2014 Cervelo S3 with Shimano Ultegra Di2 Aero Road Bike

The Aero Road Bike has grown more and more in the bicycle industry over the last few years. Each major brand has come out with their own aero road bike model and each brand has tried to make the perfect aero road bike. The Engineers at Cervelo have done just that! The 2014 Cervelo S3 Aero Road bike is a magical blend of Aero Dynamics and Road bike characteristics.  Previous attempts at making a great Aero Road bike have led to bikes that are very fast and aerodynamic however the ride quality of the bike is, for lack of a better word, harsh.

Cervelo is a company that quite simply just knows Aero, if you have ever raced in an Ironman event you know that the majority of the bikes raced at Ironman races are Cervelo’s, in fact one of the fastest bikes ever tested in a wind tunnel is the Cervelo P5. One of the biggest improvements you can make in an Ironman event is aerodynamic efficiency on the bike. Riding an Aero Bike can make a dramatic increase in efficiency which will result in using less energy over the 112 mile bike leg leaving your legs fresh for the 26.2 mile run that awaits you off the bike. What does this have to do with the S3? Well Cervelo has taken everything they know about aerodynamics and combined that with the award winning engineering of the Cervelo RCA to make the Cervelo S3.  By engineering the front triangle of the bike for aerodynamics and combining that with the road bike style rear triangle from the RCA (Find out more about the RCA here) you get a compliant ride that will corner, handle bumps, and climb like a traditional road bike however in a straight line you gain a significant aerodynamic edge over to speed past the competition.

“As a 10 year veteran of cycling the Cervleo S3 is by far my favorite bike”

Bicycle Engineering at its Best

What’s so great about the Cervelo S3?

Well you are probably thinking that such a great bike will come with an enormous price tag, but it does not. When purchasing the S3 you have 3 options to choose from;

• Cervelo S3 with Ultegra 6870 Di2, $5200
• Cervelo S3 with Ultegra 6800, $4000
• Cervelo S3 Frameset, $2300

The Aero Seat Tube cutout allows a 700x25c tire

One of the other benefits of the Cervelo S3 is that even with a tight aerodynamic rear cutout on the seat tube you can still ride a 700x25c (You can learn more about riding wider tires here) tire further improving ride quality and in the long run efficiency over any distance of riding.  The Cervelo S3 has internal cable routing capable of handling whatever the next evolution of components may be and a lifetime warranty, make this an outstanding value.  Plus is pretty awesome looking.

To sum it all up, the Cervelo S3 is one of the best bikes I have ever ridden. Sure you can spend 2x as much on some other bikes out there but the cost to benefit ratio is not even close to the value of the Cervelo S3, this is a pro tour caliber bike at an honest price tag.  Combining the Aerodynamic engineering of a truly aero bike with the road bike handling and ride quality you get a truly amazing bike that is fun to ride in a group or solo.

Cervelo S3 features as shown:

• Full high modulus carbon fiber frame, fork, and seatpost
• Ultegra 6870 Di2 components
• Ultegra 6800 brakes
• Rotor 3DF 52/36 crankset
• Shimano Dura-Ace C50 clincher wheelset
• Specialized Turbo Pro 700x25C tires
• Specialized Romin Evo Saddle

 Enough writing time to ride!