out there) and hey… I’m getting damn good at wrapping bars (I’ve learned from the best! IOW: Sam Mingle).
PS: It’s not even been a day since I got these bars on, and without mentioning names (I don’t want to get into trouble) I’ve been offered an aftermarket 36cm bar for the S5 that should come in significantly lighter than these OEM bars (as the brand making these new bars are known for making very light bars!). I’m happy with the 38cm bars on my SL8 though, but do have 36cm bars on the way, so maybe I’ll get those on the SL8 and see how I get along with them first.