Skip to content

Cervelo hits the dirt with new XC-focused mountain bike

  • Ron 

When Team Jumbo-Visma’s Milan Vader decided to add XCO racing to his calendar, Cervelo put on their engineering hat and developed an all-new XC machine for the five time Dutch National Champion.

The new ZHT-5 heralds a new era for Cervélo and the Team Jumbo-Visma as they go racing together. cervelo’s engineering expertise is already proven in cyclocross (R5-CX) and gravel racing (Áspero), and now they’ve upped the ante and designed a mountain bike worthy of the Cervélo name. The ZHT-5 was wholly developed by Cervélo engineers, based on learnings from our road, cyclo-gross and gravel platforms in balancing tube shape, composite layups, and ride quality parameters, all with an eye on practical usability for the rider.

Vader suffered life-threatening injuries during a crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year. Despite having to learn to walk again, Milan is now already back on his bike and training for Round #1 of the UCI World Cup on home soil in Valkenburg in May next year.

The ZHT-5 is a Cervélo through and through: fast, efficient, and fun to ride. The 69-degree head tube angle, modern reach, and short chainstays combine to make a bike that’s stable at speed and nimble enough for pack racing. There’s room to maneuver in the cockpit, whether you’re darting inside on an uphill hairpin, or hanging off the back to make time on the descent.

Weighing in at just 907g (size Medium), ZHT-5 is a featherweight fighter with the punchy turn of pace that only a hardtail can deliver. Decades of making frames built for the strongest sprinters in the world has fed into a super stiff mountain bike design that propels you to the front without compromising weight or ride quality.

The ZHT-5 is currently available in limited quantities in two build specs (a GX Eagle AXS build at $4800 and an XX1 AXS build for $9000)  from Cervelo dealers around the world.

Tags:
Bike World News