Cervélo’s lineup has historically been about drop bars, skinny tires, and stiff frames, but with athletes expanding their race interests the Canadian brand has started to push into the mountain bike world. Things are still decidedly lycra-clad, as their second entry into the flat bar world (they launched a hardail last season) comes in the form of an XCO race bike: the ZFS-5.
It’s no surprise that the ZFS-5 closely resembles another bike in the Pon holdings catalog, the similarly sporty Santa Cruz Blur. There are a few differences between the two, so let’s see what makes Cervélo’s race bike unique.
The ZFS-5 comes in a 100 or 120mm setup, with geometry differences accompanying the two. The head angle goes from 66.7° to 67.8°, giving the bike a trail or race track focused handling depending on your fork choice. Reach numbers grow by about 20-25mm per size, and stack heights are reasonably high for a bike with racy intentions. Each size gets its own chainstay length, ranging from 432mm on the S to 440mm on the XL.
Cervélo implemented a flex-stay single pivot design for the frame, which is in keeping with a lot of competitive race bikes these days. Again the design is rather close to that of the Blur, which impressed our team with the climbing traction and overall comfort it was able to deliver in such a light package.
Keep an eye out for the ZFS-5 at the first World Cup XCO race in Nove Mesto this weekend, under two Jumbo Visma riders. Piloted by Cyclocross World Champion Fem van Empel and veteran XC champ Milan Vader, the new Cervélo is sure to be moving fast between the tape.
ZFS-5 will be available Summer 2023. Build, pricing, and final spec will be published at that time.