Cervélo is a brand that has long prided itself on its aerodynamics and general technology-driven outlook, and that's certainly evident here with the launch of a disc-braked version of its aero road bike, the S3.
The new S3 Disc has a frame that is a claimed 40g lighter than the rim-brake version, with an 8% increase in head tube stiffness and a 9% increase in the bottom bracket stiffness. At a yaw angle of 15° the new bike saves a claimed 19 grams of drag, which Cervélo reckons translates to roughly around 2 watts.
There are three models of the S3 Disc available, defined by their associated groupsets: Shimano Ultegra, Ultegra Di2 or SRAM Red eTap, which retail at £4,249, £6,199 and £7,649 respectively. Each come with hydraulic braking systems from either FSA or SRAM, and an aero wheelset from either HED or Enve. The bikes also come kitted out with the new aero-friendly AB04 handlebar and SP17 seatpost too.
A commonality between the models is the use of thru-axles, as is the use of flatmount callipers, with Cervélo adopting two cemented standards for disc-braked bikes. Regular Cervélo technologies such as BBRight, whereby the non-drive side of the bottom bracket shell is made wider (and therefore stiffer) and a partial seat tube cut out for aerodynamics, remain present across the range - but there's also some updates.
The fork is a claimed 19g faster than the standard S3 model thanks to an updated leg design with a more efficient airfoil shape. In the absence of rim brake necessities, the fork crotch has been raised too, which minimises the area of low pressure behind the crown,and the seat and chain stays have also been updated with lessons learned from the R3 Disc, making for a proposed stiffer back end.
More to come when we get our hands on one for a review.
