Exactly. Kind of wish there was a way to rework the aluminum on my old P3 to flatten it out since I rarely put a bottle on my downtube because of the complete airfoil shape. Although I guess all hydration solutions should go BTA and under saddle before going to downtube bosses.

some more shots http://www.bikeradar.com/...otype-spotted-44547/

noticed the bike rader post this morning, those brakes look like a nightmare.....and to be honest the madone and even the current venge look more visually appealing. I dont know, this current model looks like it is 'trying' too much.

sounds like solid judgment based on data and facts :)

Better shots than those posted earlier. Think it's interesting that the pivot point on the front brake is reversed from the rear. The rear brake can be considered comparable to a faired "V" brake. The front brake rotates the pivot orientation so it's at right angles to the fork instead of parallel to it. Clearly trying to use the brakes to add some chord depth.

Also novel is the dropped center on the handlebars, presumably to reduce a bit of frontal area in the stem region. Will be interesting to see how they handled the cable routing in the front, both in the stem area and the steerer tube. The stem appears to have a conventional handlebar clamp but clearly all cables are routed completely internally.

Have never had a bike with a "V" brake so can't speak to the centering problems, but hopefully Spesh has found a way around this issue.

I am not sure about the dropped center on the bars as it seems to just create more surface area. That being said, I am sure Spec has done their homework and I would guess that they will say it save 3-4 watts over standard bars and tested as the most aero drop bars they have tested.

its how i roll :D

If you think about the frontal area, the dropped handlebar doesn't really make sense. If it was just the stem, then it would reduce frontal area by overlapping stem frontal area with head tube. Once you add the handlebar, you are increasing frontal area in the handlebar. Whether it completely offsets the reduced frontal area of the stem, I don't know, but it at least offsets some of the difference.

Interested to see the data, but it seems a bit goofy. An aero drop bar (something like the S5 or Canyon) seems like a more elegant solution.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but this bike gives the Shiv Tri a run for its money in the "ugliest race bike on the market". The front end of the bike make its look like its suffering a from a serious disease.

Anyone want to take a wag?

We know that the bars and stem alone will account for 3-4 watts as they will have to complete with the claims that Cervelo made with their new bars.

I would guess 5-6 watts.

My head tech looked at the bike radar pics this morning and said it appears the brakes are mechanical and not hydraulic. So maybe the patent drawings are for a work still in progress.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

You guys are assuming that every Venge is going to come with these bars. It may well be that Cav opted for these bars to get the fit he desires, not that it is the standard spec.

We don't really know at this time......

But somebody needs to tell Cav not to wrap the bars all the way over the tops....that looks like a Cat V job.

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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

I think I got it, the dropped bars are not for reducing frontal area. They are for allowing clip on aero bars to be positioned very low. If you position a handle bar normally and then put on clip-ons, they clip-ons will be mounted too high for a very low aero position. With these bars you can have the optimum normal handle bar position and have nice low position when on clip-ons.

no

Any guesses on how many watts this new Venge will save over the current Venge?

At what speed and air density?

My thought when I first saw it was "this thing is aero as hell". They really pulled out all the stops. Sure it looks a little funky, but aero is beautiful, baby. And if Cav uses it in the TdF then it is a safe bet that it rides and is is torsionally stiff enough for us.

The trend towards "road aero" is one I can embrace. It isn't just for TTs.

Many of the design elements are clearly more advanced than what the Shiv TT is using, which makes me wonder when that bike is getting updated.

Yes. I have.

Making lots of assumptions it seems a claim of ~600g drag savings at 50kph over a standard frame appears to be materializing or about ~300g over the current Venge.
Roughly translated from a standard road bike
30kph saves 360s over 40km for -600 g of drag
40kph saves 300s over 40km for -600 g of drag
50kph saves 240s over 40km for -600 g of drag

Roughly translated from a typical aero road frame (current Venge)
30kph saves 180s over 40km for -300 g of drag
40kph saves 150s over 40km for -300 g of drag
50kph saves 120s over 40km for -300 g of drag

Dr. AC ROT:
50g @ 50kph = 5s/10km = 5w = .005 m2 CdA = .0005 Crr

I'm guessing their claim will boast an average of 30 watts saved over the current aero offer and up to 50 watts in w.c.s situations.
I can't wait for the information embargo to get lifted and eventually get a chance to get one of these.

-SD

jeez what a gorgeous bike. I was on the fence btw an felt AR and a BMC TMR01, now I think I'm going to wait

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

No way they spec those funky bars over the aerofly they have now. This has to be just for cav to get his fit.

Looks like they turned these into drop bars:

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

I like the look but I am not sure about a few details.

As for the bars drop I am assuming that this is in place of spacers under the stem and/or a stem with some rise to it. It makes sense in some ways but not sure if it has a net decrease on drag as then there are two parts breaking the wind instead of a single part.

As for the front brakes you can already see that the front pivot causes uneven wear on the pads and may not completely use the entire pad as the front may barely have any pressure applied. I would also be worried about wear in a long wet ride as the pads may wear to the holder very quickly. I am not sure why they went away from a bottom pivot as they did in the rear.

I am also surprised that they did not go wider on the downtube to break the wind for bottles. I would like to see this extended for large bottles as most of us use in the real world where we have to carry our own water for the entire ride.

I can somewhat see that with the front brakes (the aero part). But the data will be key.

But it is hard for me to see how the rear brake is any more aero than alternatives.

You?

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The current Venge saves 1 min per 40k over a tarmac by there own testing. (Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p8SdRRe1fo) Chopping 4 more minutes off of that would be impressive to say the least. Even if they didn't include an Aero Fly bar (being genourous 30 sec) and if you throw in the 34 secs from wheels (same test) you still have to come up with 2 min from the frame alone. That is quite the tall order.

From what picture did you draw all of these conclusions?

The one picture from Bike Radar, where the fork is turned slightly, just looks like they toe-in the pads a bit.