When Team Jumbo-Visma decided it was time to race XCO, they came to us for the answer. The ZHT-5 marks a new era for Cervélo and the team, as we go racing together. Our engineering expertise has already been proven in cyclocross (R5-CX) and gravel racing (Áspero), and now we’ve upped the ante and designed a mountain bike worthy of the Cervélo name.

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. 

SPEED FIRST

Our mantra is to make riders faster. And doing that means creating bikes that turn power into forward motion as efficiently as possible. Nothing does this more effectively in dirt than a hardtail. But power is nothing without control, so we focused on making a rapid cross-country race bike that still handles confidently in technical sections, feeding the desire to ride faster.

STIFF, LIGHT & READY TO FIGHT

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.

MODERN GEO FOR THE MODERN XC RIDER

If you’ve not ridden a hardtail for a while, you’ll be surprised at how the ZHT-5’s 69-degree head tube angle, 457mm reach (size L), and 430mm chainstays feel progressive and refreshingly modern. If you’ve ridden them all your life, you’ll be baffled at how we’ve managed to eke out yet more performance from such a clean and simple design. The ZHT-5’s geometry puts you in the driving seat to carve up all the tight hairpins and features that litter the ups and downs of today’s XC trails.