*Tour Aero Bike Tests*

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Stueys
Posts: 673
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2014 1:12 pm

by Stueys

cyclespeed wrote:
Wed May 15, 2019 1:33 pm

I am wary of anything that deadens feel or makes climbing uncomfortable. Of course I haven't tried all aero bikes, but a few, and I have heard many stories from friends that find them unresponsive when climbing (and descending).
Ultimately this is a geo and weight question. i.e if you want something that feels like a punchy climbing bike then go light with short chain stays. I think what we are seeing now with the latest iteration of aero bikes the line is getting very blurred, if you compare Venge geo to Tarmac geo, there isn't much difference, certainly nothing I can see that's going to make the Venge feel dead on climbs. Likewise the weight is pretty close.

I think the early iterations of aero bikes certainly struggled, likewise some manufacturers are deliberately chosing to keep clear air between their 'aero' bikes and their 'climbing' bikes. But certainly that's not all of the current crop.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3191
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

I don't think it's just a geo and weight issue. I think for a long time due to the shape of the tubes, manufacturers just added a bunch of extra carbon to get the stiffness on par (or close to) what a traditional round tube would be. This resulted in the bike feeling dead I think. However, at least with the Bianchi XR4 and the Wilier Cento10Air, they did not feel any different climbing than my Focus Izalco Max and descending the Bianchi felt on par with the Max while the Wilier was a step above.

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

It’s not the geo... for example, both the Madone and the Emonda have exactly the same geo. Despite the Madone having isospeed (which is not that effective when you consider the tube shapes it’s trying to overcome), and doesn’t affect the front end at all, the Emonda still has a much nicer and more nimble feeling to it. When you look at the downtube differences it’s hard to imagine the Madone being anything but relatively harsher, despite isospeed. The downtube, with its aero shape just has very little, if not zero vertical compliance at all. Isospeed can’t overcome that, just tries to isolate the rider above from it a bit. Whereas the Emonda downtube and relevant stays to top tube transition just translates into a much nicer ride overall. It’s a nicer riding/feeling bicycle.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

I'm seeing that Roglic is riding an aero Bianchi with disc brakes. I wonder if he will switch off to a climber's bike later.

Noctiluxx
Posts: 1336
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:17 pm
Location: Southern California

by Noctiluxx

AJS914 wrote:
Wed May 15, 2019 5:29 pm
I'm seeing that Roglic is riding an aero Bianchi with disc brakes. I wonder if he will switch off to a climber's bike later.
First time seeing him ride a disk XR4. Pretty sure the rain had something to do with it.
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

He probably wanted the disc brakes for the rain.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

I personally do not feel a meaningful difference in my Madone and Emonda when descending technical stuff, but as soon as I got my Madone I started smashing all of my downhill segment PRs. The aero benefits just get magnified at 35-50mph. I fully admit it’s possible that my ability to detect subtle handling differences isn’t as developed as others.

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3191
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

If I recall correctly, all of Lotto solely rode the XR4 last year. I don't think they ride the Speciallisima.

ichobi
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:30 pm

by ichobi

I don't remember that team ever raced on a Speciallissima. Kinda wanna know why.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

ichobi wrote:
Wed May 15, 2019 9:14 pm
I don't remember that team ever raced on a Speciallissima. Kinda wanna know why.

They most certainly did in 2016, but not since then.

hannawald
Posts: 1706
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:28 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by hannawald

Someone from young junior riders sponsored by Bianchi won some race on Specialissima and there is a team whose riders make videos on youtube and just one of them is on Specialissima while others on Oltre. Hard to say why there is no love for Specialissima, reviewers were pretty excited about it and my Bianchi dealer says that most of the local hobby racers prefer Specialissima to Oltre when they have chance to try both bikes. But they sell more Oltres. Specialissimas head tube and fork is aero inspired so with proper bars and wheels it should not be aero disaster but Lotto is solely on Oltre. I have read an oppinion that Oltre is so good climbing that there is no need to change bikes for mountaneous stages and get used to something else..but would really like to know real reasons.

CAAD8FRED
Posts: 465
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:52 pm

by CAAD8FRED

hannawald wrote:
Wed May 15, 2019 10:36 pm
Someone from young junior riders sponsored by Bianchi won some race on Specialissima and there is a team whose riders make videos on youtube and just one of them is on Specialissima while others on Oltre. Hard to say why there is no love for Specialissima, reviewers were pretty excited about it and my Bianchi dealer says that most of the local hobby racers prefer Specialissima to Oltre when they have chance to try both bikes. But they sell more Oltres. Specialissimas head tube and fork is aero inspired so with proper bars and wheels it should not be aero disaster but Lotto is solely on Oltre. I have read an oppinion that Oltre is so good climbing that there is no need to change bikes for mountaneous stages and get used to something else..but would really like to know real reasons.
Wonder what makes it a good climber? I've personally noticed many aero bikes used on climbs like the Foil, Madone, and Oltre are heavier but have higher seat stays than the Venge and SysSix.

spdntrxi
Posts: 5791
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

if the specialissma was direct mount brakes .. I probably would have bought one a few years ago
2024 BMC TeamMachine R Building
2018 BMC TImeMachine Road
2002 Moots Compact-SL- getting aero look makeover
2019 Parlee Z0XD - "classified"
2023 Pivot E-Vault - completed project, full Xplr package

Noctiluxx
Posts: 1336
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:17 pm
Location: Southern California

by Noctiluxx

CAAD8FRED wrote:
Wed May 15, 2019 11:51 pm
hannawald wrote:
Wed May 15, 2019 10:36 pm
Someone from young junior riders sponsored by Bianchi won some race on Specialissima and there is a team whose riders make videos on youtube and just one of them is on Specialissima while others on Oltre. Hard to say why there is no love for Specialissima, reviewers were pretty excited about it and my Bianchi dealer says that most of the local hobby racers prefer Specialissima to Oltre when they have chance to try both bikes. But they sell more Oltres. Specialissimas head tube and fork is aero inspired so with proper bars and wheels it should not be aero disaster but Lotto is solely on Oltre. I have read an oppinion that Oltre is so good climbing that there is no need to change bikes for mountaneous stages and get used to something else..but would really like to know real reasons.
Wonder what makes it a good climber? I've personally noticed many aero bikes used on climbs like the Foil, Madone, and Oltre are heavier but have higher seat stays than the Venge and SysSix.
I have three aero bikes, 2019 Madone SLR, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, and the Oltre XR4. The Bianchi is by far the best of the bunch for any type of climbing. The frame with the Vision Metron 5D bar are so stiff that you get a feel of propulsion unlike the other bikes. Its a brilliant bike.
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



byronfat
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 10:16 pm
Location: Norway
Contact:

by byronfat

I agree with the review. Thats why I cant seem to get away from this bike. Always wind up coming back

Post Reply