Cervelo S3 Review | Cycling Weekly 

Have one for 6 months , the quill headset simple enough to work on once you have a bit of patience, the cables are hidden so they have to go somewhere , its definitely a fast bike though , have set of 60mm wheels on mine & it motors along. Quite happy with mine so far .

Got one in flourescent yellow & black, great bike

Thank you for not reading off of the marketing material

Great to see an honest consumer review, all too rare these days.

“You have to cut the steerer”...... You mean like any normal bike? I’ve worked on lots of these. They’re not that bad. If you want all the cables and hoses to be hidden, it’s not going to be “very user friendly”. You want user friendly, buy an externally cable routed mechanical rim braked steel bike. Want to go fast? Buy this. BTW, you can replace the RAT axles with the threaded ones from the P Series bikes.

Who reviews a Porche and the first thing they talk about is how hard it is to change the steering pump? Why not talk about the positive of this bike first? In actuality, most people will take their bike to a bike shop to have the steerer slammed or Di2 batt changed.

I appreciate the review. However, as you are verbally trying to explain some complex and unusual things - like a 2020 quill stem - I would have appreciated a video demonstration or assembly of the unusual stem and Di2 battery installation. Frankly, having trouble visualizing this. What?! Battery zip-tied inside the downtube?

Love my S3

This bike makes u 2mph faster guys. Buy it now! Relentless buildup of speed! You almost turn pro! It doesn't stop accelerating!

An aerodynamic bike that can't be configured to an aerodynamic position. Very useful indeed. At least for me

I wonder why they chose to go back to a quill stem. I hear that the 2021 C3 will have friction levers

Definitely one of the best looking bikes right now. Better that into big brother. Not in the team paint color though. I’d consider getting one, except for the RAT, it’s a little heavy, and the price compared to other brands that bring more value.

Bikes are getting lighter and faster, but they are also getting almost impossible to service. There is one sweetspot, where you can enjoy the best of the new technology but also the reliability of older bikes.

I recently upgraded from a Bianchi Sempre 2014 to one of these. Unbelievable how it holds its speed on the straights. I'll look down at the speedo and it will be holding 42k no problem

Very accurate review. I have this bike in a rim brake version and though it is fast, not a good bike for windy days. Compared to a Madone, I think this bike feels lighter and faster. It's all the little wierd build corks that Cervelo does that makes it a bit annoying to work on.

I was hoping they would discuss the revised bb tolerances for the frames. It's the one thing I dislike about the company. Still it's a great looking machine, With great design. But how well is it manufactured? I'd have liked to hear their opinion on that.

@Hambini will love this!

11:41 tyre bead isn't sitting properly, you can see with each revolution that there's a wobble. Classic.

Cervelo S3 vs merida reacto 6000 what can I choose to buy????? what is your choice???

Good to see the newer Cervelos are still a mechanics nightmare... Some things never change.

I have a 2016 S3 disc and love it. Bought as a frame and built it with Ultegra di2 and 3T discus wheels. The 2016 Cervelo bar and stem are much easier to use and ok, it’s got external cables but they can be tidied up in a sleeve. I don’t have those heavy rat axles either. It is as fast as he says. I ride in USA so don’t have those sharp crosswinds I used to ride in when I lived in Cumbria. Comfortable bike too. Not a big difference between the 2016 and this one just easier to use and work on.

Half decent review. Instead of the random b roll of riding. Use b roll to aid in explaining things like the use of the Raat axles, the explanation wasn't even good, would be great if you hd some video footage of somebody using it.

Is the frameset _really_ that much better? Especially considering proprietary BB, stem, and battery location...

Well done guys. Could you test the new S disc di2 One plz?

Great review.... I have the 2018 S3 and faffing around with the stem on the new model seems a bit unnecessary vs the previous model. I agree with the S3’s tendency to catch those crosswinds in a “special” way!

Great review. I would like to see review of new Cube Litening C68X bike with Force AXS or Ultegra di2 groupset. It's completely new bike, I'm sure it would be interesting for lot of people. Cheers.

Is anything convenient for an end user on this bike. I'm out. Would rather spend more and get a way way way more user friendly Cervelo.

Takeaway, this bike is just a pain in the butt to work on. It may be fast on the road but it sure ain’t fast in the shop.

whats worse than BBright??? a propretiary stem, lmao

Love the video .. can you do one for the new pinarello Prince and the Fuji transonic as well please

I have the chameleon S3 size 51. But why do it weights 8,5 kg with only 1 bottlecage and garmin default mount? 😢

6:17 - oh, no, that isn't enough about the bike yet. Sending it over to Hambini would have probably created a few laughs over manufacturing, alignment/roundness of BB and headset holes - and what we see with modern Cervelos around here - the skewer holes aren't aligned with one-another, which creates an issue with having the wheels/tires off alignment.

I have 7 bikes. The Cervelo S3 is my go to bike, especially on windy days. Cuts right through the wind, and it's amazing. Albeit It's a 2018 model with external battery (a plus) and standard stem and bar setup. My other go2's are my 2017 Scott Addict R1, and my Focus Izalco max. But the cervelo I like the best. I'm not sure about this new model S3, especially with the disc brakes and the stem and bar setup. Seems like a bit of a downgrade to me.

Does this bike come with pedals?

I have a brand new S3 with Sram Force E-tap. Love almost everything about it except the fact it is not a good climber. My Scott Foil seems to climb much better. I wonder if changing the wheels (AER)and tires to a higher end brand such as Enve or Zipp 303 or something along those lines would help? Or is this bike just not ever gonna be a good climber?

Can you review the lower end super six Evo models please - I can’t be arsed extending my mortgage to upgrade...

Fellow cyclist, help please. Cervelo s3 2021 or S-works 2019 sl6. Please help.

Great presentation of this bike. Looking forward to the next bike !!!

Great review, thank you! I have a question, with this front end is it possible to attach DI2 tt shifters? There are any holes to connect the sattelites with the junction box?

awesome video

Opening 2-4 minutes confirms this isn’t a bike to consider buying...already too complex. Well, for me. The the axels treble confirmation. Skip remaining video.

So the bike was really fast but the tyres were slow? Someone's making it up I think.

Cycling Weekly: The Cervelo S3 is not user friendly Cervel S5: am i a F*ing joke to you?

Any need to start every sentence with 'So' ?

Team Cervelo S3

Let's play a drinking game. Everyone take a drink whenever one of them say the word "tricky."

amazing stuff

Awesome bike

They only make the S5 so people can argue to their partner the S3 isn't already too expensive.

I'm sticking to conventional stem and steerer tubes. Crazy to have all this proprietary crap and concealed cabling from handle bars. Most people won't be able to do any maintenance.

What a complicated system this is. Between the extra work to lower the stem on a size 48, and the horrible positioning of the battery, I've been totally turned off of the S3. I was considering an S3 for my next bike, but not anymore!!!

Okay, so the dude trashes some weird super techie mechanical details of the bike for six minutes, and then when they finally start talking about the ride at six minutes 36 seconds, he says “it blew me away…” 🤔

According to Hambini I’m sure the mfg tolerance on the BB is shit and the first thing you should install is a Hambini BB. It looks nice from the outside but how about that carbon tube compaction. I’m sure the seat post makes bumps feel very direct

Change to sram etap and slam the stem..

📝

I had the 2018 S3 Cervelo disc.....for about 3 months, that was all I could tolerate. Ridiculously hard ride and aggressive position (without cutting the steerer tube!) made what I thought was a fairly flexible body ache like crazy. Would never recommend that bike to anyone. The R series would be a far better choice if you are looking to spend a tonne of cash on a Cervelo but anyone who's sensible would simply look at other brands on the market, especially considering Cervelo seem hell belt on making their bikes a nightmare for any normal home mechanic!

4 minutes in and I've made up my mind, shame really cos I was hoping for some good things with this bike!

After watching this I’m going to pass buying a second hand one iv just seen

Watch hambini

Although some cervelos werent brilliant in the past... These non VWD made Cervelos are just terrible!

Engineering is all well and good for a frame, but if you don't have great quality control when it's being built it's still going to end up being a big expensive pile of dogshit.

HELLO HAMBINI FANS

Lovin the honest conversation. Like and subscribe.

2 mph faster on any ride.. never ever..

That is one ugly paintjob on this frame 🙈

Cervelo’s lifetime warranty is a joke. Have an S5 and an email from Cervelo stating the bike yes has a manufacture defect but since it is just cosmetic, they wont cover it under warranty. Yep they admit to me on an email that indeed it is a manufacture defect but refuse to fix it. Way to go Cervelo. Worst customer service ever! Do not waste your money in such a trashy company.

This bike was really easy to assemble ru-vid.comUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA and required very few adjustments out of the box. The wheels did not require any truing/adjustments. The frame had some small scratches, but nothing major.I did replace the seat though - the seat it came with was very uncomfortable. The tires need to be re-inflated every 4-5 days, but this appears to be quite common for the narrow 700x25 tires.Overall, in my opinion, this bike looks and rides like a much more expensive bike.

First

Nice job with the review. No complaints there. But, no way would I ever spend that much moolah on such a plastic piece of over-engineered home mechanic unfriendly garbage! Ugly as sin as well IMHO. Man, they used to make some nice machines. If ya want to buy a new bike every 3-4 years, sure have at 'er. Otherwise... Better off spending that kinda cashola on a Ti bike.

Here for the Hambini sycophantic pseudo-intellectuals

NEVER.... EVER buy a Cervelo..... If you don't believe me, then you need to watch Hambini (aged 5)......😉