Cervelo ZFS5 in Review

The Cervelo ZFS 5 is under a lot of pressure. Cervelo was founded as “the most engineer driven Bike Brand” and has revolutionized road cycling technically. The latest achievements: Jonas Vingegaard’s double Tour victory. How much of the glory and success from the road is in Cervelo’s first full-suspension bike?

Even though the ZFS 5 is only Cervelo’s second mountain bike, the brand needs no introduction. Jonas Vingegaard has won the Tour de France the past two years on a bike from the formerly Canadian company. Wout van Aart excites millions of fans in cyclocross and road classics on a Cervelo bike.

This outlines the core of Cervelo’s brand. There is no other brand that designs their bikes so consistently to meet the needs of their racers like Cervelo. Gerad Vroomen founded the brand over 20 years ago with an unconditional drive for technical improvement. The successes in racing underline that there’s more to this brand than good marketing.

But what drives such a successful bike company to veer off the familiar paved road territory and suddenly start making mountain bikes?

The athletes from the Jumbo-Visma team have requested Cervelo to build a mountain bike for them. Just like top stars Matthieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock, Milan Vader is also not satisfied with just road biking.

The former Dutch mountain bike champion aims to get back into the top ten in the World Cup. And Cervelo is providing him with the right gear for that. That’s the story behind the bike and the Cervelo brand. But what interests us more, of course, is: What can the bike offer technically?

Even before the presentation, comments were circulating online that this bike looks like the Santa Cruz Blur. Yes, a certain resemblance cannot be denied and is also not surprising. After all, Cervelo and Santa Cruz, like many others, belong to the PON Holding. Such corporate structures are also known from the automotive industry.

But just because Audi and VW belong to the same parent company doesn’t mean the same station wagon rolls off the production line in Ingolstadt as it does in Wolfsburg. It’s the same in the bike industry.

When you take a closer look at this bike, you’ll notice significant differences compared to the Santa Cruz. The first difference lies in the geometry. This bike has a shorter reach and top tube than its Santa Cruz sibling.

In contrast, the stem is slightly longer at 80 millimeters. You could almost say the geometry is somewhat influenced by road bikes. We’ve created a comparison of the two bikes for you, where you can compare the geometry data of the bikes in different sizes.

For the second difference, we completely disassembled the bike.

With 1705 grams in frame size L without the shock, Cervelo doesn’t have to hide when it comes to frame weight. It’s almost 100 grams lighter than the Santa Cruz Blur. Our test bike was only coated with a thin layer of clear lacquer. This is always a sign of the highest level of craftsmanship in carbon. Without real paint, no bubbles or creases in the carbon fiber can be concealed.

Compared to the ZHT 5, the hardtail from Cervelo, the scale shows only about 700 grams more. The Rock Shox Sidluxe shock adds just under 300 grams. The fully system is therefore only 1 kilogram heavier than the hardtail from the same house.

Without pedals and bottle cages, the complete bike even stays under 10 kilos. And that will surely make some jaws drop among the competitors. On bike-test.com, we have analyzed over 2000 bikes. And racefullys that weigh under 10 kilos off the shelf can be counted on one hand. Cube offers a lightweight version of the AMS.

The KTM Scarp fully, which just won the German championship title for women, also breaks the 10-kilo barrier off the rack. And Orbea has an Oiz in the lineup that stays in the single-digit weight range. This makes it clear: Cervelo is serious about the mountain bike business.

The ZFS 5 frame features internal cable routing through the headset, a concept currently popular among many manufacturers. However, unlike most cable routing designs from other brands, the brake line and lockout cable (there’s no shifter cable thanks to SRAM’s electronic shifting) run neither through the stem nor the spacers. This semi-integrated routing into the cockpit allows for easy handlebar height adjustments or switching to a different stem length without any hassle.

The reduction in complexity brings a huge advantage in the everyday handling of the bike. From the rider’s perspective, the two cables for the lockout remain hidden behind the handlebars. It must be said: SRAM’s clever cable exit at the brake and lockout, along with the wireless shifting, significantly declutters the cockpit’s appearance.

A steering stop limiter has fallen victim to the rigorous diet of the ZFS 5. Unfortunately, this means the top tube is at risk of being damaged by the shift or brake lever in the event of a crash. In the worst case, the frame could be damaged.

A look at the brake mount on the frame raises questions. The front post-mount thread is laminated into the chainstay. The rear thread sits in a separate aluminum adapter, which is partially supported on the rear axle and additionally fixed to the rear triangle with a screw. This construction of the brake mount saves weight in manufacturing and directs the braking forces into the stable rear axle.

The threaded BSA bottom bracket is much more complex in frame manufacturing and overall a bit heavier than a press-fit standard. This is because an aluminum sleeve must be integrated into the carbon frame for the thread. However, it makes maintenance much easier afterward and will therefore please most riders.

• Bottom Bracket: BSA
• Wheel Size: 29 inches
• Rear Wheel Spacing: 148×12
• Cable Routing: through the headset
• Water Bottle Mount: space for two bottles
• Derailleur Hanger: UDH

When it comes to wheels, weight is doubly important. Firstly, it’s weight that has to be hauled up the mountain. Secondly, it’s rotational mass that needs to be accelerated with every speed increase. A lightweight wheelset saves energy on both fronts. And the Reserve Carbon wheels with a 28-millimeter internal width are light. This makes the acceleration of the ZFS 5 delightfully effortless. Perfect conditions for your next cross-country race.

Additionally, the rims come with a lifetime warranty. Despite a few hard hits, we couldn’t break the rims. If they do happen to fail over time, Reserve will replace the rim free of charge!

Considering all the praise for its weight, you must be aware: This bike is ruthlessly designed for racing. And that’s exactly what becomes unmistakably clear on your first outing into the terrain.

With its high seat post and meager 100 millimeters of travel, skills are required. Even though the head angle is 0.5 degrees slacker than the Santa Cruz Blur, this bike is not just a rigid board on the descent. With its purist orientation, this bike is also a clear counterstatement to bikes like the Scott Spark or the Orbea Oiz.

These race full-suspension bikes typically come stock with 120 millimeters of travel and a dropper post. This expands their range of use significantly, but also dilutes their focus somewhat.

Die-hard racers often find these bikes a bit heavy. Cervelo excellently fills this gaping gap with its first full-suspension bike. Those who prefer more trails or tours and less racing would probably do well to look at the ZFS 5 in the trail version with 120 millimeters of travel.

The rear triangle perfectly matches the sporty impression left by the bike. Even in the open position, the shock remains relatively calm.

Locking out the suspension via the Grip-Shift lever is awesome, but we would have appreciated an intermediate stage in the lockout. The new generation of SID forks and shocks can finally do this. And it’s a feature that’s not just nice to have, but really adds value when riding.

On the trail, the rear triangle actually performs well, although there are more sensitive counterparts. Mondraker’s Zero Suspension rear triangle on the F-Podium recently impressed us quite a lot. In the end, though, it’s fair to say: The rear triangle characteristics are absolutely fitting for a race bike.

We tested the revolutionary Transmission drivetrain, which is also installed here, in a separate article. Under our video on the Transmission drivetrain, some users commented that the new Pod Controller doesn’t meet their aesthetic expectations. We still celebrate this thing. It’s the first electronic shifter that is really easy to operate and has a crisp pressure point.

The drivetrain has a minimal delay before it shifts gears, but it also does so under full load. The real advantage of the Transmission lies in its ease of service. If you want to know more, you have to read this test report here.

Since Sram’s 2-piston brakes aren’t known as anchors, Cervelo uses the 4-piston version of the Level from the factory. While it still can’t be called a brake parachute in combination with the 160mm discs, larger discs can easily tune it.

All current Cervelo ZFS5 models at a glance, including prices and availability:

The basic requirement for this bike is the necessary cash. Without money – typical Cervelo – nothing happens.

As usual, we not only provide deep insights into the details. In contrast to all other media, our innovative and absolutely objective testing system allows you to provide information about the entire model family. Here you can find out about the right Cervelo ZFS 5 depending on your budget.

By the way, we have a complete buying guide for race bikes.