Lets start out this week’s WiR with a big congrats to Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf for winning 70.3 worlds and to all the competitors who were out on the course. The AeroGeeks had a few friends out there today, and from what we have been hearing, it was a long day (especially that brutal climb to finish off the bike course!)

For those who couldn’t make it out to Austria, hopefully you keep up with AeroGeeks.com this week. This week took a look at the Speedplay Zero Aero pedal, The Argon 18 E-119 and E-117 as well as our first in-depth coverage of SRAM’s new electronic wireless groupset – eTAP. We also got to share our thoughts on the Sugoi RS Ice Tri Suit – one of our favorite sleeveless kits on the market.

For those visiting for the first time—welcome! One of our favorite ways to showcase our readers is our Readers’ Rides album on Facebook. You can check out our current collection at http://on.fb.me/12jEqE3. If you would like to have your bike featured in our album, just tweet us at @AeroGeeks, Facebook message us, get us on Instagram, or email us at info@AeroGeeks.com.

This Week’s Posts

Monday – Speedplay Zero Aero pedals – First Look

Wednesday – Argon 18 – E-119 and E-117 – First Look

Thursday – Sugoi RS Ice Tri Suit – Review, SRAM Red eTAP – First Look

The Fuji SL

Lightweight climbing bikes aren’t really our thing here at AeroGeeks.com, but we couldn’t help but be impressed by the new Fuji SL. Specifically the fact that the raw frame weighs just 695 grams (remember that a full 21oz water bottle weighs 704g), a full 19% lighter than any bike Fuji has ever produced.

With the SL, Fuji has taken everything it has ever learned and applied it to a single race-driven bike.

“The SL began with the Altamira foundation and a meticulous examination of where we could improve on an already proven design – specifically where could we save weight. And when every single tenth of a gram matters, smart things happen,” said Fuji Road Marketing Manager, Stephanie Genuardi.

The cornerstone of the SL’s strength-to-weight ratio is Fuji’s High Compaction molding [HC]. This manufacturing technique utilizes a series of internal molds to eliminate wrinkles and excess resin buildup in high-stress, complex radius bend areas – such as the head tube and bottom bracket – for greater compaction in the carbon layers.

While the Altamira features eight bonded joints, the SL uses only four; the more bonding joints you eliminate, the stronger and lighter the frame becomes. The SL’s seatstays and chainstays are molded into just two hollowed pieces, including the dropouts – shaving grams and increasing strength. These reductions play a big role in why the SL is 237 grams lighter than the Altamira.

But not only is the SL significantly lighter, it’s significantly stiffer: 9% stiffer in the head tube, 11% stiffer in the bottom bracket, and 18% stiffer in the fork (than the Altamira). The SL’s downtube is octagonal in shape, featuring flattened sections of ultra high-tensile strength carbon that is compromised if not used in flat orientations; the seat tube, top tube, and fork also feature flattened sections of high-tensile strength carbon, which maximize lateral stiffness.

The SL will be available across the globe in October 2015. The series features eight models, including a Team Replica and frameset, ranging from the SRAM Red 22-equipped 1.1 to the Shimano 105-eqiupped 2.5. So for the weight weenies out there, be ready to hit your Local Bike Shops.

Redshift Sports – ShockStop

Redshift sports first came to our attention in 2013 with their Shift Aero System, a product being tested by our newest AeroGeeks editor, Heather. Now Redshift is launching their newest product, the ShockStop stem.

The ShockStop is an adjustable-stiffness suspension stem that smooths out your ride; perfect for performance cyclists, recreational riders and commuters. The goal of the ShockStop is to dramatically improve the quality of your ride, without compromising steering responsiveness or detracting from the aesthetic of the bike. The pivot design allows the front end of the bike to move up and down over bumps in the road while your hands follow a smoother path, cushioned by the elastomers inside the stem. In testing, the ShockStop reduced peak forces transmitted to the hands by up to 70% when compared to a standard stem.

Unwanted vertical movement is absorbed by the elastomers, but lateral motion (i.e. steering input) is directly transmitted into the fork, so your bike should feel just as responsive as the day you bought it. Each stem comes with a number of different stiffness elastomers that can be swapped out, letting you tune the ShockStop’s road-feel to match your riding style.

Twin interchangeable elastomers let each rider fine-tune the road feel to perfectly match their own riding style. Racers, triathletes, and competitive riders can choose firmer settings to retain a more traditional front-end feel, while commuters, fitness enthusiasts, and endurance riders can dial in a softer feel to maximize comfort.

We are quite excited to try the ShockStop, specifically when riding in extensions. Will the result be a mushy feel that disconnects us from the road? Or will this give us that added edge when we get into T2 feeling rested and ready to run. There is only one way to find out.

The ShockStop is available today at KickStarter.com. For those interested in taking the plunge, Redshift is offering an early bird special of $99.99 (expected retail of $139.99) with expected ship dates in April of 2016. For everyone else, stay tuned to AeroGeeks.com for an in-depth review in 2016!