The new Cervelo Caledonia-5 looks a lot like the previous generation of their endurance racing all-road bike that debuted four years ago. But there are a few updates tucked away inside of the new bike. The one you might notice first is the addition of in-frame storage. But there’s also been plenty of more careful carbon redesign to make this bike both more comfortable for rides measured in days AND more responsive so you don’t lose the race feeling, even on ultra-distance events.
2024 Cervelo Caledonia-5 endurance all-road race bike
Cervelo calls the Caledonia-5 their road race bike “for your big, stupid rides“. Designed for fast, ultra-distance rides and races, this is a lightweight carbon all-road bike with extra comfort in mind, yet still without skimping on performance. The new 2024 Caledonia-5 looks a lot like the original Caledonia-5 that debuted in 2020. But Cervelo says that’s because “You only start from scratch when you have nothing worth keeping.”
What’s new?
But there’s still plenty of upgrades to be found. First and foremost, the new Caledonia-5 is said to be more compliant for enhanced rider comfort. It looks like the frame features a bit more slope to the toptube, a shade lower seatstays, a slimmer seattube, a much more compact bottom bracket cluster, and shallower chainstays. All in a bid to boost rear-end compliance.
At the same time, the new Cervelo increased the downtube stiffness on the updated Caledonia-5 “to maintain that pro-level responsiveness“.
New In-Frame storage glovebox
All-new on this bike, but already proven on Cervelo’s P-series TT bikes, the Caledonia-5 gets a tiny glovebox. Hidden beneath a locking hatch under your bottle cage, Cervelo says it’s enough space to store a tube, multi-tool & CO2 inflator (but “not enough to fit a burrito”).
Interestingly, the hatch means there are now only 2 bolts on the downtube (vs. 3 before) putting your cage in the lower position where only one bottle would fit. But there is second set of bolts on the seattube, so surely Cervelo will offer a solution for a higher bottle position on the downtube (we just haven’t seen it yet).
Slightly bigger tires
Cervelo didn’t really mention it, but the new version of the bike has a couple of millimeters of extra tire clearance. Now, you can fit max 36mm tires in there. And every Caledonia-5 has low-profile fender mounts so you can run full-coverage mudguards, and still fit high-volume road tires in there, too.
New headset bearing cap too
OK, this one is tiny and nerdy, but totally my jam. The bike again features fully internal cable routing because all new bikes do now, right? And most now include split steerer tube spacers so you can adjust cockpit height a bit without messing with the cables that run through the headset.
Well, this one now adds a split headset bearing cap too, so that’s one more bit you can adjust without recabling everything. Of course, that will only really help if you are going from the taller High bearing cap to the Low one (much like swapping spacers). But it’s nice to see a little more attention to usability. Next they just have to make a split upper bearing too. :smirk:
Still Aero & Race-ready
Cervelo says “All Cervélo bikes are aero bikes” so this one still gets the same aero race-ready features like the aero tube shapes, smooth fork-to-frame transition, aero seatpost, hidden clamp, and full internal housing. And “like all Cervélos, Caledonia-5 is UCI approved, and carries a lifetime warranty.”
Tech details
- Max 36mm tire clearance
- 1.25-1.5″ tapered headset
- BBright press-fit bottom bracket
- D-shaped proprietary aero seatpost
- Fully-internal cable routing
- 1x or 2x compatible with removable front derailleur hanger, 2x is electronic only
- 12mm thru-axles & flat mount disc brakes
2024 Cervelo Caledonia-5 – Pricing, options & availability
The 2024 Cervelo Caledonia-5 is available now in 6 sizes (48-61cm) and 5 complete 2x 12-speed electronic bike builds. Plus, you can also pick up the new Caledonia-5 frameset for $5000 / 4800€ including bar, stem & seatpost and build your own ultra-distance road racing bike. Pick from either basic Five black or deep Carmine red for any build.
Complete bike pricing starts at $6000 / 6000€ for a Caledonia-5 built up with SRAM Rival AXS and alloy Vision tubeless wheels with 32mm Vittoria Corsa N.Ext tires. Upgrading to carbon Reserve wheels and Force AXS or Ultegra Di2 will set you back $8700 / 8000€.
And they top out at $12,000 where you can pick from either a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (12,000€) or SRAM Red AXS (13,000€) groupset, each with a powermeter crankset and Reserve 42/49 aero carbon wheels wrapped in 30mm Corsa Pro Control TLR tires.
But, if you pick the Red build, they also throw in the latest Hammerhead Karoo GPS cycling computer, too!
