Its 1:00AM and I just had the biggest mental break through of my life.  The planets aligned and all of a sudden…  My life to this point made sense.  Nothing religious,  nothing other worldly, just an opifany.  A single moment of clarity that brought my entire existance thus far to light.

CERVELO S3 REVIEW (1 WEEK)

So lets call this the 1 week review of the Cervelo S3.  First off, this bike is supposed to be top-of-the-line so it should come out of the box a 10/10, no excuses.  This bike is replacing my Cervelo Soloist SLC-SL, the former top rung in the Cervelo latter, that was damaged in a car accident in June.  I spent a lot of time “bonding” with the SLC-SL, we had a lot of good time together but the one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the SL’s ride quality.

The SLC-SL rode like a pickup truck.  It was stiff to the point of being uncomfortable.  I often found myself looking at the rear tire to see if it was flat, it always felt like you were riding on the rim.  After you look past that… the bike was a missile.  Every bit of pedal force you put in to the bike was turned in to forward motion.   The wheelbase was long enough to be stable, but short enough to carve windy mountain roads with ease.  The bike inspired a certain confidence, you always knew where it was going, you never had to worry about it trying to buck you off when the bike was at the limit.

After putting a few hundred miles on the S3 this week, the first thing you notice is that it is every bit as responsive, every bit as confidant as the SLC-SL was.  The bike loves to corner hard and seems to glide along by itself on the flats.  The bottom bracket doesn’t move at all and when you are out of the saddle the bike wags playfully behind you like a dog with a bone.  With the addition of pencil thin seatstays “borrowed” from the R3, the ride is as smooth as glass.  The fatigue that built up over a long ride from the SLC-SL is gone and you are left to think about what’s important… whatever that may be.

Bottom line, the bike really is a 10/10.  It does everything right; smooth ride, predictable handling, and super stiff bottom bracket. The S3 is easily the most complete bike I have ever ridden.  If you’re considering something in the price range, make sure you go ride it.  Most shops would be willing to let you take one out for a ride (if they have one on the floor) and in 20 miles you’ll be sold.

**I make no promises, but maybe in a month or so I will touch back on the finish quality of the frame (I mean BORE you all to death). The SLC-SL had some quirky cable routing that lead to paint chipping around the cable routing holes, the S3 seems to have fixed those problems with some snazzy aluminum inserts and better engineered cable routing… but only time will tell.