For most of us, road bikes are really toys and not tools to win races. Despite having an aero bike as my main "toy", I somehow have a feeling that superlight climbing bikes make a lot of sense for many of us who just want a fun toy to ride. I'm not sure if responsiveness has that much impact on speed, but a responsive bike will for sure give a very entertaining ride.
Agree. Enjoyment vs excitement. For aero bike I feel more excited because of a bit more speed, for my climbing rim brake bike I feel more enjoyment and more response. Two different feelings though.
lightweight is always fast but at a certain point speed 35kph if the headwind is strong u lost the advantanges really,or maybe should get those lightweight with aero features will be better still
I love your Aethos to be honest, seriously thinking of this bike now. My personal favorite was the Tarmac SL4..! (never had the SL5) I miss the feel of that ride, and the way it would descend so accurately.
Very nice bike and kind of reminds me of my 'old' 2016 Canyon SLX 8.0. A bare bones lightweight (6.7kg) all round bike which I still enjoy riding. Thank You for introducing us to the 'Aethos', it's on my radar now. 👍👌
It's a beauty! Easily one of the finest-looking road bike there is. A very elegant bike. I'd say, it is as beautiful as my old-time favourite, the Salsa WarBird 2019 / 2020 / 2021.
@@ronykuba do you still have this bike? I am genuinely thinking getting the S Works model... to replace a Giant TCR and a Pinarello... would love to hear your thoughts. How does it handle side winds?
The Dura-ace rotor looks too sophisticated for the bike. I think XTR or Sram centerline X rotors would match aesthetic of the bike better. I recall that you had those rotors too, right?
Good walk thru. Curious, how would you compare general riding between the tarmac and aethos. In not asking around aero or climbing, but just general ride feel, turning, changing direction etc. BtW, I did read thread down below on rim VS disc, past four bikes have been disc, and I have now invested in appropriate tools and find tuning discs. Once you have nailed your methods of looking after this, disc is amazing. Confidence and feel on repeatedly slowing down in all weather conditions (not just rain but cold weather) or carbon rims is superior. Once you have that, you cannot go back to rim brakes. Unless u live in fort Lauderdale type regions where its flat and dry mainly, discs in my opinion are superior. Follows by tubeless tires.... But let's leave that out of the equation for now.
The bar tape appears to be quality, too. By the looks of it, I'd say it's very comfortable (as are the Fabrics that I have) and will likely last, as well (idem, the Fabric bar tape). It does appear to be the same material as my favourite, the Fabric bar tapes - I doubt there is a better bar tape out there. Fabric, this one (by the looks of it), LizardSkins would be the tapes of choice for me. Everything else is junk, at least - everything else I've tried.
I was never a big fan of the aethos but I’m starting to like the looks, super aesthetic. But I would still prefer the venge. Love the hubs aswell the sound is amazing
@@ronykuba I've been thinking about this... Given that it's a round seatpost, anything would stop one to rotate the post? Honest question. I really want to know if it'd be something dangerous or just "ugly".
Hello Sir, I am not used to road biking. Can you help me to make the choice to build up the bike or just buy atheos pro? Do you think it mike a big difference if I go with other wheels? Best wishes George and very nice build sir! And do you got some more videos or photos (would be very nice) if you can show me. And whats your riding expierence with it? Thank you Sir
Amazing bike you have built... i am thingking about getting one myself. Although you mention it in the video, i was still wondering, if you can feel any difference at all, between the s-works model and the "normal" specialized one. Dou you think, there is a difference? I mean especially concerning stiffness and ride quality.... comfort, acceleration and general handeling?
@@ronykuba thank you for your reply. One more question: would you say aero gains are massive compared to for instance a tarmac sl7? I am a pretty low to medium level rider with about 6000 to 7000km per year. Would you say, I would notice the aero gains of a tarmac?
I’m a fan of Aero bike in general, but I recently bougth a SupersixEvo 2017 at a fair price and this bike become my aero bike set-up. Combo wheel 85/65mm , long Stem, narrow bar and a proper fit. Feel very fast and tight positioning... this is what I realized. Good idea to do your thing with this bike and test your idea for real.
the difference between this and your aero would be less than 20 watts, given the fact this is way lighter, some of the non aero benefit would be negated by your sprint which is the deciding factor as this will respond faster. spending a ton more on aero frame doesnt make sense, try timed sprint of 500 meter on both bikes and let us know, if your races are not downhill. i would get allez sprint and throw this disc brake junk, i would even make it lighter by replacing heavy levers with lightweight brakes and use sram gx axs shifter and rear mech. while the expensive dura ace rear mech would break shifting under load. gx will only perform way better.
Sorry, that’s utter rubbish. The higher the speed, the bigger the aero penalty. Hence the sprint and downhill are places where aero makes the most difference. Even on a 6% gradient, 1kg saved would mean less than 3W. As for “responding faster”, that’s just not true. The real difference in acceleration is infinitesimal. Everything else is just perception/ride feel.
@@ronykuba lighter objects accelerate faster, thats just basic science. yes at around 50 kph your aero bike would be beneficial but it was simply catching up for a slow start. you have both the bikes, why not make a 500 meter strava segment and share your results. it would be a good content too
@@user-fb4lw1pd7n it is basic science. The problem is that there are many more variables in play, so the real world is beyond basic science. As I said, the difference is infinitesimal.
It's surprising what we can convince ourselves of when we have large amounts of money to throw at our hobby. Just the other day I was thinking I should upgrade from Ultegra to Ultegra Di2, but what would that gain me?
Hey Ronald, please can I ask how the SL7 stem works with a standard “non-aero” fork and headset. I have always like the look of those stems but been worried it would not work with my bike. Thanks in advance mate 👍🏼
Which pulley wheels and cage do you have on the venge? doesnt look like ceramikspeed. Im looking to buy something like that but ceramicspeed is to expensive for me. Any reccomondations?
You said the stiffness are the same between S-Works and non S-Works and it is not correct. Always S-Works models has a stiffer carbon accordingly SPECIALIZED. “The Expert and Pro models are built around the same Aethos frame designs, but made from Specialized's Fact 10R carbon and layup rather than the S-Works Fact 12R material.” Nice bike shop and video!
It is correct. The only difference is weight. It would be very ineffective to design two completely different frames, so both have the same stiffness targets, except when you have a lesser material and layup, you need to use more to meet those targets.
The SL5 frame weighs twice as much, so I honestly doubt that. As I said, I have no really lightweight parts on there, it just wasn't the goal. Also, the SL5 has no aero features either, so there's absolutely no reason for it to be faster.
@@albr4 you can do the same here, but it will always be lighter as the frameset is lighter, so I don't know what exactly is the point of the discussion here.
@Ronald Kuba I'm new to riding. I bought a 1991 cannondale R800 and I like road biking I'm now ready to upgrade. I want something fast with a little bit of comfort. I kinda had it narrowed down to: 1. Super Six Evo 105 2. New Synapse w/105 3. Giant TCR Advanced Disc 4. Roubaix Comp But now I'm thinking that I should go for the AETHOS COMP. I heard it's fast.. with a comfortable ride. What do you think?
You have impeccable workmanship but just not a fan of this frame. Looks smaller than a 52 and the top tube slopes too much and how long is that seat post. I would be surprised if you kept this frame for more than just a few months.
Really cool bike :) What about cycling experience comparing with rim brake madone, especially in term of riding comfort.Thanks for your great infos as always.
@@ronykuba If you don't mind, can you let me know what you didn't like about it? I was considering getting one but I'm 6'2" and 230 pounds and I heard bigger people shouldn't get the Aethos. I ride a Roubaix and I love that bike. Someday I might get a Tarmac.
I'd never choose a rim brake bike again, even if I had a choice, because... they're stupid. Besides, the industry is driven by demand. Noone wants rim brake bikes anymore, so noone makes them, that's so much for "forcing".
@@ronykuba No it is not. Industry is driven by capitalism. If you are good rider you don't need disc brakes at all for road bikes, especially TT where speed is constant. Anyone who knows how to ride bike barely uses rim brakes, at all. Why is Tour de France won on rimbrakes??? Because rimbrakes are stupid and noone fulfilled riders demands? First and second place? You can talk about deep section rims, but there are resins and brakepads and all is fine there. You know a lot about bikes but need to get out of burgeois fanboy state of mind. Spec. Do you have team car behind you on all of your rides? You can fix rim brake in 5minutes with one hex key...not sure what can you do with disc one... You can have lightweight disc brake bike...Yes you can, but at what price? You can get rimbrake under 7kg with a litte hassle....For disc brake you need much more money to get there. Disc brake bike has 10W aerodynamic losses compared to rimbrake bike, tested and proven. So why would anyone demand disk brake? To be cool? Because they don't know how to ride bike? Get real man.
@@vukgrujic2957 I've thought this debate was over in 2015. Just to note, my new Shiv TT with those useless dumb disc brakes is 1.5kg lighter and 4-5W faster than my old speed concept with those superior (uhm stupid) rim brakes was. Same thing applies for my old Madone vs. Venge. How about that? If you seriously think these idiotic "TdF winners only ride rim brakes" and "no good riders actually brake" arguments are valid, then I have nothing more to say to you. People choose disc brakes, because brakes are primarily used for stopping/slowing down and disc brakes are far superior in that aspect. Just ask that pussy Alaphilippe or the rest of Deceuninck QS winning almost everything. In my shop I have sold around 70 bikes this year. Two (as in 2) were rim brake bikes. Noone wants them.
@@ronykuba Don't put words into my mouth. Yeah, Roglic, Pogacar, Jumbo, UAE teams are all stupid. They don't know about that they need disc brakes. Also World 70.3 champion Gustav Iden and Giant team don't know that they should use disc brakes, noobs. You are not riding 150kmh per hour, and aren't stopping 300-500-1000kg of weight and inertia. You can stop with rims just as fine. And go on a road trip knowing you can fix most of the problems if they happen with the bike. You can have light bike for half as much money...you can maintain you bike for half as much money... But ok...I know it is profitable for you to fix more disc brake bikes and sell them... You know that I'm right...Continue with your dreamland story and burgeois stance if it makes you feel good about yourself. You've seen what are real world people thougths and needs in your unpopular chinese frame review ;)
@@vukgrujic2957 you're welcome to live in 2010. You CAN stop with rim brakes. You CAN also stop by dragging your feet on the ground. I will stick to my trusty discs, which you know, work in all conditions and stuff. You can also ride a fixed gear bike with a steel frame and toe clips, but I presume you don't do that, because there are better solutions. I don't care about rim brakes being lighter, cheaper or simpler. A Lada Niva is also much simpler, lighter and cheaper than an S-class, but you wouldn't choose it if you could afford an S-class, now would you? I care about having better brakes which allow for better bikes. Same goes for my customers and most consumers. As for the reliability, when was the last time you saw a hydraulic brake system fail on any vehicle? As I said, the examples you're listing are rubbish. Those bike models are still in a generation that was developed before disc brakes became standard. Their next generations will be disc brake specific, whether you like it or not.
"STANDARD" is F*$)$*$ music to my ears. Aero and integrated is all horseshit. Up until a few years ago and for the last 35 years I have been riding, THIS IS WHAT A RACE BIKE LOOKS LIKE. Lose the disc brakes and this is the perfect ride.
@@ronykuba Disc brakes have been in pro peleton for 5+ years and not one has been ridden to win the Giro, Vuelta or TDF yet. If disc brakes were TRULY the better technology like when shifters moved from down tube to the hoods, then nobody on rim brakes would still be winning. Aero is only an advantage at high levels of racing and time trialing. But I would venture a guess that you could win a race on the non aero Atheos with good form and tactics as much as you could on an SL7
@@lazyrider6918 how about the countless wins in GT stages, other stage races, classics or even TTs for discs? Races are decided with an attack or a sprint. If you're not aero, you're handicapped.
@@ronykuba I am talking about disc brakes which are technically more aero than discs. But all those stage wins are because everyone else are riding discs now. Not one winner of a Grand Tour on discs yet. Proof that rim brakes aren't a handicap.
@@repiola174 look, I’m not a beginner. On a good day I can do ~4W/kg for 5h+. At this point, I don’t need compact gears, plus they’re really inefficient as well. In fact, these days I ride a 58t with a Classified rear hub and it’s perfectly fine. So thanks, but I don’t need “luck” for my climbing.
@@ronykuba on the Tour de France pros are most commonly using a 52/39 rings (i.e Vingegaard on Sram). I don't really understand how you can climb serious hills (>8%) with a 58t ring. Cheers from the Alps.
@@repiola174 sorry, that’s BS. Everyone is on 54x40 or 55x40 or even bigger - with normal groupsets. As for my setup, it’s simple maths. 58t with Classified equals to a 40t inner ring. Just because you’re stuck in your old school dogmas, doesn’t mean there’s no other way.
@@ronykuba 15lbs isnt light regardless of what limit the uci uses. ppl use that limit as a marker for lightness. and bike companies purposely make heavy aero bikes 1lb above "light weight" bikes to take more money from consumers. same as disc brakes theyre worthless.
@@ronykuba why dont they make a 15lb aero bike? give me some of that money everyone is throwing away lol. its easy have a uci 15lb aero racing bike and have a 10-13lb light bike for fun or hard climbs. instead we go non aero 15lb bikes, and heavy ass aero bike that suck at climbing.
