New Cervelo P5 Jan 18
The highly anticipated and rumored Cervelo P5 is coming indeed and we will be at the launch of this bike on January 18th to bring you detailed images and some early ride impressions. Word has it that this P5 will have an easier-to-live-with geometry and will be available in two bike models and two frame sets. And it is rumored to be fast, very fast.
MSRP: n/a
Launch date: January 18, 2012
Anyone else have any more info?
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Comments
How easy is it for Cervelo marketing reps? i want that job!
www.bikeradar.com/news/article/cerv...but--32698
Cervelo P5 set for January debut
Cervélo is set to debut their new—and very highly anticipated—P5 tri/TT aero flagship at this January's European Brainbike event, and while the company has released a few teaser bits of information, BikeRadar has now uncovered more unofficial details into what will likely be on tap for Cervélo’s launch.
What we know
Specialized upped the aero bike ante this year by splitting its Shiv aero bike into both UCI-legal and non-compliant versions in order to simultaneously satisfy the technical guidelines of Pro Tour racing and the comparatively unrestricted arms race of triathlon. Cervélo generally aren't perceived as having those kinds of resources, however, and according to BikeRadar's exclusive industry sources, the new P5 will cater more to their highly loyal multisport clientele with a shape that's speedier and easier to fit but while still keeping the needs of its road teams under consideration.
Our sources have told BikeRadar that while the P5's overall shape will be highly evolutionary and easily identified as Cervélo. The new bike will be more aerodynamic with a taller down tube, a more aggressive seat tube profile around the rear wheel cutout, and a conventional single-crown fork—however, with an additional bolt-on nosecone to increase the effective aspect ratio.
The seat stays are set further apart than on the P4 to facilitate airflow through the area, and we’re told they're more upright and attached higher up than before, too—not unlike the blurred-out profile featured in Cervélo's own teaser document, in fact, which also depicts a rather elongated 'tail'.
The new P5 is said to boast a greater level of integration, including a BBright asymmetrical bottom bracket, fully hidden internal Shimano Di2 and Campagnolo EPS-compatible routing, and a sleek new braking system developed with a different manufacturer, when compared to the P4. Details on the new brakes are scant but our industry insiders have suggested it isn't a variant of the TT/tri-specific linear-pull system TRP developed last year, but rather something unique to Cervélo and distinctly different from what's already out there.
It also sounds likely that Cervélo will not include a totally integrated front brake à la Trek and Specialized, but a profiled linear-pull setup is still a possible candidate.
Cervélo tout new Shimano Dura-Ace and Dura-Ace Di2 complete bikes, however, we don’t expect the P5 to use Shimano's new 'direct mount' brake standard or SRAM's rumored drop-in hydraulic aero setup, which we're now told is still about a year out from availability.
The former design isn't particularly aero from what we've been told by inside sources, and Shimano only released details on that setup to OEM customers at this year's Interbike show, which makes it likely too late to incorporate into a frame that was presumably already months into development.
Regardless, we expect the new brake to not only be at least as aero as the one on the current P4 but also easier to set up and maintain and more compatible with today's crop of wider wheels. The existing P4's 80's-inspired, rocker-actuated cantilever setup was clever, but never worked all that well, and was widely bemoaned by owners. We’d say it's a safe bet that brake won't make a second appearance.
Our sources have suggested that the P5 will shy away from the P4's ultra-aggressive head tube in favor of a taller setup that is more conducive to triathlon. How much taller, you ask? Try 2.5cm on average, coupled with a 8mm reduction in reach.
In fact, we're told that the P5 will not only wear a similar front end height to the current P2 but it's also pegged as a sort of more evolved spirit of Cervélo's bread-and-butter multisport machine.
According to BikeRadar's exclusive sources, the P5 is a triathlon bike first, and time trial bike second—moreover, multisport athletes who found the P4 to be beyond their comfort or flexibility levels will apparently find much to like here in terms of fit and positioning.
Speaking of fit, much speculation has surrounded the hyper-integrated, submarine-like cockpit setup that Cervélo previewed on an engineering mule at the Ironman World Championship earlier this year but we've been told that it's "not real". While something like that probably tests well in the wind tunnel and looks great for marketing, the realities of trying to make something like that adjustable enough to suit Cervélo's real-world triathlete public are more conducive to a conventional setup.
As such, we're told that the P5 will forego a dramatically sleek proprietary cockpit for a standard setup that will be easier to fit and allow more choice in components, a move retailers and fitters will undoubtedly support.
Even better, retail pricing is rumored to be lower than that of the P4—we're guessing around US$4,000 for the frameset with brakes and seat post.
Finally, Cervélo's teaser document touts two P5 frameset models but contrary to common speculation at this point, BikeRadar's sources are confident that there won't be different shapes to address specific triathlon and UCI-legal time trial requirements—at least not yet. Instead, both frames will wear the same profile but will be built with different carbon fiber technology—similar to the 'good, better, best' hierarchy that Cervélo first introduced with the S5 aero road frame.
BikeRadar's sources tell us that Cervélo's Asian manufacturing partner previously only worked with 24- and 30-ton carbon fiber at the high end, but the lessons learned from the R5ca project have borne fruit in the form of more advanced composite technology for the company's mass-produced frames so expect a top-end P5 VWD ("Vroomen White Design") and likely a second-tier P5 Team.
What we don't know
Cervélo broke new ground on the P4 with its clever water bottle, which integrated seamlessly into the frame shape and supposedly actually improved aerodynamic performance. That fell afoul with UCI commissaires, however, but since the P5 apparently brazenly shirks UCI guidelines, it's possible we might see something similar here. We don't have specific details aside from an "evolved" version for the P5 but regardless, some sort of integrated hydration is a safe bet – maybe even one involving that bolt-on nosecone.
Nor do we have precise information on aero claims or frameset weights, though Cervélo's teaser documentation makes it clear that the P5 is faster in the wind tunnel than anything else the company has made to date. As for the weight, the recent S5 intro suggests to us that the P5 may be slightly lighter than the P4, but probably not by much. Cervélo makes sure their flagship aero models are aero above all else, while weight and stiffness are secondary metrics.
One especially interesting question that remains is how Cervélo will deal with its Garmin-Cervélo team requirements. Assuming our information is correct, the industry seems to be moving toward a model whereby the multisport market is satisfied first and those designs are then later adapted or modified to satisfy UCI technical guidelines. After all, the bulk of consumer sales lean heavily towards the multisport crowd, but bicycle manufacturers pour far more marketing effort and money into how their time trial athletes and teams perform at the Tour de France.
If the new P5's native shape isn't UCI-legal as has been suggested, what will Cervélo do come July?
It's worth noting that Cervélo is being intentionally vague in its "two available frameset models" description so things could still go either way. We've heard the term, "bolt-on", from a few different sources now so one possibility is something similar to what Trek has done with its Speed Concept: the same basic frame shape but with different add-on bits in order to tune the end product towards triathlon or time trials.
In addition to that bolt-on nosecone lending better aerodynamics, it's possible that Cervélo has figured out a way to incorporate that into the previously mentioned 2.5cm increase in stack – sort of like Argon 18's modular head tube system but one that's more aerodynamic and built into the top of the steerer.
That modular test mule previewed in October may also suggest that Cervélo will actually present two distinct frames but that seems unlikely for a variety of reasons. If Garmin-Cervélo ends up sticking to the P4, though, we're not sure how much of an objection there would be. Even competing manufacturers agree that that frame is still impressively fast and the fit already suits team riders pretty well so if Garmin-Cervélo has to make do for another season, we don't expect anyone will be too upset.
Time will tell and at least for now, Cervélo isn't talking. We’ll simply have to wait till January to know for sure.
"The information that's out there is the only information that Cervélo will be putting out there prior to the launch," said Mark Riedy, Cervélo's US PR agent.
This caught my eye as well: "the P5 is a triathlon bike first, and time trial bike second." My Giant Advanced Trinitiy has been described as a time trial bike and not a triathlon bike. Really? Can someone tell me the difference? I thought non-draft triathlon racing was all about time trialing. Frankly, whether I race my Giant or my QR CD0.1 is simply a matter of the course profile because the Giant has a regular crank and my QR has a compact crank. The length of the race is irrelevant and each is equally comfortable. I frankly don't understand nor can I perceive any notable difference in features apart from the Giant being one of the superbikes.
Paul,
Look no further than the previous iteration of the Specialized Shiv (now called the Shiv TT) vs. what's now called the Shiv. The frames are very, very different (look at the geometry differences). The TT bikes are extremely aggressive and not very user friendly.
I think the P5 will be VERY different from the P4. Improvement may or may not be the word to use but it's going to cater to more people. That may seem odd because Cervelo always dominates the bike count at any given Ironman (especially Kona) but that's the P3 and P2. The P4 didn't sell for shit. The P3 and P2 (Cervelo's bread & butter bikes) are old tech and design. Their dominance wasn't going to continue for long as Trek and Specialized came out with bikes that, frankly, made Cervelo look inconsequential in comparison. Cervelo has a lot riding on the P5 as the tech will trickle down to their other models (something they whiffed on with the P4).
Trek and Specialized really upped their game in the last two years and knocked the ball out of the park with the Speed Concept and the new Shiv. They thought outside the box - or at least Trek did and everyone else is falling in line. Let's see how Cervelo responds. I still think Felt, Scott and Giant are a step or two behind Trek and Specialized at this point.
Because they were thinking too bike-centric in the past. They built TT bikes, first and foremost, as centerpieces for the pro bike team time trials. That meant being UCI compliant. Roadies are the folks that mostly watch bike races and most roadies could give a shit about a TT bike. Triathletes don't need UCI compliant bikes. There was a disconnect.
Manufacturers were marketing the bikes in the wrong way and to the wrong crowd. Triathlons started booming and finally someone at Trek realized they should be making a bike that makes a whole bunch of sense to triathletes. Sell to the triathletes first and worry about the UCI stuff second. Triathlon bikes will never be as prevelant as road bikes for obvious reasons but I think we're about to see a major uptick in sales for triathlon bikes.
@Paul, looks like you are speaking about Kona and you do know they have changed the course so you really can't compare then to now. Now I do think that you are going to see smaller and smaller advances in gains attributable to bike design, but there is something to it. Why else would Alexander have not ridden his sponsored Orbea and go with an unbranded P4 in Vegas?
Also, I guess you will be turning in your Giant for an old school roadie with clip ons.
Also, he got around the course on less watts this year. I can't say exactly the numbers, sorry sworn to secrecy, but they are from someone I trust totally.
But you are correct, body position is the biggest overall factor. This is why this year Carfrae is gonna get a total Retul refit with Mat Steimetz.
http://www.all3sports.com/homepage/cervelo-p5-team-frameset.html
$4,500 for the team frame. Their "team" framesets are usually a little more expensive. For example the S5 frame is $3,000. The Team version is $3,800.
Well apparently not in this case. Pretty bike but damn expensive. $10,000 for the non-uci legal tri bike with Di2. $6,500 for the frame. Wow. Really thought his was gonna be a game changer when it came to pricing like the S5.
So who would buy one?
I've been a Cervelo tri bike rider since back in the day. Had the P3 when it first came out in ~'02 with pimpin' 650c wheels and bought a P3C in '06. That's my current ride, though it was hung up in the garage and didn't see pavement from June '08 through May '11
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I continue to be unable to wrap my head around bicycle prices when I have something like this as my frame of reference for two wheeled fun
. That's what ~$10k new and ~$6k used will get you: a very fast, lightweight internal combustion engine, electrical system, hydralics brakes, suspension...you know...a lot of stuff 
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Very interesting that Magura is involved with this. They make the clutch systems for the European dirtbike market. Looks like Timmy the $8/hr shop employee will need to learn how to properly install and bleed a hydralic system.