Title made me lol.

I checked my calendar at least twice thinking this was an April fools joke.

I wonder how they are comparing weights i.e. is it frameset, do you include the brakes on the rim model? Then again the fork crown and the seat tube had to be built up a ton to support the spreading forces created by the brakes.


I'm glad to see specialized moving away from their proprietary through axle rear end in both the VIAS and the Crux. Hopefully the redone Roubaix will use the std. rear end spacing as well.

Overall it is a better looking bike, but if I were to win the lottery tomorrow and wanted a fast bike I would still get the rim brake VIAS. Still happy with my Allez Sprint though.

Agree re standard axle. I almost bought a Roubiax last year as a training bike but the proprietary rear axle turned me off.

If I won lotto I'd buy the new Trek Maddone :)

I'm biased to specialized because a friend owns the local shop....plus for some reason treks really don't do it for me.

From what I understand the Roubaix line is all new this year, so you might want to see what they have if you are still considering one.

As I noted in the other thread where this bike came up, Specialized deserves extra credit for making an already ugly HB configuration even uglier.....



Sorry, I just think the whole idea of this bike is dumb....but I have no doubt that people will buy it. At least people can get a Venge Vias with brakes that work really well, I guess......

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Does this mean disc brakes are allowed in uci events? I'm still confused if I'm allowed to race with them or not.

I actually really like that handlebar believe it or not. If I were racing DL and the Vias was allowed in DL I'd be all over that bar.

i didn't say it wasn't functional....just fugly!

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

If you regularly rub elbows w/ Cavendish or Greipel, no you can not race discs. If you live in the US you can race discs in any event that is US Cycling sanctioned but not the few that are UCI sanctioned. If you race triathlon then race whatever you want, sky is pretty much the limit. It is too complex to figure out in general. If you aren't paid to ride bikes I wouldn't worry about it and ride what ever you want. If you are paid to ride bikes then ride what ever your sponsor gives you :)

the article mentions that specialized engineers think the bike is faster overall because you can brake later into the turns using discs. Man...I don't know about that. With 140mm rotors, my gravel/cx bike doesn't brake any better than my rim braked bikes. I've also heard of people overheating their 140mm rotors on long technical descents.

I'm going to switch to 160mm rotors for cx season. I suspect there will be even more drag at yaw (probably about the same at 0 degrees) but the extra stopping power in CX far outweighs the drag or weight penalty. On a road bike, maybe not.

I still think road disc is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, or at least exists for rare people that live in a very unique area.

+1

and disc brakes are just unsightly.

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

What bold and original statements that I have never heard on ST before. What you mean is "road discs are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist for me". While marketing them on relatively single purpose aero race bikes may indeed be silly, road discs themselves may prove to be a perfectly sensible solution to a problem that is widely faced by seldom acknowledged by elitist snobs; not everyone wants own, store and maintain a stable of single purpose bikes. Discs open up the possibility of having 1 bike with enough clearance to ride on and off road, cross or gravel, commute or race with some compromises.

Of course a jack of all trades bike is going to be inherently worse when compared to the highest possible form of dedicated design in each respective category but despite delusions of grandeur, last time I checked these boards were full of mid-life crisis dads and not professional athletes for whom every second saved could be make or break.

Now is the bike in question a bit silly? Most likely, but honestly it doesn't matter what bike we're talking about on these boards, you'll always have 10 people chime in with the same n=1 comments suggesting that they know what is best for everyone else.

I have 2 thoughts:
1.) They misnamed it...but, I guess they didn't wan't to license "Oxymoron" from me ;-)
2.) Looks like my custom steel aero bike might give it a run for it's money...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

+1 on the 140mm rotors on road bikes...needs at LEAST 160 on front IMHO.

On a related note, I just did a twisty, 8% average grade descent at lunch on a bike equipped with hydraulic calipers and 622mm braking discs with a specially treated metallic surface.

<Borat voice> "Verrraa nizzzze" :-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

I can't tell if you are calling this Venge Vias thing a jack of all trades bicycle...? It's not.

Wouldn't it be a paradox?

It's not just about consistent braking power in the wet - it's also about brakes that leave room for big tires and fenders that also don't grind your rims into oblivion after a few months of wet riding. Here in the PNW my alloy rims with v-brakes and kool stop pads make it 12 months max before being sketchily worn out. I am planning to go 'separate braking disc' in the near future for these reasons alone.

Moving the Vias to disc is actually kind of an interesting move - it is impressive that they were able to make the change with so little penalty. It is, I think, a quiet acknowledgement that the trick behind-the-fork and seattube brakes were not consistently performing up to snuff or were too much of a pain to be viable for most customers. The disc model will probably be less of a headache to operate vs the integrated rim brakes.

All that said, yes Tom, you can still build a fast bike with normal brakes that works great and is less of a pain in the ass to work on... people who want that can buy an S5.

Either works ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

But, you PNW guys (Hi Fredly!) have to admit you live in a "corner case", just as I apparently do in SoCal ;-)


It will be interesting to see what independent tests might show...This sounds like a good one for Tour magazine. "Disc vs. Rim Aero Bike Tunnel Shootout!" :-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

What gets me is the rim brake version got/gets so much hype for hiding the front brake out of the wind , which yes made it a pain to adjust and didn't stop well. They spent a lot of marketing hype telling us how great that was to "hide" the front brake and blend it into the fork for aerodynamics. Then a year later they tell me this large "wart" of a brake hung off the front fork has no drag penalty at all.

I'm not saying they are right or wrong engineering wise but it's just doesn't seem like good marketing strategy to say , aero is all that matters, look how hidden every thing is. Then turn around a year later and say yeah but see how cool this is and hidden/aero doesn't matter all that much after all.

I mean as a company you need to have a core value and believe in it or not. They built a wind tunnel. They designed stuff that said aero is all that matters. Now they almost are saying " just kidding". I have no idea but I would guess the rim brake Venge is not selling like they had hoped and they needed something new to see if they could turn that around do they rolled this out there. It's a market that is hard to judge , maybe they are right.

"Conundrum" sounds like a good cycling-related name.

"How did you do in the Gran Conundrum this weekend?"
"I don't know. The finish was really confusing."

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

This will be the most aero disc brake bike with 140mm rotors ever made. I am OK with that.

I am not OK with that ugly aerobar they strapped onto the bars. Having one of the most innovative teams in the business, I would hope for better. This looks like something cobbled together off ebay sourced parts.