BigBoyND wrote:
We assume peak aero because the
fastest bikes are converging. If that meant that now it is easier to make a fast bike because you can check off a list of known aero features, you wouldn't have so many drastically different design elements.
- Some down tubes hug the front wheel (most bikes), others have a huge gap (Scott)
- Some seat tubes hug the rear wheel (most), some have a gap (Shiv TT), and some have none (beams)
- Some use full foils, some truncate
- Some use deep sections, some not
- And on and on
I'm not claiming the Shiv is slow, because we don't know. But the fact that older Cervelo, Felt, and Trek bikes are still fast, doesn't mean that newer bikes can't be slow.
Granted, "slow" does deserve some context. It is reasonable to assume that the difference between the fastest and slowest modern bike by the big brands is far smaller than the difference between the slowest and a round-tube bike. But for $X,000 and especially $1X,000 I wouldn't want to have something slow relative to its peers.
I'm a long time Specialized fan and have owned more of their bikes then any other brand. I generally look to them first before looking elsewhere.
However, I've tried to talk myself into the new Shiv Tri a couple of times now but chosen not to. The reasons were:
1) Specializeds clear efforts to not show how aero (or not) it is when compared to their previous models. They have their own wind tunnel so clearly know this information but have chosen to hide this from customers.
2) Secondly, the base bar hinge region has had the needs for travel prioritised over that of aerodynamic optimisation. Not all of us need to fly with our race bikes and I'd much rather they offered a bar that was a well sorted as Cervelo's than to produce what it, frankly a massive frontal area - purely to incorporate the hinges and benefit a situation many of us will never encounter.
3) The 'optimised for Kona' yaw thing is not ideal bearing in mind many of us race elsewhere and in different conditions. I'm not sure who needs a bike tailored for a yaw that high. It's entirely possible that it is equally good at lower yaws compared to its competition but they haven't shared the evidence of that (see 1).
I really feel Specializeds always high quality products are losing sales because of poor engagement or understanding with their customer base.