How many times have you stood at the start line and thought to yourself – if only I had had one more day to train? How many times have you thought that one additional workout might have meant the difference between the podium and the long walk back to your car? For all of us, Monday is that day. It’s the 366th day of the year – a bonus day. And if you make the most of it, make it awesome. And we want to hear about it! Share a picture of how you’re taking advantage of your bonus day. Tweet us at @AeroGeeks, Facebook message us, get us on Instagram, or email us at info@AeroGeeks.com.
Our Awesome AeroGeeks album is for you to share the most important piece of equipment you have – you! Check out the Awesome AeroGeeks gallery on Facebook. And for those who are new to AeroGeeks.com, one of our other favorite ways to showcase our readers has always been our Readers’ Rides album on Facebook. You can check out our entire Readers’ Rides collection at http://on.fb.me/12jEqE3.
This Week’s Posts
Tuesday – Bontrager Hilo XXX Carbon Tri Saddle – Review
Wednesday – Look Keo 2 Max Blade – Review
Meet Jens Voigt
Want to meet a multiple TdF stage winner, Giro stage winner, 5-time Criterium International winner, and former world hour record holder? For those who live in South Florida, the Jensie will be stopping by TriBikeRun on Tuesday March 15 from 6:45 – 8pm.
For those thinking about going, you can get the latest updates here. And if you go, make sure to send us photos of you meeting the hardest man in cycling!
Mail Room
With spring just around the corner the mail room is starting to get busy again. To start the week was the new Catlike Rapid Tri. The Rapid is so new that we haven’t even had a chance to do a First Look, but stay tuned for that later this week.
Next up was the Specialized S-Works TT helmet. Getting both the Rapid and the TT in the same week made for some immediate comparisons – even just in the photo studio.
fabric sent us their Tri saddle, Chamber multi function tool, and CO2 lever kit. All three have their own unique takes on their respective products.
From OTTO we received the OTTO Tuning System – a voice guided iPhone app for adjusting your rear derailleur. We first saw the Tuning System a few weeks ago and are really excited to give it a try.
Scott sent us their new Tri Carbon shoe featuring a BOA enclosure. The last Tri Carbon was one of our favorite cycling shoes we have tested to date – how will this one stack up?
Lastly, Moji sent us their Curve Pro massager. We are suckers for all things recovery – and the Curve has us intrigued. How do the Steel Spheres compare to some of the other options out there? Time will tell.
Current Reviews
Scott Plasma 5
We first rode the Plasma 5 at Interbike two years ago, but this is going to be our first chance to do a long-term review. Scott sent us a Plasma frame and let us decide what to do next. For now, we are doing a bit of a Frankenstein build with a Shimano 105mechanical drivetrain, Quarq Elsa RS, Shimano Pro AeroFuel TT saddle, and more to be installed soon. Fitting will take place this week with road time coming in a few weeks.
KitBrix
Two weeks ago a reader asked for images of KitBrix with helmets inside. You ask and we deliver!
Smith Overtake MIPS
We’re finishing up our time with the Smith Overtake. While it doesn’t look all that aero, the data says otherwise. And when it comes to keeping you cool, it does more than promised. Stay tuned for our Review coming soon.
Recon Jet
A few weeks ago we mentioned the battery life for our Jet was just around 90 minutes per battery. As it turns out, that is far below the expectations, so Recon sent us another pair to try. We will be kicking off our time with them this week.
Zinn & The Art of Road Bike Maintenance
It may sound funny to have a book in our Current Reviews section, but when you have to read through 400+ pages of in-depth maintenance and build guides, this is a book that takes some getting through. But to be honest, (and yes, even we laughed when we realized this) it is a bit of a page-turner. Zinn does an amazing job of simplifying the concepts you need to go from garage zero to garage hero.
Two weeks ago a reader asked for images of KitBrix with helmets inside. You ask and we deliver! – I think that was me 😀 Not a lot of organizational space with a short or worst, a long tailed aero helmet in there. I prefer my gear in sections as not to get things messed up during transport. Looking forward to the Recon Jet (and soon after, a Garmin Varia please?).
Varia is at the top of our list of new products to review. As soon as we get a hold of one we will be sharing it here.
Help me out guys, the 2016 Canyon speedmax CF SLX yet to be released was quoted to be aero optimised for 50 kph…so how good is it at 35-40 kph. Does the Kamm tail still work effectively at lower speeds, with drag a fn of speed squared? Suggestion for a superbike that is effective at my speeds?
Hi Daryl – This is a bit of a tough one to answer because we don’t have any data on bikes that were specifically tested comparatively at those speeds. Additionally while speed is important – overall Yaw is what bike companies optimize for (based on expected speed of the rider – you can read more on that here – http://aerogeeks.com/2014/08/28/aeromail-what-is-yaw/). We do like to share this from Cervelo as well – https://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering-field-notes/slow-vs-fast-riders, which covers the benefits of aero for riders that can’t do 50 kph.
Sorry this is a bit of a non answer. To further confuse you make sure you are accounting for fit first and aero optimization second. It does not matter how fast a bike is in the tunnel if you cannot get your body aero on it.
Appreciate your response, thanks. Have been aero fitted, so new bike is the outstanding challenge! Keep up the tech reviews, they’re the best independent feedback can get! Cheers Daryl