BBLOEHR wrote:
Good point of view, make me want to support specialized more!
devashish_paul wrote:
shadwell wrote:
Noted Bontrager (TREK) released their aero lid..
Named after a coffe bod.. Ballista.. ;)
No performance info readily apparent a la Giro for Synthe, Specialized for Evade...
But seeing as it looks almost identical to the Evade I'm guessing similar performance ..
Wouldn't be surprised to see the Specialized legal dept. look into it.. they have been quiet of late..
Price seems a lot lower than the competition tho.. about half the Synthe and 2/3rd of the Evade...
Reverse engineering these aero lids should be dead easy....then just change a few aesthetics, but don't play to much with the frontal, the venting and the internal air channels and you basically have the same impact without the R&D. The actual unit cost for a $30 walmart helmet and $175-$250 aero road lid should not be "that much different", so in the end, we're not paying for the materials, we're paying for the R&D. If Bonetrager spent a minute fraction on the R&D and essentially copied the key aero features of the Evade I'd expect the price to be even lower, but it is probably $175, because they can command that without getting in the Evade territory. The Evade by now seems to be backed by some decent tunnel data. You can pay the premium for that, or spend a bit less and roll the dice on the Bonetrager copy variant.
When we buy a high end aero road lid, it is like buying software....the cost of the CD it comes on (or the internet connection download) is almost the same for all software. What we are paying for is functionality and the performance that the original innovator paid for through a ton of R&D and practical testing in the field and wind tunnels. If Bonetrager picked up an Evade, looked at the front, channelization, and venting and said, "Yeah, let's do our own version based on the fundamentals of this design, then yeah, they are borderline close to the Chinese guys in Shanghai selling me fake Rolex's for $10.
But hey, if Bonetrager can come out and prove this is all original innovation and has no lineage link over to the Evade, I am all ears, but for the moment, I am leaning towards "link to Evade lineage". But that's just a guy on the internet who owns the Evade and only seen pictures of the Bonetrager. If be pissed if I was over at Specialized though, because it seems like Bonetrager is dropping the market ASP without (maybe) having invested in the R&D. I don't know the answer. I am generally seeing a 5W savings on timed courses and races I have done year over hear over my previous Giro Advantage given my head down position (Giro ended with tail up).
Disclaimer: Paid full retail for my Evade and have no connection to Specialized in any commercial way.