Cervelo S3

State the frame and fork material and method of construction. List the components used to build up the bike.

The s3 frame and 3t funda forks are both made from Carbon Fibre as you would expect. The frame utilises Cervelo's own 'smartwall' and carbon lay up techniques to place the carbon at specific points making for a lighter frame with strength and stiffness precisely where it is needed. The test bike we took out was kitted with Shimano Di2 and Dura Ace 7900 components throughout with pro vibe carbon fibre finishing kit. No expense spared.

Tell us what the bike is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?

Cervelo say it ia both lighter and more aerodynamic than the S2 so that means it is improving on the current leader of the aero road bike market, if you can do it then why not!? I agree that it is an incredibly light feeling bike that effortlessly spins up to speed but it shouldnt be forgotten that this bike ahs strengths on the hills too, the stiffness allowed me to accelerate up the steepest of slopes that I could find. Throwing the bike around didnt phase it, nor did sharp corner descending. Most people who seem to have one on order are getting it for pure riding pleasure and the occasional race, that seems a fair compromise to me. It is exceptionally comfortable and when I was out on it the miles just rolled by.

Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?

Superb, utterly faultless. The frame was finished to a high standard, no signs of cutting corners or penny pinching when looking over the frame and when riding the frame felt fantastic. The forks are a perfect match, aero profiled with a reassuringly 'normal' form, no swooshes or ridley style foils, just a simple but extremely effective aero fork.

Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?

The frame and forks are naturally made of both high modulus and ultra high modulus carbon fibre with extra strips concentrated and bonded in at the most critical points to increase strength and stiffness while maintaining a low weight. Cervelo also added kevlar to the headtube/downtube area to hammer home the S3's strength credentials.

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

Cervelo use a different geometry to other bike manufacturers, what they call 'reach based' geometry. Cervelo supply only 6 sizes for all their customers, both male and female. Basing their sizing on three points where the rider comes into contact with the bike (bars, cranks, saddle). Rather than alter the angles of tubes as some bike manufacturers might do when providing a range of sizes from, say, 48cm through to 60cm, Cervelo maintain the tube angles which provides for a more comfortable and therefore efficient frame throughout their sizing range.

How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?

The frame felt small, I commented to those at road.cc towers that it reminded me a little of one of my old Giant OCR bikes from a few years back. The geometry of Cervelo isn't compact as such but for some reason it felt it. My usual bike is a Felt AR4 in 56cm size, this Cervelo felt more comfortable, the sloping top tube gave me the feeling of riding a more agile bike and this flowed through the rides that I completed.

Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.

Extremely comfortable, I cycled miles and miles on this bike without feeling at all strained in my lower back, shoulders or any of the usual suspects for cycling related soreness. The rear triangle design really does give a responsive but smooth ride that makes you feel extremely lucky to be on such a machine.

Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?

No, it felt spot on. With the amount of research and development in Cervelo's arsenal I wouldnt expect anything less but still, to actually deliver a smooth but sharp, comfortable but responsive bike with this sort of quality is industry leading. When I wanted the s3 to power up a hill it did, when I wanted it to hit the apex on a corner at speed I enevr had any doubt that it would.

How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?

In my mind every ounce of effort that I was putting into the pedals was being translated into forward momentum, now clearly this isnt the case as there is always some loss but the pedalling and general feel of the bike felt so comfortable and easy that I almost felt rude when I finished a ride and wasnt knackered.

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so, was it a problem?

I have been the victim of this in the past on both my aero style bikes but it was less obvious on the S3, there was still a small area where toe clip could occur but it was only evident when turning sharply at low speed. It is unlikely that in a real world scenario this would occur or at least be of concern at that point.

Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?

Strangely enough the bike felt great through towns and cities, sprinting up park street on my usual hilly city test was a breeze and the ever-blind pedestrians that insist on running accross in front of me were never in any danger because with one brief twitch of the bars I was round them. Totally reliable, utterly smooth.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?

The San Marco Zonalan saddle was very comfortable in itself as I swapped my own saddle with it for a fair comparison. The most impressive component for me was the Pro Vibe bar set up. So nice in fact that I am looking to get a set for my own Felt.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's stiffness? would you recommend any changes?

Can I class different parts of the frame as components? Yes, thanks! The massive oversized bottom bracket area really does transfer power well to the rear wheel, this is one major point for the Cervelo. Like I said earlier on, it didnt feel like any energy was wasted.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's efficiency? would you recommend any changes?

In this guise, with the Dura Ace deep carbon clincher rims I would suggest these made a very strong impact regarding efficiency. They were a breeze above 30kph, pre release photos of the deeper, meaner dura ace rims have got me excited about how those would feel on this bike too.

Tell us some more about the drivetrain. Anything you particularly did or didn't like? Any components which didn't work well together?

As you would expect with several thousand poiunds worth of groupset there is little to find fault with. As mentioned on the Di2 review, this could be the start of things to come.

Tell us some more about the wheels and tyres.Did they work well in the conditions you encountered? Would you change the wheels or tyres? If so, what for?

I encountered every type of condition except snow and ice. The wheels and tyres felt great but I felt sorry for them. Personally I would not take a frame or components out in weather like this if I owned them but on a test needs must. I dont expect expensive components to fail but I also like to protect them if they are mine. The wheels were superb in horrific rain and strong winds, the usual gusting around Bristol and Cheddar didnt throw the front wheel off line too much which was a great comfort.

Tell us some more about the controls. Any particularly good or bad components? How would the controls work for larger or smaller riders?

As alluded to, the shifters on Di2 are almost ghosts of a normal cable shifting system, the shape is similar but it remains this way for purely ergonomic reasons. The shifts are done by tapping buttons, these are placed rather handily for riders like me who prefer hills and therefore sit up more. Riders who tend to stay 'dropped' will have to adjust to the layout.

Anything else you want to say about the componentry? Comment on any other components (good or bad)

A bike with this retail price (around £7000) doesnt have a poor component specced, I didnt find any area of fault. I want the bars, Id love to get Di2 (although maybe the ultegra version when/if it comes out) and the wheels were a dream.

Anything further to say about the bike in conclusion?

A dream to ride. In truth I wish I could have kept it for longer, much longer, say a few years. Absolutely fantastic, comfortable, resiliant, honest and above all fast. The frame alone was the focus for this test and I cannot find fault with it