CERVÉLO R5-CX

BEST GRAVEL/ CYCLOCROSS BIKE PRICE $9,000 (COMPLETE) $5,500 (FRAMESET) WEIGHT 18 LBS (58CM)

- Tara Seplavy

IT'S A MIRACLE THAT THE CERVÉLO R5-CX EXISTS AS an all-new model in 2023. Viewed from outside the cyclocross bubble, this is a niche bike. Bikes like the R5-CX often fail to make it into most brands' product lines, as the market is small. Production bikes are generally not made for a focus group of two riders. But when your name is Wout van Aert or Marianne Vos, those norms go out the window.

The R5-CX is Cervélo's love letter to cyclocross. It's a purpose-built bike designed for the exacting demands of top riders. It thoroughly excels at that task; the bike's results speak for themselves.

Digging into the development process and riding the bike, I discovered the R5-CX is much more than just another elite race bike. This bike is about dedicated people working against the clock to deliver a world-class product. And it's a tale about why some bikes get overlooked because of their name or marketing label.

RACING IS A NEAR-UNIVERSAL ELEMENT MANY RIDERS embrace at some point in their cycling lives. Thus race bikes carry an almost magical aura for many.

Trying to best a sibling around the block on a hot summer's day, going for the town-line sprint on a Sunday morning group ride, climbing the Stelvio's fabled 48 switchbacks in the Giro d'Italia-bikes are formally and informally raced in endless ways. Even if it doesn't require paying an entry fee or affixing a number plate to a bike or jersey, almost all of us "race" a bicycle at some point.

As purpose-built machines, race bikes have a seemingly simple-sounding mission, but one that is sometimes impossible to achieve: carry a rider over a certain distance faster than any other competitors. Since bike-racing disciplines are so varied, having nuanced and specific needs required for success, dozens of variants of race bikes exist to eke out hundredths of seconds in competition.