Reviewed: Quintana Roo SRfive

Quintana Roo has made their mark as a tri company, first with wetsuits—which they just got back into—then with tri bikes. It’s also no surprise they can make a decent UCI-legal bike with drop bars. In the last five to ten years, QR has been making some very well-thought out tri bikes that have gained a cult following for their smooth lines, great designs, and killer paint/customization. It’s good news for the non-tri world that they’ve entered the road bike world with something that many will enjoy. While the Quintana Roo SRfive road bike line starts at $3,000 for a 105 mechanical build, we checked out the almost-fully decked out, race-ready model with some pretty serious spec. 

Related: Triathlete’s 2020 Road Bike Buyer’s Guide

Quintana Roo SRfive: The Ride

While many of the other road bikes we looked at in our roundup were super soft or super stiff or something else really defining, the SRfive is the “Baby Bear” of bike porridge—just right. This bike hit the sweet spot for most who would want a bike that they can bolt clip-ons onto and train and race with: complaint enough over bumps small to large and quick enough when stepping on the pedals. There’s not much else to add on this bike’s ride, other than the fact that it’ll work for quick group attacks or a century/long-course tri.

Quintana Roo SRfive: The Good

There’s a lot to love about the SRfive—even the well-balanced ride aside. First, there are the small details like a crazy clean frame with totally hidden cables (especially with the Di2 build) or the fantastic paint options that always feel like they have a few more coats than other brands’. Then there’s the super even handling that lets this bike cut corners tightly—if you’re an aggressive rider—but isn’t so intense that it feels squirrely. Though none of that may seem super exciting to roadies, all of this adds up to a stable bike with predictable handling, a smooth ride, and decent attack that would work super well with a set of aerobars clipped on—assuming you make the necessary fit adjustments, of course. We also loved the fact that this bike is basically ready to ride, right after delivery at your doorstep without any need for adjustment or high-level mechanical skill.

Quintana Roo SRfive: The Fine

It’s tough to find fault with the SRfive, but nothing’s perfect. While the base model may start at $3k for 105 mechanical and the next step up is Ultegra at $4,300, you don’t quite have a race-ready option until you hit around $4,500 for the 105-plus-HED-Vanquish-upgrade. There are probably some good reasons for it (hand-painted in the U.S. with 11 color options could be it), but the value on this direct-to-consumer bike just barely misses the mark when compared to similar models from competitors. That said, we liked the ride of the QR slightly more than other brands in this range, but only in terms of balance and usefulness in tri. A hair more value here would put this way over the top of the others, but it’s a pretty small difference in the end.

Quintana Roo SRfive: Conclude, Conclude

This is probably the bike to get if you’re actually going to try to train and race on a road bike—clip-ons or no. While it’s not as soft as something like the Roubaix, it’s also quite a bit more well-balanced and fun. It may not have that mind-bending value that the Ventum does, but you also get a beautiful bike with a huge number of paint options and free customization. This is definitely the all-rounder of the bunch—in a very good way. Ninety percent of triathletes will love this bike right away and not outgrow it in a few years: easy enough for now, fun enough for later.