Originally Posted by rustymongrel

The T5 is not one bike but two. Sprinters rode a frame that had different main tube shapes and weighed significantly more. This was to increase stiffness at a minor cost to aerodynamics. A T5 sprint frame weighs as much as an average steel frame. They also contained so much high mod carbon that they were very fragile in crashes (remember stiffness is not the same as strength). The reported breakages with the T5 in 2016 however were due to manufacturing errors. Cervélo was required by Team GB to use a British manufacturer as opposed to their California facility or overseas factories because of funding restrictions. The manufacturer took certain liberties with the manufacturing process of part of the frame and thus some frames broke in the lead up to the 2016 games. Frame geometry for both the sprint and enduro frame were specified by Team GB with no direct input by Cervélo.

The original plan was for the T5 to be a 2020 bike. The project progressed quickly enough however that it was pushed into service in 2016. Management changed at Cervélo and they cut the Team GB deal short and paid them out. Can't blame them either since during the sponsorship period more Cervélo track bikes were given to team GB than were sold. There's unlikely to be new production Cervélo track bike anytime and despite the appearance of the T4 on the website and in marketing material no T4 frames have been produced in the last 18 months and Cervélo no longer works with the factory that built that frame.