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Private company

Cervélo

Logo: Cervélo Cycles Inc., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Canadian bicycle manufacturer

Cervélo Cycles Inc. is a manufacturer of racing and track bicycles. Cervélo uses CAD, computational fluid dynamics, and wind tunnel testing at a variety of facilities including the San Diego Air and Space Technology Center, in California, US, to aid its designs. Frame materials include carbon fibre.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1995Founded1

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Dimension Data bicycles
Photo: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Cervélo Cycles Inc. is a manufacturer of racing and track bicycles. Cervélo uses CAD, computational fluid dynamics, and wind tunnel testing at a variety of facilities including the San Diego Air and Space Technology Center, in California, US, to aid its designs. Frame materials include carbon fibre. Cervélo currently makes 5 series of bikes: the C series and R series of road bikes, the latter featuring multi-shaped, "Squoval" frame tubes; the S series of road bikes and P series of triathlon/time trial bikes, both of which feature airfoil shaped down tubes; and the T series of track bikes. Additionally, the company manufactures the Caledonia, Soloist, and Aspero models. In professional competition, cyclists have ridden Cervélo bicycles to victory in all three of road cycling's grand tours: the Tour de France; the Giro d'Italia; and the Vuelta a España. In 2023, Cervélo achieved a historic sweep of all three grand tours in a single year.2

The story

Gerard Vroomen, one of the two founders of the company, started researching bike dynamics at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He took his knowledge to Canada to continue the research in McGill University under the supervision of Prof. Larry Lessard. In 1995, Vroomen and Phil White founded Cervélo Cycles. The name Cervélo is a portmanteau of cervello, the Italian word for brain, and vélo, the French word for bike.

In May 2011, Vroomen sold his stake in Cervélo to pursue new projects, although he is nominally still involved with the company at the board level. Cervélo is now owned by Pon Holdings, a Dutch company that also owns Gazelle, and Derby Cycle. The company makes or has marketing rights to bicycles from Raleigh, Kalkhoff, Univega, Focus Bikes, Ghost, and Santa Cruz Bicycles.

A book titled, To Make Riders Faster, by Anna Dopico, was released in April 2018. The book tells the story of Gerard Vroomen and Phil White meeting at McGill University and taking their company from a school basement project in Montreal, Canada, to their bikes winning in the Tour de France, the Olympics and Ironman.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cervélo, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Soloist

The Cervélo Soloist is the brand's all-round road bike. Representing a balance in aerodynamics, weight, and price.

R-Series

The Cervélo R-Series is the brand's climbing road bike. The R5 is the lightest of the brand's road offerings.

S-Series

The Cervélo S-Series is the brand's aerodynamic road bike. The S5 is the most aerodynamic of the brand's road offerings.

P-Series

The Cervélo P-Series is the brand's time trial and triathlon bike series.

Read the full text

T-Series

The Cervélo T-Series is the brand's track bike.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cervélo, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1995Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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