Cervelo launches first ever full-suspension mountain bike
Rear suspension, flex stays and flat bars mark fresh ground for Cervelo
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Late last year, Canadian brand Cervelo stepped into the cross-country mountain biking market with the ZHT-5 cross-country hardtail. This week, the brand has upped its game by introducing the ZFS-5 full-suspension XC race bike.
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Spotted around the XC circuit in prototype form, Cervelo has finally brought its full-suspension cross-country bike to the market.
Of course, rolling on the industry standard 29-inch wheels, the ZFS-5 dons 100mm of suspension at both the front and rear of the bike but the travel can be boosted to 120mm by upping the fork travel and the shock's stroke.
2023 cervelo zfs-5 stays.jpg, by Liam Mercer
That suspension is delivered through a flex-stay layout, something that we're seeing to be an increasingly common theme on XC bikes because ditches additional bearings that are used in Horst Link or similar platforms to shed weight.
Another cool bit of tech that's cropping up on a number of cross-country going rippers is a floating rear brake mount. Cervelo's application of this is said to achieve more stiffness without having to accommodate a fixed brake mount.
Cervelo has opted to route the ZFS-5's cables through its headset. However, if you're one for the latest wireless shifting and dropper post tech, the brand supplies blanking inserts that'll cover up any of the holes that you're not using.
2023 cervelo zfs-5 linkage.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Other frame features include space for a couple of bottles in the front triangle, a BSA 73mm threaded bottom bracket and it can run up to a 36T chainring. It also uses SRAM's UDH.
As for geometries, the 100mm ZFS-5 is sorted with a 67.8-degree head tube angle, a 76.3-degree seat tube angle and a large frame benefits from a 469mm reach. The 120mm travelled models feature a slacker 66.6-degree head tube and a 75-degree seat tube, and the reach shrinks by 12mm.
There are seven builds of the ZFS-5 available, three of which are equipped with 120mm of travel and three get 100mm. There's then a frame only. Built kits range from RockShox SID Select forks and SRAM GX groupsets right up to the XX SL AXS bike that's sorted with a RockShox SID SL Ultimate and SRAM's top of the range XX SL Transmission drivetrain.
Prices start at £5,500 and go up to £10,500. The frame alone costs £3,500.
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