Read that this morning. Really scientific.

"The Venge tests faster, but we think the Madone is prettier. Madone wins."*



*I completely agree with their conclusion. Saw a Madone in person for the first time last week. Wow. It sure is pretty. Saw a new Venge yesterday. Woof. I'd ride one, but I wouldn't want my friends to see me riding it. The spacer/stem/handlebar combo has got to be the ugliest cockpit ever produced.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

The venge should win because it is significantly less expensive. As I do this sport more, I appreciate reasonably priced equipment.

although they did compare the 'pro' version of the Venge with the top of the line Madone, had they gone S-Works the price would have been within $100 :)

Well this is the Venge that is more Apples to Apples: http://www.specialized.com/...s-venge-vias-di2-usa.

Both bikes are ~$13k with deep wheels and Di2.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

OK, that is a good point, they should have tested it against the SWORKS version. I was miffed to see the price difference because Spec and Trek are usually not that much different.

performance wise there should be almost no difference as it's the same frame in the Pro/S-Works version, S-Works gets Di2, ceramic bearings in the wheels (CLX versus CL64s) and a Quarq, so for testing purposes they'd end up with the same results

They are the same frame materials and same wheels. Only difference is the ceramic speed BB and bearings in the wheels. First time Specialized used the same carbon in S Works and Pro models. This might change in the future and I think the price of the Pro model will come down.

I think the Tarmac SL4 was the same frame at the S-Works and Pro level as well.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Both bikes are ~$13k with deep wheels and Di2.

Good grief! I guess you have to really need/want an aero road bike to have one of these!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Tour found venge very slightly better at low yaw (not nearly the margins that VN mentioned), but in any real conditions the best case scenario for Venge is equal to Madone. If it gets windy obviously that favours the Madone.

"The Venge tests faster, but we think the Madone is prettier. Madone wins."

The Venge looks fine in better colors, and the aero benefit is fairly large, considering.

But those brakes. Somebody ought to be getting fired over those. I bet that's why the pros don't want to use the bike.

...I still say they should've gone hydraulic...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

No. On the Tarmac, only the S-Works has the 11r frame/fork.

Tour found venge very slightly better at low yaw (not nearly the margins that VN mentioned), but in any real conditions the best case scenario for Venge is equal to Madone. If it gets windy obviously that favours the Madone.

Thanks, is there a link online for that test?

...I still say they should've gone hydraulic...

I think the big problem is where the pivots are located. It makes the pad pressure and alignment inherently uneven.

I know they all want to create proprietary parts, but I don't think they'd lose any significant aero performance by designing the frame to take something like external Tririg brakes.

would have been nice if they threw in Canyon's aero road bike in the mix as well; after all, it's the only one offering integrated setup with traditional round bends...

No reason to include it....VN is largely a US pub and Canyon has zero distribution in the US. If anything, they would be doing their readers a disserveice since they couldn't get the bike if they wanted.

But it would have been nice to see some numbers on it...that I agree with.

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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

Pivots? Who said anything about pivots? ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Exactly, no pivots required with a hydraulic system. There could be perfectly square contact with the rim and pad for an amazing feel and tons of power. I bet a quick modification of the hydraulic rim brakes from magura is all it would take.

Thanks for the graph. Can I ask how you got it? I have the Tour article about the aero road bikes, but they only write about the wind tunnel test, no graphs or anything. I would be very interested in seeing the graphs for the bikes.

would love to see the tail end of Paris-Roubaix come down to a Trek rider and a Specialized rider off the front chasing each other on a super windy day with cross winds. 1sec/km advantage for Trek

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

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I would love to see a battle royale before the top riders from both those squads retire. But they'd be using Domane and sort of *Roubaix so all of this becomes (more) academic

Vias riders having issues with brake hitting DT under braking (because the fork flexes), very low chance of seeing one in the classics. The Madone at least viable for that use.

*sort of because Tom doesn't ride a Roubaix you can buy

Which sport exactly is that? Genuinely curious what percentage of people who pay attention to these type of ultra-high end race bikes actually race bikes outside of tri. I appreciate these bikes in terms of their technical achievements but I also realize that I have very little use for them as the vast majority of my riding on a road bike is for fitness and enjoyment rather than competition.

This rant really isn't directed at anyone, I just had a revelation the other day that I don't really like my aero road bike anymore and never really had much of a purpose for it in the first place. I just bought it because I thought it was cool.

An on form Cancellara on an aero bike on a windy day would be tough to beat

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”