Consider if the intention is not to reduce drag but to give the appearance that you (as a bike manufacturer) have said, “Tradition be damned. I will make a radical design.” This may have the effect of making your bike seem fast and therefore sell well (at least initially). Consider that maybe less time and money may be invested to make a new bike that looks “radical” than might be required to do the science to design and test a truly dogma shattering bike. I have no way of knowing what work went into this bike. Just consider that “radical” can also be a fashion.

Hello SteveMc and All,

Thanks for posting.



It is possible that some decent drag reductions could be achieved with properly shaped wheel fenders .... front and back ....

Although reworking the 'old fashioned' existing simple fork design might not achieve an overall gain in drag reduction.

Without rain would fenders be classified as 'fairings'?

Looks like the camel has his nose in the tent ....

Perhaps next step is a butt 'fender cone' .... a streamlined 'butt cone' to fend of water spray from the back wheel (and reduce drag).

Proof in pudding .... how does bike test in tunnel?

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

The P5-X is a great bike. I wouldn't call someone who bought one a "fool."

But if I were a triathlete of the class for whom $10-$20K is basically pocket change, what's not to like? There's good evidence it's extraordinarily aerodynamically efficient. Super easy to set up. Presumably great braking. What's not to like?

It's not the most cost-effective bike. But whatever...if cost-effectiveness is a high priority for you, buy a P2 or something.

I don't quite get all the P5-X butthurt.

And I'm a damned roadie.

(yawn) 1 out of 10 on the troll-o-meter.

I'm really glad I got that 1/10.

Nice idea that looks viable ..

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___/\___/\___/\___ the s u r f b o a r d of the K u r p f a l z is the r o a d b i k e .. oSo >>

So I can race this, but I can't run an extented stem with a chest pad and rock the egg on my funny bike?

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Pain is inevitable. Suffering is up to you.

I wonder why they use the set-forward seatpost, when they could just make the beam a few inches shorter, and use a regular post.

Love it! I just like the out of the box thinking..

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

Probably because it is the reversible post they already use on all of their current TT/Tri bikes.

Having been sponsored by Ceepo, yes I like the look of this new design.

BUT, from a geometry standpoint..... Has anyone looked closely at the rake/trial of the headtube and front wheel axle???? From the picture, it looks very large. Meaning, the bike will turn like a chopper style motorcycle, ie: not well at all.

It could be the picture, but to me the rake/trail is way off for any decent turning, especially at any speed or sharp cornering. So, perhaps this is just a rendering picture??

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Team Zoot-Texas, and Pickle Juice

It’s certainly never going in a bike box :)

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

I don't disagree with you, but was in a shop one day last year, when a new moderately obese P5X owner came in demanding the stem/pads be raised. The shop manager looked at her with a bit of exasperation as she was already the high limit and wanted to be raised another 2 inches or so...funniest thing I witnessed in days.

He was gently trying to tell her that losing 50lbs might allow her to actually ride the bike within the designed front end tolerances...Some people who have the money need to be on a P2 it seems...

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

I was going to make a post about the shark fin on the fender/fork and then I thought maybe it has to do with the transition from the fender sloping up to it sloping down toward the head tube which made me realize:

That wheel is WAY in front of the head tube and the steering axis. This bike seems to fit into the previously unknown category of "short and low".

Handling is going to be... strange.

This kinda makes me think this is not real. It looks like maybe it was deleted from that bike radar post?

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Specialized fUCI?

Yes, function defines form, but you can design something aero and it be nice to look at : Cinelli Laser, Lotus 108, and English spring to mind.

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

i'm interested in knowing why you think it's got too much, or not enough, offset. i think whatever you're looking at is an optical illusion. i did a quick and dirty overlay of a p5x image, lining up the head tube top, and the front dropouts of both bikes lined up pretty spot on.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

i don't know if it's a real bike or not, but a couple of points. first, i just think you and taugen are wrong. your eyes are playing tricks on you. i'd be surprised if that isn't a very conventional steering geometry.

second, there's been a guy making the rounds, i've run into him a few times, he's an inventor, he's got some spokes he's invented, and he's got a sort of add-on fender like this. but it's not a fender. if you think about it, the spokes are rotating with the wind from the dropout down. they're rotating against the wind the entire upper half of the wheel. so, rather than fairing the whole wheel, you simply fair the top half. the ceepo guys are some of the most innovative in cycling. they're not dumb. i'd be very surprised if this wasn't their thinking.

now, they either did or didn't miss an opportunity. one very, very big issue in tri bike riding today is steering torque. i wrote about this here, and i used this drawing in the article i wrote.



see all that green? and tan? that's what sits in front of the steering axis, and in front of the front tire contact patch. along with your body, all that green and tan gets hit in the wind, and it pushes you rotationally around the steering axis.

see that purple? if the fork included some sort of surface area extension back there, to neutralize the steering torque, you could ride a much more aerodynamic bike with impunity.

enter that ceepo "fender", which acts, theoretically, both as a fairing in the most important part of the bike, and as a steering torque neutralizer.

now how ugly is the bike?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

When I first saw this bike here this morning, my answer was "bike is ugly AF."

After revisiting a couple times since, it now has me thinking "hmmmm."

It still looks to me ugly AF, but find myself wondering if some of the unusual design choices make it faster, and each time I conclude that Ceepo may be on to something in the aero sense, I find myself thinking it's ever so slightly less ugly AF.

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099

You guys are all going to laugh...but I actually kind of like it. It's similar to some ideas I've sketched out in the past.

It still doesn't need disc brakes though. Although, the front end does have the possibility of minimizing the aero drag hit a bit more than a regular fork. The rear braking disc is still just literally redundant ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

...it also reminds me of this:

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

<nitpick> The spokes below the hub are still moving forwards into the wind, just slower...


from: https://www.bikeradar.com/...-spoke-patent-52423/

Haha that was my first thought??? Remove the fork (if you call it that) and pack it beside maybe?

i don't mind your nitpick. my explanation just seemed the easiest way to explain the concept.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

For obvious reasons, I am quite fond of the Bowden Spacelander.
The Ceepo, not so much, though they claim it is much faster than a traditional design.