Originally published at: THE TEMPUS IS HERE - Slowtwitch News
Unless you have been living under a rock in the world of triathlon for the last 9 months, chances are you have seen this bike already. I think it’s safe to say that the days where bikes go unnoticed until the embargo lifts are long gone. Although, what you probably haven’t seen, is how the bike is actually coming to you instead of the “bastardized” version ridden by some pro athlete that decided to head to THE HOME DEPOT for some bolts and use a borrowed 3D printer so they could jimmy up “The perfect fit.” But, regardless, “SURPRISE!” Here is the long awaited UCI Legal TT bike from Ventum.
A brief History in the Making
Ventum hit the world with its unique frame design back in 2014. Diaa Nour and Jimmy Seear (the founders) were full of life and promise, and we started to notice the brand at the start of 2015.
The “Ventum One” was, in many ways, the same, yet different, than other non-UCI legal bikes that hit the market at that time. Its backward “Z” shape allowed for a different approach to aerodynamics and bottom bracket stiffness. It lacked a intergraded front end, but came with a top tube of water. It was loved and hated at the same time. Since 2014 Ventum has launched a series of new bike types, and even updates to those. We have covered most of these over the years. The new Tempus brings Ventum up to a total of five current offerings, with a grand total of eight bikes brought to market. The breakdown:
Moving the needle forward again.
Working within the restrictions of the UCI the Tempus has been the brain child of many folks. These folks are internal at Ventum, along with outsourced engineers like the ones @ Kevin Quan Studios (KQS). They have also allowed for past “Mistakes” or “Hindsights” to help mold the look, feel and functionally of the bike. Let’s dive into some of these.
Customer Price Point
Ventum has been sensitive on this point for years now. But, it took a while to get to this point. They were finally able to get to those “affordable” numbers with the GS1, and a lot of that had to do with specs and the help of SRAM, (more on that later) but none the less the Ventum ONE was, for the most part, not a “cheap” offering. In fact, it was pretty expensive at the time. Molding costs, integrated front ends and all the other factors for a unique start-up brand usually drives up the base-line cost, and, well, that usually means that when you add in the mark-up to stay in business, it certainly leads to a lot of $$. So, finally after 10 years of being in business, and adding in all those factors, Ventum is really excited about the new price-points being offered.
Baseline Model MSRP $4,999
STACK AND REACH HOT TAKES
| FRAME SIZE | S | M | L | XL |
| [A] PAD STACK* | 562-632 MM | 598-668 MM | 617-687 MM | 635-705 MM |
| [B] PAD REACH* | 421-473 MM | 451-503 MM | 465-517 MM | 478-530 MM |
It’s important to note that the Frameset comes with the upgraded 52 ASC extensions
SRAM RIVAL AXS
- CRANKS SRAM RIVAL AXS | 48-35t Chainrings
- WHEELS Vision Team 30, Tubeless
- TIRES Schwalbe ONE Performance Race Guard, 700x28c
- SEATPOST ZERO OFFSET TEMPUS CARBON SEATPOST
- SADDLE Fizik Aeris SD R5
- BASE BAR Profile Design Wing Ultimate S Base Bar, Carbon
- EXTENSIONS Profile Design 52 A Aerobar Extensions, Alloy
PRICING $4,999.00
This is the bike we have had the chance to really look at and the one we wanted to check out the most. This baseline price point is one we can really get behind when it comes to a full-functioning, high-end TT bike.
Let’s talk CRANK LENGTH for a second. 170’s are the max stock one will be able to pick on any build. They will have 172.5 and 175’s around but you’ll have to pay for it. With the SRAM RIVAL AXS drive train, we don’t see any third party parts on this build. The crank will come with the maxed out 48-35t chainrings on RIVAL and you are looking for something bigger you will need to upgrade to Force or Red as this is the biggest Chain rings in the RIVAL department.
STOCK FIT INFORMATION
S 165 mm crank length
M 165 mm crank length
L 170 mm crank length
XL 170 mm crank length
Vision Team 30, Tubeless
Plenty of options for all the “snack boxes” or “aero bottles” one would need.
30 mm tire clearance shows that Ventum “gets it” when it comes to where the market is.
The phrase “wide is the new aero” isn’t only being used by Ventum. We have seen countless bikes designed this way. A lot of them claim that their bikes are designed around specific wheels to create the perfect combo. Ventum’s claim on aero is that the Tempus is up to 15 watts faster in certain conditions and configurations – that’s compared to its big brother, the Ventum One Disc.
All builds come with the Fizik Aeris SD R5 Saddle, with a built in rear bottle holder that just needs your favorite cage.
There are frame mounts for top tube accessories. Its going to interesting to see what the public does with these on after market parts and 3D printers.
A SOLID FOUNDATION
Months ago. when I was sitting at Ventum HQ talking about this launch, I was really excited about the price points that were going to be offered, and while some people might want something even less in price, the price represented includes solid materials. In other words, the buyer isn’t getting fourth-tier, aftermarket brakes that are going to rust after the first couple of rides in the rain. These are all quality parts, put together so that the buyer has something to enjoy for years to come without hassle. And that is important to me and it’s important to Ventum.
3 other Price Tiers, People Can Go in Over 10K if They Want.
SRAM FORCE AXS
- CRANKS SRAM FORCE AXS | 48-35t Chainrings
- WHEELS Zipp 404 Firecrest, Tubeless
- TIRES Schwalbe ONE Performance Race Guard, 700x28c
- SADDLE Fizik Aeris SD R5
- BASE BAR Profile Design Wing Ultimate S Base Bar, Carbon
- EXTENSIONS Profile Design ASC 52 Aerobar Extensions, Carbon
PRICING $6,499.00
SRAM RED AXS
- CRANKS SRAM RED AXS | 48-35t Chainrings | Power Meter Included
- WHEELS Zipp 808 Firecrest, Tubeless
- TIRES Schwalbe ONE Performance Race Guard, 700x28c
- SEATPOST ZERO OFFSET TEMPUS CARBON SEATPOST
- SADDLE Fizik Aeris SD R5
- BASE BAR Profile Design Wing Ultimate S Base Bar, Carbon
- EXTENSIONS Profile Design ASC 52 Aerobar Extensions, Carbon
PRICING $9,999.00
Shimano Dura Ace Di2
- CRANKS Shimano Dura Ace | 52-36t Chainrings
- WHEELS Zipp 808 Firecrest, Tubeless
- TIRES Schwalbe ONE Performance Race Guard, 700x28c
- SADDLE Fizik Aeris SD R5
- BASE BAR Profile Design Wing Ultimate S Base Bar, Carbon
- EXTENSIONS Profile Design ASC 52 Aerobar Extensions, Carbon
PRICING $10,999.00
Partnerships Matter
I told you I would talk more about SRAM a minute ago (assuming you caught that). Ventum was a long-time Shimano OEM partner and, like many small brands during the COVID boom, they sort of got the shaft from the component company. They were low on the sales list and, to be frank, they needed help and Shimano had other things that they were dealing with. Now I’m not saying Shimano didn’t want their business, but I am saying that Ventum had formed a very good relationship with ZIPP first, which then led to a very successful relationship with SRAM. As these relationships started to form we have been able to see prices come down on Ventum bikes.. I remember when the GS1 V2 had a $2,499 price tag a couple of years back. The current OEM relationship has also included faster ordering time, and that led to savings on inventory needs, which led to savings for the consumer.
The other relationship that led to the success of this bike is the one with Profile Design. After the nine-month delay on the Ventum ONE disc, Barrett Brandon (now CEO) and Diaa gave up on custom-made, integrated aerobars. So, over the last couple of years, they have been working together with Profile to create what a great non-proprietary front end would look like.
The Wing Ultimate S Carbon Base Bar provides the foundation bar for every Tempus, and is combined with either the 52 A Extensions or 52 ASC Extensions, depending on the model. This has given riders “almost” all the adjustability one would need. I say “almost” because, no matter what one does, it’s not quite good enough. 🙂 Because profile works closely with David Bowden or, as we know him cyclenutnz ( per his forum username), stack and reach on this bike is going to be very “on point”
All of the Bike Geometry
NOT “NEW”
Like I stated at the beginning, we have been talking about this bike for a while now.
Other pro’s we haven’t covered are starting to get this bike in their hands, and Ventum has some big announcements to come to go along with Danielle Lewis, Tom Bishop and Steph Clutterbuck, who have all joined the Ventum Family.
MOVING THE BALL FORWARD
To close this out I wanted to point out that the Tempus is more to the brand than a “new bike.” It’s a new directional flag that has been set in the ground. Until this point Ventum has been a little pigeon-holed in the world of professional cycling when we look at talent. The odd shaped Ventum ONE has been tough for professional and age-group triathletes to wrap their heads around. And, even though it’s a great bike, it’s not for everyone. So, with that said, it’s arguable that, for the last couple of years, Ventum’s focus in terms of talent (professional riders) has been around gravel and road Athletes. It’s also tough to have a TOUR Team without a UCI legal bike. Last year I know Ventum had some opportunities to move into the women’s professional team side of things, and it was the lack of a UCI legal bike that ultimately made that decision for them. Still, loyal Ventum triathletes have stayed true to the brand, even though they have suffered with a “heavy” bike. (That’s what most people say – “OMG it’s so HEAVY.”)
So, yeah, if that was you issue before..get inline for the purchase cart cause they fixed that for you.
This is a LARGE Stock Rival AXS weighing it at 20 lbs and 15 oz
This is the SAME stock build with the new Zipp Super – 9 and 858 NSW @ 19 lbs and 10 oz ( minus the cover ) I lost mine 🙁
I liked this bike when I saw it almost a year ago. And I kept liking it as time went on. It’s clean, simple and it looks good. It checks a lot of boxes that anyone needs or wants and it’s priced right. What do I not like? So far… They don’t really have a good marking on the frame size…. Thats about it at this point.
