davidjaxson

Well, I don't have 'correct pictures' but loving the new bike so far. Doesn't appear I am allowed to post photos.

Maelochs

If you have 14 posts you should be able to post photos. if you don't .... we will come and steal your bike.

davidjaxson

You were correct. It was operator error.

shelbyfv

Great looking bike.

Maelochs

Thanks for the photos but I might have to steal your bike anyway ....

Actually red is not my color (even thought it is faster (scientifically proven,) ). Your bike is safe from me.

But wow .... nice ride ....

mstateglfr 

Smash the reflectors and tether the cables.
That is a really nice looking bike- it is genuinely refreshing to see a modern new boutique brand bike with a cockpit that is easily customizable. With so much trending towards integrated cockpits and limiting fit/adjustability, this is nice to see from a brand like Cervelo.

blacknbluebikes 

As my R3 celebrates its seventh birthday, I looked at your new bike and said... hmmmm.. could be next...

WhyFi

This is what Cervelo is doing for their "budget" options like the base Caledona and Aspero. If you look at the more expensive Caledonia 5 and Aspero 5, you'll see that they have fully internal cockpit cabling (at least for the electronic groups).

weekend30rider

Hi, I visited this thread from a couple months back, as I am seriously considering a Caledonia. Appreciated all the comments here. The one thing that has me pausing is about all the new bikes with the “gimmicks”, particularly the Domane IsoSpeed and Specialized’s FutureShock. There is no way I can do a direct comparison of bikes in this marketplace, and I honestly haven’t ridden a “modern” carbon bike. I’m on an aluminum frame from almost 20 years ago.

I need a road bike with endurance geometry, and I’d like wide tires. So while I like the Caledonia, I wonder if I’d be buying a bike with old tech; i.e., in five years will all endurance bikes having some kind of shock absorption? Or are these really gimmicks that just add complexity, weight, and little in results? The roads around my house are good, but I want it try and do longer rides (4-6 hours on the bike). I have neck issues and neck pain is the thing that gets to me first after 3+ hours, so geometry matters a lot.

Since you have experience with the Domane and the Caledonia, are features like IsoSpeed mostly unnecessary? Do you miss it? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

weekend30rider

Hi, how are you liking the bike? I’d love to know more. I’m on the market potentially for a Caledonia 105, if I can find one. If there was one with SRAM Rival eTap, then I’d upgrade the seatpost and in the future the wheels, and call it a day. But I like Shimano 105, too. I think I’m concluding that integrated cockpit is not for me. As sexy as it is, I want the adjustability of the stem in particular. But I wish the lower model had a D-shaped seatpost.

Would love to know what you think after all these miles.

WhyFi

Having owned and ridden a Domane for a couple years, IsoSpeed certainly isn't a gimmick - it smooths out road imperfections without calling attention to itself or feeling intrusive. Side-to-side with my Cervelo R3, it's certainly more comfy, though that's not to say that the Cervelo is harsh. If I could have justified keeping the Domane around as a dedicated long distance bike (5+ hours), I would have, but the Cervelo gave me enough of the comfort (70%? 80%?) afforded by the Domane while feeling more agile and responsive (I do a lot of spirited group rides, so that's important to me). And, FWIW, I still regularly do 5+ hour rides on the Cervelo.

IMO, they're both going to be great bikes - you can't go too far wrong either way, it's just a matter of deciding your priorities. If you want a fast, comfy long-distance machine, the Domane fills the bill. If you're willing to give up a bit of that comfort for a bit more snappiness, then I'd look to the Caledonia.

weekend30rider

Very thoughtful input, thank you for sharing. I am feeling like IsoSpeed and FutureShock are probably technologies I don’t need for my road rides, though they make me very curious. On a gravel bike, I think I’d like them. I have a lot of steep mtns in my area, and I like some responsiveness to my climbing out of the saddle.

The Cervelo 105 base model doesn’t have the D shaped seatpost and integrated cockpit that the Cervelo 5 has, but it uses the same carbon. Are those good reasons to spend $2,000 to upgrade? I haven’t tried a D shaped seatpost before, so don’t know what I’m missing. And integrated cockpit looks nice, but sounds like a hassle. I also just discovered today in talking with LBS that the 2022 models are out, and they only have two colors, neither of which have the attractiveness of the many wonderful 2021 options. Sounds superficial, but I was bummed out. Love the color that the OP has.

Maelochs

"IMO---"D"-shaped seat posts are great until you try to replace one. There was a thread here a few weeks back about some guy trying to find a proprietary Cervelo seat-post which Cervelo no longer made and which no one anywhere had in stock.

Integrated cockpit is fine unless you don't like the fit ... then it is a pain. Want different bars? Too bad. Need another degree rise in the stem .... don't bother, you can't have it. I much prefer a "normal" cockpit where parts can be swapped or replaced. but that's just me.

As for color .... it is surface but not "superficial," a word which carries demeaning connotations. Obviously we all want bikes which provide everything we want mechanically as well as aesthetically. Think how few bikes would be sold if they were painted puke-green and pale pink with decals of offensive words on the downtube. Buy a bike which looks nice.

Frankly, the tiny mechanical differences we obsess over while debating specifications, just become accepted once we ride the bike a little. If the 2021 model offers you enough of what you need that you can ride it the way you want, and it looks good too .....

weekend30rider

I appreciate both the affirmation and technical details. So, I assumed there might be a D shaped standard, but what I’m hearing is that one manufacturer’s d shape will likely not match another’s, which sounds like something I really don’t want! I like options, and had I not had a traditional bike, I wouldn’t have been able to make some adjustments recently (my road bike is 20 years old).

I’ve been searching for 2021’s but alas…

MikeEckhaus

Sorry, was away from the computer for a few days, so my response is a little late. To answer your questions, first, I don't think that all endurance bikes will wind up with some kind of shock or damping device. There is a market for bikes with shocks, decouplers, etc and for more standard bikes that just happen to have endurance geometry and room for big tires. Remember that big tires tend to provide a lot of shock absorption all by themselves, partially negating the need for extra "tech". If your neck is what hurst first, then fit it probably more important that anything else in providing comfort on long rides.

I personally don't miss the IsoSpeed at all. It was certainly nice to have on my Domane, but it wasn't world changing or anything. Remember, I did not have the newer Domane with the front "shock", so I don't know if those would be a whole lot different. I did like that the Caledonia could be set up with a reasonably high bar height, which works for me (no slammed stems in my world), yet it had a little sportier handling than my Domane. While not a super light bike, the Caledonia is still a bunch lighter than a new Domane, and it feels that way. Interestingly, it's about half a pound heavier than my older Domane, most of which is just trading mechanical Dura Ace on the old bike for Ultegra Di2 on the new one. Those were my preferences, however. You may have different goals. For example, I'm pretty sure you can set up a Domane with a little less seat to bar drop that a Caledonia, so if you need to be really upright, the Domane might be better. Also, if you benefit from or just like the Cadillac ride of the Domane and care less about handling responsiveness, the Domane might be better. I do plenty of 4-6 hour rides, and I am still quite comfortable on the Caledonia, but your mileage may vary.

As to brand specific parts, both bikes have them. The base (not 5) Caledonia probably has the most standard parts and should be easiest to source stuff for. The Caledonia 5 has the D shaped seat tube as noted, but the Trek has all the decoupler stuff front and back, lots of proprietary parts there. The cockpit on the Caledonia 5 is "sort of" integrated. You can still run any standard handlebar if you choose, with the corresponding effect on how you route the cables. The stem is not special other than it routes the cables into the head tube. I was able to get a shorter Cervelo stem for mine, but with supply chain issues today, that's not a given.

Bottom line is I can answer your questions from my point of view. I still love my Caledonia after a couple thousand miles. But you have to decide what your personal priorities are. Good luck, no bad choices here?

ratell

I recently purchased a 105 Caledonia. I decided between it and a BMC Roadmachine that had a D shaped seatpost. The differences between the two bikes especially comfort wise were very subtle. One of the reviews of the Caledonia said they thought the difference between the 5 and regular Caledonia was a 10% difference in comfort. The reviewer seemed to think a round carbon seatpost and carbon handlebar would make up most of that difference. Hope that helps.

Only you can decide what’s upgrade is worth it to you. Personally, I was tempted more by improved wheels, but figured I’d wait a couple years and use the price difference for even better wheels.

PeteHski

There is now quite a wide spectrum of "endurance" bikes and I think the Caledonia sits at the more racy end of it. As you have good quality roads, but suffering from neck issues, I would focus more on the geometry and fit over compliance. A decent set of 32 mm tyres will probably give you enough ride comfort by themselves. After tyres, the seatpost is the next thing you notice most in terms of ride comfort. My Defy has a D-shaped carbon post and I can easily feel the flex in it. By comparison the front end feels much harsher, but thick bar tape and decent gloves work well to dissipate the road buzz. My local roads are as rough as a bear's ass too! But I regularly ride 4+ hour rides and anything up to 9 hours in the saddle.

davidjaxson

Got my Caledonia 105 a few months ago and am very pleased with it thus far. I still have the 28mm tires on it and plan to keep them for now.

weekend30rider

Good people, this is such a great forum. Thanks for all the responses. After trying out a bunch of bikes (hard to do in this shortage), comparing a wide variety including the Defy and the Roadmachine, I stuck with the Caledonia 105. I am really happy with it! Back to back with the Roadmachine, it felt like it soaked up road imperfections much better, while still maintaining a snappy feel. It’s comfortable, and the geometry most importantly suits my needs. I also tried the Roubaix and the Aethos (the latter was frighteningly light), and a $10,000 Domane as that’s all they had in my size. The Domane was very plush (had stock 32mm wheels), but it seemed like their features (IsoSpeed) was just something I didn’t need, even though it was comfy. I could see the IsoSpeed working out really well as a gravel bike for those who are mostly doing fire trails like where I’m at.

Coming from a good but much older aluminum road bike, I’m amazed at how much more efficient my hill sprints are. Definitely faster, too. Loving this bike, and thanks to you all, I’ve found what I need. Have to add, though, the new Oasis color is so hard to love. I’m glad I found a different option.

force10

Where do you live that you could find all those bikes to test out?? None of them is available near me except the Domane and that is the ebike version.

I'm surprised you dont care for the Oasis color - it looks great to me on the computer screen.

weekend30rider

I went to multiple shops across SoCal over several months. But most shops have almost nothing. The last store, where I bought it however, had a lot of size 56 bikes which was amazing—from what they said they just got them in and hadn’t had much for a long time.

Yeah, I can’t stand the Oasis color. It looks like the elves exploded green Christmas tinsel and glitter all over Cervelo’s workshop. That said, in the shade there are hints of dark blue that are nice, but it’s like you need just the right light or lack thereof, and the right angle, to get it. The light blue graphics clash heavily with the green as well (I come from the design world and this would never fly). But to each their own!

Now I need some good wheels and a carbon seatpost.

force10

I'm jealous - 56 is my size.

Post some pictures once you get the wheels and seatpost you like.

Bosconian83

It appears the Caledonia is no longer available in red/maroon.

weekend30rider

I may have got the very last one.

davidjaxson

That's my bike's paint scheme. I think it's very attractive.