The Ku conversation has been going on here: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...h_string=ku#p7930246

You may want to post in there

Varia mount with BOA which means wire could already be long enough, or definitely replaced to be longer, to fit a deep aero tube: https://www.instagram.com/...hid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Agree, there is no need to revive the aero thread here because these are two different things.
I have ridden the TF1 myself for quite some time so these two subjects, the bike itself and the aero testing done as it is done, need to be taken differently.

I have had as well no issues with the Zipp Vuka's riding them in the summer of 2020. Although ffwd three years and now riding full support armrests/extensions and to be honest that is something of a different level.
But no doubt Richard can design a 'thing' like that which is going to be compatible with the TF1, to be honest I wouldn't be that surprised if he is already designing a full armsupport aerobar that still mates with the aerobar extension holder default with the Ku.

The packing is actually not hard at all. I was a bit suprised Dan didn't mention the cool thing of this bike that you can just take off the whole fork due to the use of the special hydraulic hose connector Ku is using. And still is very unique on this point. So my thought is that this is a missing piece of the review that should have made it into it. Dan wrote about that hydraulic hose connector previously, but I still think it should have made this review as it is a great design from Richard and still unbelieveable they are the only one to use it so far.

The turning radius can be a thing on some courses or when you have to make a turn on a smaller road. We have quite some tri's here where you need to turn 180 degrees on a cycling path and that can be thing. But all things fair only 180 turns can be an issue. I have had no issues when in normal training that made me think the radius was a thing.

Varia point, a non issue for me since you can just use a rubber strap that goes all the way around the seatpost.

Yes, hydration might be limited but being totally honest and riding a Cadex myself now. I did not use the internal hydration on that bike yet in training. I might be use it in a race, but just the extra work of cleaning blatters etc. is just not worth it for me. On the Canyon the internal blatter is just for plain water and do not use sportdrink because I have heard quite often that the valve in the frame is very hard to clean as well as the blatter. The Cadex blatter is much easier to clean because of the different type of entry. So the hydration limitations on the TF1 for me were never an issue since I've always used a 2 bottle BTS and a normal bottle as a BTA. Still do on the Cadex as well.

Stand over height, yes, that was a get used the at first. And especially the first time when we mounted the original brainchild from Richard, which was a sort of hydration tank thing, that mounted op the top tube. And there you could see that Richard was the designer and not the biker :-). At the first stop at a traffic light i needed to unclip and come to the ground with one foot and my cojones wre in my throat and I was singing quite high. That hydration tank thingy didn't make it into production after that experience I can tell you
But further then that I have had no problem. The one thing for whom it might be a thing could be somebody with short legs and long torse that also want a long reach. The longer the reach the higher the top tube comes up, but that is about it.

I have still just one other thing I would change on the bike and that are the grips. As you can side in Dan's review they are just short and there is no place to put your whole hand around it, like in 4 fingers around the grip. There is just place for max 2 and for me they were also too close to me. I would have liked them a bit further forward, I think it was about 4-5 cm's or so. There was change on the grips as that they now have some sort of 3D printed material more to the back over the wing part but that still doesn't do it for me.
If it was for me I would have redesigned the bar, made it a little more V-shaped forward and gave the grips 20-25 mm extra length.

As Waingro already confirmes, it is a small company run by just a few people which makes it much easier for them to respond to consumers. They carry just this single product, for now, so all questions are related to this product. If you contact them it doesn't go to CS department, they are the CS department, short lines quick responses and always will try to work with you. And this is great and I think they have an advantage with it. It will make customers more feel like they are really 'part' of the Ku community.

The appareance of the bike is still odd, but it is indeed like Dan said. You like it or you hate it, but that goes for every other odd looking bike, wheter it be a Cadex, Cervelo PX, Ventum, etc.

Jeroen

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

Just saw the article. Jeez, it's so ugly, man. I wouldn't spend my money on KU or Cadex bikes. They are like Pontiac Aztek and Ssangyong Rodius of the bike.

https://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Tri_Bike_by_brand/KU/How_Does_the_K_Ride__8682.html

We appreciate Dan's articles a lot and the various conversations ongoing on the ST forum, thank you!

The aerodynamic benefits of the patented front of bike technology of the Kú TF1 is going to take some time to settle in with consumers and the industry as a whole. A Dutch invention in sports equipment called the "Clap Skate" also took quite some time before it hit main stream speed skating, but has become the norm for all world class speed skaters these days https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clap_skate

Ultimately race results for both age group athletes and professionals are the best proof a new technology will benefit athletes. Just keep an eye on us over the next 18 months 🤓

We will continue to share aero test data of individual athletes on our website. We prefer to let the data tell the true story. Many stories already of athletes who experienced significant performance improvements as a result of a much improved (pre-purchase) bike fit through any of our Kú fitters, better performances as a result of the aerodynamics of TF1 fork technology and last but not least, for all Kú Next Gen Athletes who have experienced first-hand what an aero camp and can do for their performance. It's definitely not just about the bike, as true performance enhancements is a matter of putting many little pieces of a puzzle together and taking every watt of saving as a step in the right direction. Finding a balance between biomechanics, aerodynamics and performance stability is an art as much as it is science. We love that game and our company management have delivered on world class level in Formula 1, triathlon and business for many years.

We wont argue with the previous forum post about aero testing and we will not share any more new bike-brand to bike-brand comparisons. We will however share athlete-by-athlete how we have helped these athletes gain significant amount of watts on their Kú TF1.

In fact, we have offered every Kú Next Gen athlete a performance improvement guarantee or otherwise money back. Not one customer opted for this offer.

So ultimately for a new brand with real performance ambitions, the only two drivers of success will be 1/ the actual athlete race results and 2/ feedback received from real customers.

1/ Actual athlete race results
On the AG race results, we have not done too shabby in 2022 for a new brand https://www.ku-cycle.com/nextgen/#results and the pro results will start to come in rather sooner than later...

2/ Customer feedback
The final word however is always reserved to our customers, as they took a bet on Kú Cycle as a start-up company offering new technology, so we will for always be grateful for their support and not to forget their feedback after they actually having trained and raced on the Kú TF1: https://www.trustindex.io/...ews/www.ku-cycle.com

Alex Bok

Your pre purchase fit is great. The fact you optimize the rider via aero-camps is great. The idea of celebrating athlete performance is great. Other vendors could learn here.

But if the if the foundation of these performance improvements is a revolutionary bike, I would think you would want a way to show this, but in a credible way. I think we all agree the last attempt was not credible.

People like Brian did an amazing job comparing multiple bikes in a fair and credible way https://www.slowtwitch.com/..._Peak_Aero_6429.html
There are other ways.

Maybe you could/should hand it off to an independent party to do. Best case you have material to do marketing off. Worst case you have material to do R&D off.

I would think that if you can't, or choose not to demonstrate the bike is faster you are simply making a case for "get a good fit and an aero test".


PS : I think the way you guys have been handling the critique thrown your way has been exceptional. Chapeau. Another area other vendors could learn from.

Maybe you could/should hand it off to an independent party to do. Best case you have material to do marketing off. Worst case you have material to do R&D off.

I would think that if you can't, or choose not to demonstrate the bike is faster you are simply making a case for "get a good fit and an aero test".


This indeed would be the best option by far!

Jeroen

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

Hi, I'm getting quite interested in this bike, but I'd like to hear more about the handling, how it climbs and how it descends.

The steering geometry looks uncommon, I can't find data about it but head angle appears to be quite vertical, and fork offset appears to be huge, potentially resulting in a negative trail. That would be quite peculiar to drive. But I may be getting it completely wrong.

Can someone elaborate a bit about that?

Also, not a big relevance in that, but how much does the bike weight?

Thanks

I'm going to be continuing Dan's review once I get a bit more time under it, but I have raced on it once now and it went quite well so I'm definitely a fan so far. For the most part, the bike handles exactly as you'd expect it to, with one exception, climbing out of the saddle. Now as I spend more time on it, it's feeling more and more natural, but there is definitely something about it, whether it's the raised top tube or the Steerer Pivot Box, that makes it feel different. Because of this, I've been spending more time climbing seated which is realistically, better for racing anyways. To be clear, it's definitely as fast or faster climbing than anything I've ridden. It's just the feel that is different.

Descending felt excellent. Not a hint of wobble for me with a max speed of 51.5mph according to my gps.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Does the Ku cost $12,000?

Explain to me how you are going to "continue" his review?

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E-DUB
Chief Janitor @Slowtwitch
Life is short. Dont be mad all the time.

I wanted a second set of eyes on the Ku, and a second assessment. I already have mine and I'll continue to chime in. but i felt we needed another opinion, rather than just mine, from someone who i trust to evaluate bikes and who has owned a ridden a different set of tri bikes in the past. so, maybe a better way to put it is that i'm garfunkel and i've just enlisted simon. we're going to make music together. that said, i performed the fit and went thru the process of adjusting the Ku to ben's fit coordinates.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

there is not negative trail. the offset does not overwhelm the projection of the steering axis (which is what you're asking). what it's got mostly is a lot of front center (650mm in my case) and i was concerned about that. however, this bike rides very well. it self-centers, but it's not clumsy. i once rode a tri bike with 70mm of trail and it was horrible. i don't know how they all ride - as they're custom made - but this one rides/handles surprisingly well and i say that because i didn't think a bike with more than 630mm of front center would work well for me.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman