TBH, it looks alot better without the huge pitcher in the back. But, that foil most likely makes it more aero.

I'm not in Kona, but I have seen way more P5x's at races this past year and a half than I would have expected. At Oceanside in 2017 there were maybe 1-3 total. At Oceanside 2018 there were noticeably more. Same has been true at St. George, CdA, Santa Rosa.

It might be very fast, but it is surely ridiculous looking.

I would tend to agree, particularly since aero gains from one generation to the next are nowhere near as significant as they used to be. And they are often now focusing on certain situational gains (crosswinds, for example) as opposed to all-around gains since things have already become so optimized.

Small pump in the bottom bracket connecting the rear hydration through the m&m's to the mouthpiece & bingo, no more energy wasted sucking on a tube.

An all in one hydration & nutrition system for sailing through the bike course.

I'd rather see a coffee maker module in the downtube fuelselage that the water reservoir feeds. It would be awesome on early morning training rides to be able to drink fresh-brewed coffee through the straw without ever having to leave the aero position.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

 
Hello

first post on Slowtwich for me. Sorry for the english, I'm french...

1 minute of aero gain over an Ironman : based on my beloved calculator, carefully calibrated through hours of ride on the track and road, 1mn over 180km around pro speed (40 km/h) equal : 2,1 w
i.e. 1,2 watt for me (around 33km/h)
i.e. 21 g of drag at 30mph (to compare to several studies like "Tri bikes at the age of peak aero", ...)
i.e. I will get twice or three time this saving replacing my good old ultregra pulley wheels with a nice 16 or 17 teeth OSPW from Cycling Ceramic or Ceramic Speed or whoever,,, just for comparing.

Please note this is nearly the margin error in an aero test.

Please note also we do not know which yaw repartition for this result (to my (lack of) knowledge)

Remark 1 : how can a big brand with big R&D can arrive to such a small result, reworking completely the bike ?
My view is that it is coming from the negative impact of disk brakes on aero.
Disk brake have such shitty aero that reworking the rest of the bike with radical new solution barely compensate ?
I'm curious to see the results of future Cervelo P5 (or P3) Rim vs Disk aero drag, based on various yaw. It will give us some real comparison figures.

Remark 2 : disk brakes is a clear trend (forced, but real), so brands need (want) to go there. For aero bikes, such as Tri bikes, it is still to be proven it is a good point for users. And this point appear to be difficult to prove. This bike is an exemple. Releasing a new 10/14k€/USD bike with no aero gain (thanks to margin error) based on unknown (but certainly oriented) yaw, is certainly not what Specialized expected...
Their previous bike already not an aero rocket... this one possibly worse (with not favorable yaw) ?
These products managers are not in a good situation...

Remark 3 : I love disk brakes, when going downhill for hundreds or thousands of meters of D- in Pyrenees or Alps... Much safer, much stronger. Especially with rain. But probably in a flat tri it will bring me nothing. Except drag ?
I'm ready to go disk, for safety reasons in downhill, under rain, but given the price to change one road and one TT/Tri bike (one with basic/training wheel, the other with 55mm aero wheels, frequently swapped depending on usage), I guess I will wait 1, 2 or 3 years in order to let the offer stabilize, then go to mid price models (such as P3 Disk, S3 Disk, or Trek, Spe, Canyon, Argon... equivalent).
Probably no or little aero gain (compared to my existing P3 2014), but safer.

No doubt early adopters and less price-sensitive peoples will go sooner for these disk equipped babies. Aero gains are ... ahem.... not guaranteed ?

No one has mentioned the obvious - peeing while on the bike could result in your urine making its way into the hydration tank.

No.

It's a bladder system with a straw. The bladder fits into the draft box. It's not an open tank.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Similar to Camelbak then - you have to remove the cover then open the bladder? Doesn't seem all that useful for long course racing.

How is it not useful? You get 2 bottles of water in a bladder. Then, you have a BTA up front and a bottle behind the saddle if you need. That's 4 bottles of water. The bladder gets you through half of an Ironman course.

You guys are missing the bigger picture.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I was just thinking of that. The BTA is a must, especially one you can swap out or refill. I suppose the question is if you set the bike up with sufficient hydration and food how does it effect the aerodynamics? That's a question I also have for some of these really wild designs like the Ceepo Phantom, the frame might be super fast but once you strap bottles and bags all over it then what?

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

Bikes are coming out that are fully integrated and allow you to carry everything you need for an Ironman, and it's not good enough. With the new Shiv, everything is hidden in the frame. What more can you ask for?

Bicycle only drag charts are meaningless because they aren't testing with storage and bottles. Pure frame drag doesn't mean anything once bottles get put on, bentos are attached, and flat kits are placed somewhere.

But you know....people argue all day long about the aerodynamics of a 23 mm or 24mm tire but won't even give a bike the time of day that has everything thought of.

It's hilarious to watch.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I'm only replying to a portion of your post but I agree with your points, and this is similar to what I was commenting on earlier. The aero gains manufacturers are making these days are so so minimal because bikes have already been optimized so far. Specialized must recognize this too, despite all the work I am sure they have put into the design.

All that said, whether they acknowledge it or not, I appreciate that they seems to be giving us honest numbers on time savings, etc. I am sure they also wanted to release a bike that saved people so much they *had* to go get it, but there's only so much more they can do....

Hey All,

I am here to answer some questions about the bike.

1. The hydration system does come in multiple sizes - There are currently 4 sizes based on the change in top tube height that help put the Fuelcell within the expected saddle adjustment ranges. The system can also be cut-to-fit for a rider that has a unique morphology.
2. The frame has a permanently installed conduit within the frame that makes bladder removal very easy. You can push or pull the bladder system out with 1-hand. The permanent conduit makes sure you arent battling debris, tools, cabling, etc...while performing this process.


• The photo of the clear frame is not the production system - It is a mockup - The way it was made does not allow for the internal conduit and production lid system, etc...
  
3. The rear reservoir is removeable! It is only 2 bolts and it comes off. Of course this feature is a big aero benefit at yaw, so removing it is not recommended but its the riders choice.
4. BTA, TT and ST mounting points are provided for flexibility in mounting additional storage/nutrition
5. The front nosecone is removable to allow access to all of the cabling and hydration straw for further ease of use

Come by the SHIV Launch display next to Ceramic Speed by Huggos this week to check it out in person!

That is amazing! Thanks for posting.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

That's not a hydration system, he's running a catheter that allows him to pee without ruining the paint job on his bike.

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I'm closer to the feathered end of the spear than the point.

For those that want to test ride it, it's now an available bike on Zwift.

As I said in the other thread about the new Shiv, I like the bike and I believe that Specialized will sell them as quickly as they choose to produce them. The old Shiv was "ugly" when it came out according to the masses but they sure sold a lot of them.

I don't know. I live in San Diego, and regularly train on Fiesta Island, which is a common stomping ground for tri bikes. I've seen one. Compared to tons and tons of IAs, P5s, NP3s, Shivs, Speed Concepts, etc.

I could see there maybe being a higher concentration at bigger WTC races vs. "in the wild" as I imagine a good portion of the P5x crowd may not use the bike as their daily driver.

Slowtwitch alone has 20,000 views and over 500 post about the new Shiv between three post. Along with all their athletes posting today, I also think they will have no problem selling all they make.

1. Is it possible to fit anything else in the hydration system for trainings or is there any other box that fits tyres, CO2 etc. which could be mounted behind the seat post?
2. The limited edition will be shipped in March but is there also a standard version coming out next year (hopefully only as frame set)?
3. Is it true that this is more or less a prototype limited to 500pc and it depends if they sell well or not weather there will be a 2nd series of it or not?
4. Its said that the design is specifically for Kona. Does that mean that the benefits of the bike are below the margin when comes to other races?

Here is my quick review video.

Nice vid. Better than all the Specialized one at showing all the features. Just like the P5x it does seem very well thought out in terms of adjustment, storage, and travel.

That said, only a minute faster than an optimized old Shiv isn’t much given that the old Shiv always seemed to be a ways back in all the other manufacturers drag charts. There’s the argument that adding bottle and nutrition to the frame will slow a bike down, but that’s not necessarily the case. Well placed items can often be drag neutral and in some cases (such as a BTA bottle) can lower the drag. Not having to slow down at aid stations would be nice. But that happens twice in an Ironman? And not at all in a half or shorter.

That said, I’m sure I’ll be riding by a few of these at WTC races next season

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Matt

Well, Sarah is a lot better at selling an ugly bike than the folks at Specialized.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.