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Tour Tech: Mark Cavendish's Cervelo S5 with an F1 paint finish

Sneak peak at Mark Cavendish's custom painted Cervelo S5 race bike

So we're in Düsseldorf for the build-up to the Tour de France Grand Depart on Saturday, roaming around the team hotels trying to shoot as many of the race bikes as we can, and as luck would have it the first team we bumped into was Dimension-Data. And here's Mark Cavendish. 

Cavendish Cervelo S5 - 1 (1).jpg

Mark Cavendish is once again riding the Cervelo S5, the Canadian company's most aerodynamic race bike, and it looks pretty much the same as last year's bike, so far as we can tell. We didn't get a chance to have a real close look because the team were departing for a training ride as we arrived, but we rattled off a few shots - we're going to get a closer look later today so we'll update this piece with more detail.

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 4.jpg

He's riding the brand new Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and there are the same Enve wheels he raced last season - come race day he'll have a new set of Enve wheels with matching green logos. The rims are laced to green Chris King R45 hubs, a nice touch.

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 2.jpg

The Dimension-Data team is actually sponsored by Rotor but Mark Cavendish has shunned sponsorship duties preferring to use an SRM power meter, even if it means the logo has to be concealed. There's also an Enve aero carbon handlebar and stem. The garish bar tape of last year has been replaced by a standard black bar tape, which is no bad thing... There are Shimano Dura-Ace pedals and an Enve aero carbon handlebar and stem, and Ceramic Speed bearings in the head tube.

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 1.jpg

What is new is the paint job, well it's not exactly painted as such...The finish on Mark Cavendish’s bike owes a lot to Formula One. Cervelo started working with a paint specialist company in Silverstone to produce a super light paint finish for the T5GB track bikes used by Team GB in the Rio Olympics last year, and this partnership led to Fav’s custom S5. 

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 12.jpg

The company - Silverstone Paint Technology- has developed a heat-shielding material used for Formula One brakes and engines that is just 10 microns thick and weighs just 1g when used on the S5 frame. And when it's applied to bare carbon fibre it produces the stunning chrome finish. The Cervelo lead designer has then added a green dye to the material to produce a fade finish across the frame. You can see how thin the finish is, the carbon weave shows through in several places.  Because so little paint has been used, the frameset weight has been reduced by 75g. 

Update: So since photographing the bike, we've learned that the finish costs a staggering €4,000, so don't expect to see this option in your local Cervelo dealer anytime soon. We've also learned that the S5 differs slightly from the standard frame with extra carbon fibre added to key targeted places to increase the stiffness of the frame, intended to prevent it twisting and flexing during a sprint finish. 

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 10.jpg

“It needed to be Mark Cavendish’s bike at its core, and this was achieved both technically and visually,” said Tom Briggs, Cervélo’s lead graphic designer. “To highlight his team pride we used DiData green and maintained the same mask lines as the Team Edition S5. We also included the Qhubeka charity logo on the inside of the chainstay because of Mark’s commitment to Qhubeka and what they are trying to achieve. 

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 11.jpg

Mark Turner, Silverstone Paint Technology’s director, is similarly excited: “Watching Britain’s Olympians reach the podium in Rio on the T5GB represented the proudest moment in our company’s history. Now, with Cav’s S5, we’re pushing the incremental performance benefits of our paint technology even further. We’ve learned that every bit of weight savings can make a difference, and Cervélo’s willingness to explore technology outside of their industry has really pushed and challenged us.”

Cavendish Cervelo S5 Tour Tech - 19.jpg

So what do you think of his Tour race bike? Thumbs up or down? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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34 comments

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DaveE128 | 6 years ago
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Quote:

We also included the Qhubeka charity logo on the inside of the chainstay because of Mark’s commitment to Qhubeka and what they are trying to achieve

Why didn't they just go the whole hog and put it under the bottom bracket?

Clearly the team is really proud of the connections to Qhubeka...  7

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nortonpdj | 6 years ago
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Pardon my ignorance, but is this the old one with the infinite improbability drive, or is it the new sub-etha model?

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madcarew replied to nortonpdj | 6 years ago
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nortonpdj wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but is this the old one with the infinite improbability drive, or is it the new sub-etha model?

The new sub-etha model is characterised by a double foo-foo valve on the rear rotor, but ultimately the unobtanium heatsink brings in a reactive index which more than matches the infra-red shift of the old improbability drive. As Flobble (Dr Flobster to those in the know) points out, the extra vertical compliance of the ultra-radium spoke lift cancels out the vertical oscillations making the doppler shift through the bottom bracket match the compliant stiffness of the viagral insertions.

 

 

Are we done now?

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Bigtwin replied to nortonpdj | 6 years ago
1 like

nortonpdj wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but is this the old one with the infinite improbability drive, or is it the new sub-etha model?

  It's the former.  A not too subtle nod in colour to the "secret" mechanical assist collaboration with Kawasaki...

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Chris Hayes | 6 years ago
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Let's hope he has a matching  jersey soon enough... though there seems something holy about Merckx' stage victory record... that said, it's probably more difficult to win a stage these days.  

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RobD | 6 years ago
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The pictures on the cervelo website look pretty cool, I didn't realise that the paint on a bike weighed that much but I guess it makes sense, any idea about how durable the finish is? 

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atlaz | 6 years ago
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Quote:

their sponsor don't have money left for providing hand gloves ? just hope for them they don't hit the tarmac, especially with some gravel ...

 

Choice. I don't ride with gloves unless the weather is bad. Just don't like it.

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frogg | 6 years ago
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their sponsor don't have money left for providing hand gloves ? just hope for them they don't hit the tarmac, especially with some gravel ... 

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Bigtwin replied to frogg | 6 years ago
1 like

frogg wrote:

their sponsor don't have money left for providing hand gloves ? just hope for them they don't hit the tarmac, especially with some gravel ... 

 

He has their Invsipalm (TM)  anti-friction hand coating grafted on.  Surprisingly, it's both lighter and stiffer than skin.

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fenix replied to frogg | 6 years ago
2 likes

frogg wrote:

their sponsor don't have money left for providing hand gloves ? just hope for them they don't hit the tarmac, especially with some gravel ... 

Hand gloves ? Are there any other kinds ? 

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Bigtwin replied to fenix | 6 years ago
1 like

fenix wrote:

Hand gloves ? Are there any other kinds ? 

Fox?

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Leeroy_Silk replied to fenix | 6 years ago
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fenix wrote:

frogg wrote:

their sponsor don't have money left for providing hand gloves ? just hope for them they don't hit the tarmac, especially with some gravel ... 

Hand gloves ? Are there any other kinds ? 

Oven glove? 

Avatar
madcarew replied to fenix | 6 years ago
0 likes

fenix wrote:

frogg wrote:

their sponsor don't have money left for providing hand gloves ? just hope for them they don't hit the tarmac, especially with some gravel ... 

Hand gloves ? Are there any other kinds ? 

Fox glove. Obviously....

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Kermit77 | 6 years ago
1 like

Can you fit a pannier to it? No...then a handlebar wicker basket would convert it into a nice wee shopper.

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BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
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That frame/bike is gopping, I'm sure perforamnce wise it's a beast but ugly doesn't even get close, the colour scheme is rank.

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Bigtwin | 6 years ago
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Pantster | 6 years ago
1 like
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watlina | 6 years ago
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Noticed the green hubs as well on his ENVE wheels (Chris King perhaps?) the others are all black. 

The  DA/SRM chainset is still using the older DA9000 chain rings and left crank (custom drive side). Everything else looks 9100.

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Rapha Nadal replied to watlina | 6 years ago
1 like

watlina wrote:

The  DA/SRM chainset is still using the older DA9000 chain rings and left crank (custom drive side). Everything else looks 9100.

I wonder what Rotor have to say about that?

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watlina replied to Rapha Nadal | 6 years ago
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Rapha Nadal wrote:

watlina wrote:

The  DA/SRM chainset is still using the older DA9000 chain rings and left crank (custom drive side). Everything else looks 9100.

I wonder what Rotor have to say about that?

As you suggest Dimension Data have Rotor as a power meter sponsor so all the other team bikes are using Rotor but Cav is a long term SRM user and I guess is a big enough name to bring his own sponsorship deals with him.

I'm surprised they didn't fit a SRM for Rotor chainring version http://www.srm.de/products/srm-powermeter/3d/

Perhaps Cav just chooses to stick with the Shimano chainrings he trusts to keep his chain on during his sprints.

 

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jollygoodvelo replied to watlina | 6 years ago
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watlina wrote:

Perhaps Cav just chooses to stick with the Shimano chainrings he trusts to keep his chain on during his sprints.

Wouldn't surprise me; he's lost enough chains while sprinting over the years.

 

Surprised that they're mentioning the T5GB though - isn't that the one that half the sprinting squad thought was too flexy,  and frequently broke, or am I the victim of Internet Rumours?

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check12 replied to jollygoodvelo | 6 years ago
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jollygoodvelo wrote:

watlina wrote:

Perhaps Cav just chooses to stick with the Shimano chainrings he trusts to keep his chain on during his sprints.

Wouldn't surprise me; he's lost enough chains while sprinting over the years.

 

Surprised that they're mentioning the T5GB though - isn't that the one that half the sprinting squad thought was too flexy,  and frequently broke, or am I the victim of Internet Rumours?

 

wasnt that an April fools story? (Flexy track bike)

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RobD | 6 years ago
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Is that a Richard Mille watch he's wearing with tour appropriate strap? Would not want to crash with one of those on my wrist.

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Rapha Nadal replied to RobD | 6 years ago
1 like

RobD wrote:

Is that a Richard Mille watch he's wearing with tour appropriate strap? Would not want to crash with one of those on my wrist.

I'm sure he's got the appropriate insurance in place.

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Pantster replied to RobD | 6 years ago
1 like

RobD wrote:

Is that a Richard Mille watch he's wearing with tour appropriate strap? Would not want to crash with one of those on my wrist.

 

yep. Founder gave him one to wear on a tour stage and he won wearing it

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londoncommute replied to Pantster | 6 years ago
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Pantster wrote:

RobD wrote:

Is that a Richard Mille watch he's wearing with tour appropriate strap? Would not want to crash with one of those on my wrist.

 

yep. Founder gave him one to wear on a tour stage and he won wearing it

 

We (I speak as a weight weenie) are suckers that we go wow 75g saved in paint and then someone points out that he rides with a completely unecessary watch that mush weigh twice that.

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Bigtwin replied to londoncommute | 6 years ago
2 likes

londoncommute wrote:

We (I speak as a weight weenie) are suckers that we go wow 75g saved in paint and then someone points out that he rides with a completely unecessary watch that mush weigh twice that.

 

Naah.  It has an Ultrahelium second hand that removes 96.4% of the weight.  It's also 56.779% stiffer too.

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flobble replied to Bigtwin | 6 years ago
1 like

Bigtwin wrote:

londoncommute wrote:

We (I speak as a weight weenie) are suckers that we go wow 75g saved in paint and then someone points out that he rides with a completely unecessary watch that mush weigh twice that.

 

Naah.  It has an Ultrahelium second hand that removes 96.4% of the weight.  It's also 56.779% stiffer too.

Only laterally. Vertically, it's more compliant and exploits the material's natural properties to absorb road buzz.

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Bigtwin replied to flobble | 6 years ago
2 likes

flobble wrote:

Only laterally. Vertically, it's more compliant and exploits the material's natural properties to absorb road buzz.

You are, of course, absolutely right; I should have mentioned that.  To be clear, it's an equivalent gain of drafting an F-16 at Mach 2.3 for 9 years in double gravity over 50km in a vaccum at between 1,000 and 3,000 What's?? Per Minute.   Marginal gains....

Avatar
atlaz | 6 years ago
1 like

Looks like someone got a rattle-can and touched up a silver and white frame

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