Solo Miles with the R5

For the last few weeks I have been riding my Cervelo R5 for training (the S5 is still the designated race bike) and enjoying the change of pace. As with any time you switch between two high-end bikes, there are features you like/dislike about both. The R5 is incredibly light - even with my heavy training wheelset the bike is just a hair over 16lbs. This weight makes the bike very quick to respond to inputs and climb well. The first weekend I had it together I did a 4 hour ride and hit a variety of climbs to do over a vertical mile of climbing - a climbing workout for sure.

Fast forward to this weekend - I did a 5 hour ride of training. Since the plan was for distance, I was planning to mix up some routes. I started by riding out to Mercer Island and doing a lap of the Island before heading out toward Sammamish. From there I rode down into the Carnation valley and out to Snoqualmie Falls. A small loop at the top and then heading back down to Carnation and up to Sammamish again. This once again resulted in over a mile of vertical climbing - a domain that the R5 responds well to.

As a bike, the R5 is a great machine - I can see why most of the Garmin-Sharp team has been riding these this year. It is light, very stiff and responsive, yet it still carries a lot of the road-smoothing capabilities of the R3 it evolved from. Compared to the S5, it is lighter and a bit more comfortable over the rough stuff. These features do come with trade-offs though. Due to the wider tubes, the R5 is lighter and stiffer, but less aerodynamic and definitely less quick in the wind. The small seat-stays and reduced chain-stays make for a comfortably ride, but reduce the power-transfer. This means that when you launch a sprint, the rear-end is more likely to lift and skip a bit rather than just lay power to the ground. The R5 also has a stiffer front-end due to a wider headset and beefy fork, helping with stability and responsiveness at speed.

You can definitely see why Tyler Farrar and the Garmin-Sharp riders love this responsive and lightweight machine.