Specialized S-Works Aethos: First Ride Review 

Onkar Indurkar thank you!

@Telephone Tales what is that?

Why are all these people only focusing on the lack of (inferior) rim brakes on this bike? They don't see the bigger picture here - light weight without a frame rigidity penalty.

It doesn't have tubulars. These are clincher wheels.

Besides how you coulf afford two of them, always take manufacturer weight with a handful of salt

My size 56 weights 680 gm

1000% correct. Save $9k find a 2018 Scott addict RC with Dura Ace or SRAM Red 10 and you’ve got this bike with funds for a spare bike and Lightweight wheels! I don’t get this AT ALL!

@@craigpavia2169 You guys are missing the point here. Specialized has figured out how to lighten the frames without losing the required stiffness, which will benefit all their future carbon bikes, not just these expensive proof-of-concept machines.

@@rlsedition I fully understand the world of R&D and trickle down tech which I think is the point. That said this bike is a slap in the face to anyone who purchased any modern aero-bike (this includes me) since it showcases that bike weight factors 5-10x more than any aero gain. My comment is for the world of riders (weekenders/sport) who looked at disc brakes and asked why? Why do I need them? Why do I need to replace my $$$-rims? Why do I need to learn new-tech to keep my pads from rubbing? I am all about watching pros freak out when the brakes lock up (see TDF) but I am NOT advocating riding a stiff and heavy aero-bike for any one who isn't getting paid to do it. I can purchase a rim brake Trek Emonda or Scott Addict to achieve this overall weight. Your comment "Specialized has figured out" is basically saying they are using "uni-directional fiber" which has been known and used for years in aerospace, automotive and cycling. They just took an existing Merida Scultura platform and reduced carbon mass as far as I can tell, also stripped off all the paint and shaved the forks to an insane thinness that looks bizarre to my eyes (not to mention weak.) I still can't get over the $12k price tag!!!

@@craigpavia2169 Sorry that you bought a bike that has been eclipsed by the Aethos, but buyers have a choice - aero, lightweight or a bit of both (SL7). I'm a mountain biker and we crossed the disc brake bridge over a decade ago. Of course they work better than rim brakes, especially when you have carbon wheels. OBTW, properly set up disc brakes don't rub on the rotors and it's not hard to adjust them. The "magic" in the Aethos is the light weight without losing frame rigidity.

@@rlsedition Well actually I own several bikes and one of them is basically the Aethos without disc breaks...it's an Emonda with a standard seat-tube and limited area (round) tubes. It's super light and thanks to my SRAM Red 10 (still the lightest groupset around) and when I slap my lightweight rims on (which is never really) it beats the UCI minimum; it didn't cost me 12k either!!!! . I will never buy any aero-bike again but more importantly wouldn't now that even Specialized is admitting that it can produce a super stiff bike with round tubes and that weight/comfort supersede any gains from aero designs that work wonderfully in a test environment like a wind tunnel but are really crap when it is placed in ANY direction but dead-on into the wind. Specialized released the SL7 and tells consumers its the best of both worlds but a smart consumer would look deeper and save some dollars and buy a rim brake Scultura/Emonda/Addict etc. I'll bet they will race this bike next year at the UCI min because the riders will want it. As for disc brakes it is clearly something mountain bikes get use out of, but a roadie hardly needs anything like that stopping power. Pro riders were paid extra to ride discs and now the manufacturers have made it impossible to ride without them...I hear many pro riders are still riding rim brakes when out training.

Andy Corso very perceptive point - we see this as targeting the bespoke market to an extent... The geometry is identical to the SL7, so it reflects a fairly racey endurance bike.

Cyclist I think it’ll do well...... it appeals to me anyway

Being under the UCI weight limit was the point of this bike; no constraints.

Looks like Giant is right when they introduce compact geometry.

So are the prices of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but there is a market for the "best" in every product segment..