Cervelo S3 by Cervelo Cycles:

Material: Carbon Fiber Geometry: Performance Road Price Category: Framesets $2000-$3000. Built Bikes $4000+. Components: Factory Specs or Fit Werx Custom.

Who is it for? The Cervelo S3 is for the performance oriented rider who understands the benefits of aerodynamics and also likes the smooth and rounded lines that originally graced the Soloist Carbon SLC and that temporarily departed when that bike was replaced by the Cervelo S5.

Noteworthy: The Cervelo S3 bridges the sculpted lines that many fell in love with on the first generation of Cervelo carbon aero road bikes with the latest technology like BBRight and a tapered steerer fork.

Bottom Line: The Cervelo S3 is a great bike to see back in the Cervelo line after it was discontinued for a couple years with the introduction of the Cervelo S5. Why? Because while the Cervelo S5 offers the very fastest aerodynamic design Cervelo could devise, it’s sharp lines and angular look are not been universally appreciated. The Cervelo S3 offers many of the technology advances found in the S5, items like BBRight, asymmetric stays and a tapered fork, that helped to make that platform lighter and more responsive than previous aero bikes while providing the inviting and shapely lines that people lusted after with Cervelo’s first generation carbon aero bikes. The Cervelo S3 harkens back to the original P3 Carbon and the Soloist Carbon, two sensual high water marks when it came to bike aesthetics for many riders.

In addition to the performance enhancing updates, the Cervelo S3 now also uses the more versatile road frame geometry of the S5, which means that more riders fit on it well. The long and low profile that sometimes limited the original Cervelo S and Soloist bikes has now been replaced throughout the Cervelo line by a performance oriented geometry that is race oriented, but not to the point where it makes the bike not fit the majority of recreational riders well. Add in the fact that the Cervelo S3 is well priced and set-up well to accommodate mechanical or electronic drivetrains and we expect the S3 to be the new best seller in Cervelo’s aero road bike line.