trail wrote:
You want to checkout Velonews' Aero Revisited article. The S5 beat the Venge by 5W @ 30MPH, and the Venge didn't beat the S5 in any way I consider noteworthy. The Litespeed won the overall, but only because their "scientific weighting" scheme does not use Slowtwitch-approved relative weights, e.g. where attaching a sack of anvils to your top-tube is preferable to losing 0.0001CdA, and where stiffness is only important for "victory celebration" and not your bottom bracket.
I almost bought the S5 to replace an old P2 since I wanted an aero road bike as my primary daily ride rather than a tri bike. But after I read that article in Velo News last winter, I checked out the Litespeed C1R and was sold in a second.
As Velo News put it: "It is very nearly as good as the best here and is still faster than any traditionally shaped frame, making it the undisputable winner for your wallet." And they didn't even test the C1R frame, which is made with a higher-end carbon so it's lighter and stiffer than the C1 frame.
I have about 2,000 miles on the my C1R since I had it built in January (with Reynolds carbon clinchers) and I still cannot believe how impressive it is. A friend of a guy in my cycling group has the (lesser model) C1 built up as a TT/tri bike that he's raved about. He rode it to a 10:30 finish at IMCDA (which included a mechanical failure) and is legitimately shooting for a Kona spot this year.
Last edited by:
elburrito99: May 22, 13 22:05