Quintana Roo SRfive 2021

The Quintana Roo SRfive is all about speed. Quintana Roo's new road bike has an aero frameset paired with fully integrated cabling, deep-section wheels and wind-cheating components; it's a very quick bike with oodles of stiffness for those out-of-the-saddle efforts. The handling may be a little tame for aggressive riders, but otherwise its impeccable manners will make for an enjoyable ride.

Ride

Neutral is how I'd describe pretty much everything about the Quintana Roo – from the handling and its responsiveness through to the ride comfort. If you want a smooth, uninterrupted ride then you are going to get on very well with the QR.

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It's not the most cosseting ride I've ever known, but comfort levels are decent. I did some rides of around three hours on it and never got off feeling like I had been beaten around.

The amount of stiffness is also well determined, with the large down tube, bottom bracket area and oversized chainstays keeping the lower half of the frame in check when you are giving it the beans. The fork handles steering and braking loads fine as well.

I didn't find the frame and fork to transfer a huge amount of information from road to rider; it's all a little muted for my liking. You can still feel what is going on generally, but I wasn't getting those tiny little inputs like when the tyres start to break traction under hard cornering or braking. It often felt that the information was just a little delayed.

For a lot of riders this will be just fine – ideal, even. Not everybody wants a heightened level of information coming at them the whole time. Personally, I like a bike to give me just a little bit more.

Cyclists often talk of engagement with their bike, and while that can mean different things, I think of it as the level of involvement between bike and rider. Some bikes feel more a part of you than others. If you want a razor-sharp, fast-steering machine that delivers pin-point accuracy at speed, you might feel the SRfive is a little subdued.

Descending my favourite technical hills, the SRfive showed itself to be very capable and it feels quite planted. Shifting your body weight makes the bike change direction quickly and you can really let it go, guiding it through the shallow bends and minimising the amount of braking required.

A couple of corners on one of my favourite test hills are technical. The first is a steep chicane, the second half of which is majorly off-camber and if you don't nail it quite right it will pitch you off towards the bank and the awaiting barbed-wire fence sitting atop.

I've come close a few times, and as I entered the bends on the SRfive I just wasn't sure it was going to get me round at my usual speed, so I used the brakes to scrub off a bit of speed.

It's not that I didn't think the handling was up to it, I think it's a combination of the neutrality and that missing feedback that just reduced my confidence.

If you're not a do-or-die kind of a descender then you'll find travelling downhill on the SRfive a pleasurable experience. There is no twitchiness to the steering, and at sensible speeds this bike is very well behaved.

At 8.33kg the SRfive isn't a superlight bike, but thanks to the levels of stiffness it's a capable climber, whether you're in the saddle or out of it.

> Lightweight vs aero

On the whole, while the ride is just a little bit subdued compared to many race bikes at this price point, the SRfive is a fun bike for travelling quickly over both short and long distances, whether for fitness or racing.

Frame and fork

Quintana Roo says that the SRfive uses premium composite materials in its construction, which are overlaid into panels and moulded into frames.

A stock frame has a claimed weight of 1,175g and that includes things like the bottle cage bolts, derailleur hanger and inserts. Like the full build, it's not the lightest out there, but it's no heavyweight either. It is an aero bike, after all, which is always going to add a few grams over a slender-tubed climbing bike.

Quintana Roo has been big in the triathlon market for a very long time, so the company has a proven record when it comes to making bikes aerodynamic. Details like the triangular, oversize down tube and the sculpted seat tube that curves around the rear wheel all help it cut through the wind.

The large-section tubes also give those impressive levels of stiffness I've already mentioned.

When it comes to the bottom bracket area, Quintana Roo has gone for a T47 which is commonly used by Specialized and Trek. It's basically a threaded version of a PF30 (press fit) bottom bracket, so you are getting the benefits of a larger internal shell diameter along with the great weatherproofing of a threaded system. This larger shell allows for huge chainstays for getting the power down.

Like a lot of the latest bikes we are seeing, the SRfive has completely integrated cables and hoses, directed in through the ACR cockpit before exiting the frame or fork where they are needed. It's a neat solution that gives a really clean look.

For a race bike, tyre clearance is pretty good at 32mm, and you are getting the usual 12mm thru-axle configuration and flat mounts for the brake callipers.

Five sizes are available in a huge amount of colour options, and the quality is very good. I tested the medium size which has a 550mm top tube, 155mm head tube and 490mm seat tube.

The head angle is quite relaxed for a bike of this style at 72 degrees, while the seat angle is 73.5 degrees. A relatively short wheelbase of 997mm keeps the SRfive feeling nippy. All of this gives a stack of 565mm and a reach of 380mm, all pretty routine.

Groupset

The SRfive is available in a huge choice of builds at various prices, but ours is based around FSA's K-Force WE electronic groupset.

I first reviewed this groupset back in 2018 and to be honest, I wasn't overly impressed. It's not a bad groupset, it's just nowhere near as refined as the likes of Shimano's Di2 groups or SRAM's eTap AXS setups.

The FSA levers use a kind of rocker switch for changing gears and it takes a while to get used to as your finger position needs to be very precise. Also, the shifting speed is a bit slower than the latest Dura-Ace Di2 (which I was using alongside during testing) – only by a few milliseconds, but it's enough for you to wonder whether the shift has registered or not.

That aside, the chain skips smoothly across the cassette and chainrings without any real grumble.

Stiffness through the carbon cranks is very good, and should the need arise, the two mechs are easy to adjust and set up.

Gearing is a 52/36-tooth up front paired with an 11-28t cassette: typical ratios for this kind of bike, suiting its fast-paced riding style.

The FSA hydraulic brakes have plenty of power and easy-to-use modulation for controlling braking on long descents or in the wet.

Finishing kit

For the cockpit, this model has an FSA Energy Compact handlebar and Vision NS ACR stem, both with integrated cable routing.

The handlebar gives plenty of hand position options and I found it very comfortable to use.

Sitting atop the SRfive aero seatpost is a BBB Phalanx saddle. Its slender profile is suited to crouching down in the drops or riding hard on the hoods. I got on with it well.

Wheels and tyres

Vision supplies the wheelset with its Team 35 Comp SL Disc. The tubeless-ready alloy rim is 35mm deep, which gives a little bit of an aero advantage, and they roll well.

They are handbuilt using aero spokes, and I had no issues with trueness or reliability throughout the test period.

Even though the SRfive can take 32mm tyres, our model came with 28mm Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performances which are a good compromise between speed and comfort.

I like the Fusion tyres. There is plenty of grip on offer, they roll smoothly, and even though the local farmers have been butchering the hedgerows, I haven't had any issues with punctures or anything.

Value

For this build, the SRfive comes in at £4,649.95.

At the tail end of 2020 I reviewed the Orro Venturi STC with SRAM Force eTap AXS, which is also an aero road bike, just like the Quintana Roo. It also has the same hidden cable routing, and the geometry is very similar. I'd say its ride is a little more involving than the SRfive, though.

It costs £4,599.99 which is a bit cheaper, and that also includes a set of 40mm deep-section carbon wheels which is a big upgrade over the 35mm alloy rims found on the Quintana Roo. The Orro also has a carbon handlebar.

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The Wilier Cento10 SL is a new aero bike that has a similar ride to the Orro. It, too, gets a carbon wheelset, but the Ultegra Di2 version or the Force eTap AXS costs £5,290.

Conclusion

Overall, although the SRfive didn't captivate me in the way that some bikes do (that Orro, for instance), it's still a fast and fun bike, a smooth-riding, neutral-handling option that can be used to race or just ride hard on. Value-wise, it is up against some tough opposition, but it's not exactly overpriced.

Verdict

Smooth-riding aero bike that delivers on speed and stiffness, while the handling will benefit the non-racers