Road Cycling - how the heck do you pronounce Cervelo?

nuff said. How?

[sheesh too bad a can't fix my mis-spelling of "pronounce"]

edit: According to Cervelo (and they just *might* know the correct answer), it's pronounced 'Sir-VeLL-O'.

chair-vell-oh.... emphasis on the 'vell'

Why wouldn't it be 'ser-vel-oh'?

I just ask b/c of words like 'cervelle' which is pronounced 'ser-vel'...

I thought it was a French-influenced company (Canadian?)?

If so, it would be pronounced "sair-vay-low" emphasis on "vay"…

Not sure about the first syllable, but I concur on the rest ... I thought it was sir-VAY-low.
I heard somebody once say "CRE-veh-low" and I almost fell off my bike laughing ...

who cares, as long as your riding it, and enjoying your "ser - ve - lo" (Cervelo)

From the Cervélo site (http://www.cervelo.com/tech/qa/Q-A120.html):


Cervélo is a combination of the Italian word for brain "cervello" and the french word for bike, "vélo". So it's a brainbike, or a bike with some extra thought put into it. We thought it was funny at the time, so we used it as a working title and it stuck.
Suhr-VAY-loh.

The accent aigu (acute accent) over the second "e" tells folks (at least folks who speak French) that it's an "ay" sound, like in "say".

Whatever the case, the folks who made the first Canadian bike to appear in the Tour de France are chuffed no matter how you say it. :)

Shouldn't it be Sir-vay-low....."ay"? :D

Shouldn't it be Sir-vay-low....."ay"? :D
Eh? If there's anything we Canadians know how to pronounce, it's the ay sound! :)

But I sure do wish I could type an upside-down "e" to pronounce the "uh" sound in the first syllable. Blasted schwa.

Dont know how to say it, but i have a pic of the soloist on my monitor. Hafta start dropping hints early, so the wife knows where i'll be spending my tax return next spring...

But, the first part of the word is Italian.
Is it not true that the Italian pronunciation of the first "C" is hard like "k"
Would'nt that make it "ker-VAY-low"??

ser-vey-lo is what i always hear people say.

In my best Steve Irwin voice I was saying "Kervello" until some trendy guy in a trendy bike shop that has a coffee machine and everything, said, "oh, don't you mean 'Sirvello'?"

Oh, I'm sorry.......La di da :D

[sheesh too bad a can't fix my mis-spelling of "pronounce"]

Corrected it for you!

But, the first part of the word is Italian.
Is it not true that the Italian pronunciation of the first "C" is hard like "k"
Would'nt that make it "ker-VAY-low"??

I asked my Italian immigrant parents to clarify between "chair" or "care" for the first syllable. Chip, according to my sources, you are correct. Also, the accent is on the 2nd syllable. As a rule, most Italian words emphasize the first syllable.

Ciao

ok so it seems that the "proper" way to say it would be "ker-vay-lo" (although the "vay" wouldn't be real long).

Sweet. Now I know how to say it whilst riding my new soloist 105 (that I picked up on Saturday)!

Hahahaha, ok sorry, it's just that im canadian and i never even thought that cervelo could be pronounced so many different ways! its ""sir-velo"" and if ya cant pronounce velo then, sheesh, i dont know what then.

I asked my Italian immigrant parents to clarify between "chair" or "care" for the first syllable. Chip, according to my sources, you are correct. Also, the accent is on the 2nd syllable. As a rule, most Italian words emphasize the first syllable.

Ciao

that's great, except it's not an Italian name. Maybe it comes from an amalgam of the French words:

cerveau = brain pronounced: sair-voh
vélo = bicycle pronounced: vay-loh

Et, voila--- cer vélo

I can't believe I've spent so much time on this, someone tell me to get a grip! :(

G'day,

just get a 'look'....problem solved!......L-ook


cheers,

Hitchy

A friend of my in Cardston, Alberta has one. It one sweet ride! He pronounced it sir-VAY-low. FWIW
Here is a photo of him riding through Great Falls when the Tailwinds Bike Club came through on tour from Cardston, Alberta to Salt Lake City, UT.

that's great, except it's not an Italian name. Maybe it comes from an amalgam of the French words:

cerveau = brain pronounced: sair-voh
vélo = bicycle pronounced: vay-loh

Et, voila--- cer vélo

I can't believe I've spent so much time on this, someone tell me to get a grip! :(

Except the quote from the company itself said specifically that they used the Italian word for brain, cervello. So you must pronounce that part in the Italian way. Than the velo is French, so THAT part would be pronounced in the French way. :p
:crash:

You wanna know how I pronounce it: "frek-ing ik-spen-siv bik i ka-not a-ford"...lol

:D

I've had mine for over three years and, as many people correctly pointed out it's sir-vay-low. Although, sometimes it comes out of my mouth sounding more like f***ingsonofabi***.

G'day,

just get a 'look'....problem solved!......L-ook


cheers,

Hitchy

Howzit boet.

But Look is a FRENCH frame. How do you pronounce
Look? :D
oy,oy,oy.


Marty

From the horse's mouth:


Subject: RE: How is Cervelo pronounced?
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 10:11:27 -0400
From: info@cervelo.com
To: henry@xxxxxxxx.com

Sir-VeLL-O'

Thank You,
Team Cervelo
www.cervelo.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Henry [mailto:henry@xxxxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 12:12 AM
To: info
Subject: How is Cervelo pronounced?


ker-vay-lo?
sir-vay-lo?

Thanks,
Henry

Yup, I got the same response this morning. They must be wondering why there's all the sudden interest! :)

...Because pros in europe are ordering them in droves.

the name is synthetic, not any one language. Originally a couple guys in Toronto who know how to use composites really well. They don't look it, but they are very high-tech.