Field Notes

A bicycle review usually starts with a finished product. A frame, a groupset, wheels, tyres. Someone has decided what belongs together, and that's what gets tested. Fair enough. But how much of the final verdict actually belongs to the frame?

The Cervélo S5 is a good example. I loved that bike. It's ridiculously fast, direct and surprisingly good to ride. But the combination with Reserve wheels never really worked for me. It's just too much. Especially on rough roads. Every little imperfection seems to come through. Railway crossings are the worst. You see one coming and already know what's about to happen. The funny thing is, I've even ridden the same S5 on Lightweight Fernweg wheels. And preferred it. Not exactly the wheelset you'd expect to make an already uncompromising aero bike feel better. So maybe it's not quite as simple as saying a bike is too stiff.

I've read reviews describing bicycles as harsh, nervous or uncomfortable. And I'm sure that's exactly how they felt to the person testing them. But they're testing one configuration. One set of wheels, one tyre, one pressure. Sometimes that's enough to shape the entire impression of a bicycle.

I'd be curious to try the S5 with ENVE SES 4.5s and 30 mm Vittoria Corsa Pros. I suspect that would be a better match. Not because the S5 needs to become an endurance bike. It already has enough going on. Not every component needs to add to that.

You can have an incredible frame and some of the best components available. Doesn't mean they necessarily belong together. The version leaving the factory isn't always the version I'd want to ride.