I'd like to see some close ups of that front brake, looks like quite a clever solution

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nec rege, nec populo, sed utroque

All other things being equal, a sloping top tube 'compact' frame will be lighter than a standard frame of the same size. It'll be more comfortable too thanks to the inbuilt flexibility of the huge seat post.


Ah dammit - I just used that 'equal' phrase ;-)

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"Here's how you run a marathon. Step 1: You start running. Step 2: There is no step 2." - Barney (How I Met Your Mother)

Boy, all the big bike builders keep one-upping each other here lately in the TT design arena. I can hardly wait to see what Trek brings to the table soon, as well as others.

I guess Specialized saw the gap in sales and wanted to close it. It will be interesting to see what pricepoints they use. I think they need to go down by $500 to compete more effectively with Cervelo for the regular rider. But no one ever lowers their prices so at best we can hope they will stay the same.

Thanks for that better image.

I can't wait to get a good look at the rear of that bike. Those seatstays look sick! It looks to me like they absolutely hug that disc right down to the cassette before the flare out. That would have interesting wheel choice implications. Don't dump your flat discs!

Must be something special if it takes 7 guy to build it up.

I know, I know, we need to see what the drag numbers are on the bike in the wind tunnel. But assuming they are on pair with the P4 (according to ST), this is what a fast TT bike is suppose to look like. This thing just look fast standing still.

Those water bottle bosses look low, how does Specialized expect us to be able to reach down and grab a bottle while riding? ;-)

I guess they expect a triathlete to know how to handle a bike.

What is the def. of a 'bayonet' style fork?

the bottle holders don't look low, the top tube looks high, that is not pink text either

And damn, how the hell are we supposed to strap a bento box on to that??!

You strap it onto your seatpost backwards. I can not even believe you had to ask. SHEEESH

Yes the top tube is higher than normal because it's the same height as the stem. The stem is not mounted above the top tube like a normal bike.

True, but I'm often surprised when watching the pros do TTs; how significant the victories are: rarely are they super close. And I'm not too sure how we can attribute those slight differences due to the bike; and secondarily, to the aero-ness of the bike. When you watch the difference between a really good TT rider and a not so good one, - it's almost NEVER due to the bike.


I agree with what Carl Spackler said below:

We've been through this debate before, and I don't want to revisit it, - especially up against TomA's good testing methodologies and science.

However, Carl has a great point in that Aero is not the only concern of a bike manufacturer in a TT bike; and certainly not in a road bike, - where Aero is EVEN LESS a concern than a TT bike. I believe that I'm riding the best manufacturer of road bikes, due to their front fork construction and ability to HELP the RIDER maintain a fixed line on the road. Even Time is making their road frames more aero and look like TT bikes.

To a certain degree, there is and end point where the cost of making the frame more aero outweighs other considerations, - like weight and handling.

Lastly, no matter what frame anyone rides, real world riding comes into play here. A pro time trialist has the ability to handle course idiosyncrasies much better than any of us. Aero position ALWAYS is more important than bike topology. It is better for us to ride a LESS AERO bike that is more stable, even with a more slack Aero position, and be able to stay in that position longer, than to have a more Aero bike and constantly be getting out of the aero position. We can say all things being equal, but all things NEVER are in the real world. Everything matters, but no one does everything, so we have to weigh the things that are most important first, then move on down the road. Ride harder.

How many guys does it take to build up a Specialized TT bike?













7
6 guys drinking the wine and 1 guy building up the bike.

People were saying that the P4 looks almost 2D, so what does it make this bike? 1.5D?
All the other bike manufactures must just be saying 'Oh crap, now what?'

The photographer from SRAM can't tell the difference between Andy and Fränk.
If he can't tell them apart by looking at their faces he can just look at their jerseys; only Fränk is the current national champion of Luxembourg.
(Although Fränk is not the TT champ but only but RR champ. Kim Kirchen is the current TT champ of Luxembourg).

Do all new TT bikes have to be black with white lettering?

Cancellara rode the new Specialized TT frame in the prologue of Tour de Romandie today: http://grahamwatson.com/...orm&09romandiePr
Also notice he use a Zipp Sub-9 rear wheel. Before this CSC/Saxo has been riding flat Zipp 900 disc wheels both on their Cervélo P3C last year and Specialized Transition so far this year.



http://cyclingnews.com/...=results/romandie090
He only finished 11th which is a bit disappointing for a short 3.1 km prologue like this where he often dominates everyone else, and this was even on homecourt in Switzerland.
Of course in short prologues like this the margins are very small and it only takes one mistake to lose a few seconds and drop severals places in the ranking, and 5 seconds isn't much.
Maybe he has to get used to his new TT bike too.

Um, really I am interested in this new super bike - but check out those right quads on Cancellara!!! Yikes.

You bet I am, but oh well.

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http://bryanlh.blogspot.com/

Cancellara's placing is probably due to being sick, and then getting injured so he missed all the racing of the spring classics. It goes to show that even the fastest bike design doesnt matter if the form isnt there. I guess all other things werent equal today.
Funny that Valverde beat him on his Pinarello, Piti must have been getting more treatments........

Kevin

New Walser?

A few conspiracy theories...

1. Whomever is developing the new Uber-TT bike, whether it be Giant, Scott, Specialized or Brand "X" wanted to have the best TT Rider put it through real world conditions...so, they contracted with him to do just that?

2. Since we have now seen VERY SIMILAR bikes with Giant, Scott and Specialized floating around, there is a mole out there selling the secrets to the highest bidder? Who will get to market first?

I seem to recall Cervelo having filed some type of design sketches which showed something similar to the front end we now see prior to developing the P4?

3. Perhaps all three (Giant, Scott & Specialized) are all working for someone else to help develop the new stealth-drone fighter to be shipped over to Afghanistan as part of the Government's new special project. They are all working on a piece of the puzzle but they don't know how or when it will all be put together and for what use.

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"There is no charge for awesomeness or attractiveness." Po "The Dragon Warrior", Kung-Fu Panda