2015 Bicycle of the Year: Trek Émonda SLR 10

I know it is not typical to write about such a high end bike in this blog. Reason being that they are just at such ridiculous price points that any breakdown or review of such high end bikes is essentially rendered moot because the bike is unpractical for 99% of the readers. Yet, it is still fun to ooh and aww at the top of the line road bikes. Moreover, it says a lot about a brand’s innovation, engineering, and insight as a whole when they produce bikes so good as to receive such praise from industry experts and beat the very sterling competition. This year, Velo News voted the Trek Émonda SLR 10 as bike of the year, an amazing feat that Trek should surely be proud of.

The engineering of this bike in an effort to minimize weight yet maximize performance is right on, Trek has definitely hit the nail on the head with this build. For example, as seen in the image below, the Bontrager Speed Stop brake system mounts connect directly to the frame, this sheds weight by eliminating unnecessary parts. However, even better still, this also increases performance of the brakes. The Speed Stop Brake system also utilizes a wide set design to allot for wide road rims and/or tires.

Another engineering differentiation of the Trek Émonda SLR 10 is the one-piece fully integrated bar/stem; seamlessly the most lightweight system possible while still maximizing stiffness, strength, and subsequent performance. These drops are129mm drop and have 93mm reach. Naturally, the stem angle is not adjustable as it is an integrated handlebar and stem combo; throughout years of testing an professional feedback, the current 7 degree and resulting horizontal position of the integrated stem has been found to perform the best on the Emonda. No need to worry about switching it out, it has been very precisely engineered to maximize performance while minimizing weight. In addition, the handlebar system is compatible with Trek’s new integration system, Blendr; Blendr allows riders to connect electronics such as computers, garmins, or cell phones to the handlebars without the use of zip ties or otherwise (pictured below).

The Tune Skyline carbon tubular wheels combined with Vittoria Crono CS Tubular, 700x22c tires are the pinnacle in lightweight performance wheels. As many may know, wheelsets are at the crux of weight loss/gain in bicycle composition. Tubular wheelsets make up the lightest possible wheel, tire, and tube combination out of the three systems currently in production. And, as mentioned in previous blogs, they have both the best rolling resistance and professionals agree that they perform the best in handling ability.

Not a single detail has been overlooked in the Trek Émonda SLR 10, it is these details that have earned this bike the title of bicycle of the year by Velo News. Even Jagwire’s new sectioned housing, which makes cable routing look like vertebrae is unique, cool, and still serves the purpose of shaving grams. The SLR 10 comes with the cleanest DuoTrap S mounting system to date. The Speed Trap integrated computer sensors is now on its second generation where they have now mastered ANT+ connectivity as well as Bluetooth.

The Trek Émonda SLR 10 comes equipped with SRAM RED 22, 50/34 compact crankset. The true genius of this bike lies in the Ultralight 700 Series OCLV Carbon frame though. Years of research, development, and testing have gone into the production of this frame. Each tube shape is uniquely designed to maximize the performance of the bicycle while minimizing the weight. The perfect balance of stiffness and weight. An excessive amount of carbon has been sacrificed in the research and development of this frame; it is well worth it though as the rider can put the hammer down on this 10.25 pound road bike with 100% confidence.

Specialized Venge: More Bike than Aero

Known as the Specialized aero road bike that is not time trial or triathlon specific, the Venge may still be the best option for many road riders. The reasons are outlined here and in the following video from Specialized. As the experts explain, this bike is more bike than aero. What this means is that the bike has been designed with accounting for factors such as stiffness and responsiveness as much as aerodynamics, if not in fact more. Who better to explain it than the experts themselves at SBCU in the following video.

The main points worth noting are that, yes the Specialized Venge has been designed to be very aerodynamic. Yet, stiffness has been at the crux of engineering this bike. Key points on this bike for stiffness and performance are the tapered head tube, aero carbon fork, and the cambered airfoil x-section seatstays which are patented by Specialized. The head tube tapers from 1-1/8” at the top to 1-3/8” at the crown, this increases the strength and stiffness of the cockpit while increasing steering precision as well as optimizing airflow. The 3:1 shaping and straight profile is UCI-legal, and it provides greater stiffness than the traditional curved road fork. In addition, the X-Section fork blades have a sharp front edge to the wind, which provides enhanced aerodynamics. And finally, the FACT Carbon, Cambered and asymmetrical seatstays have been designed specifically to enhance aerodynamics from crosswind without sacrificing aerodynamics from headwinds and retaining the stiffness demanded by competitive cyclists.

In short, this bike has been designed to increase aerodynamics at all angles, saving every bit of energy so that a rider can still throw it down when needed and not have the bike flexing on them. A colleague of ours races this bike in both criterium and road races. When asked how it performs, he says all around this bike screams performance, aggressive and strong.

Shall it replace the tarmac? Well I would say no, but depending on a rider’s preference or in what area they are looking to gain a competitive advantage, this bike may be a better option for them, even in longer distance road rides and races.

2015 Specialized Tarmac: Rethinking Engineering

In previous years as well as in many of the current models, the goal of research and development has simply been to make bikes both stiffer and lighter than in previous years. Yet, as bikes near the minimum possible weight while still providing the stiffness demanded by serious cyclists, Specialized is thinking outside the box which is familiar territory for them. Moreover, despite opposition, the UCI bike weight limit is still in place. Until this is lifted all together, making bikes continually lighter every year is essentially rendered moot. In previous years, frame design has typically been done at the 56cm size, and then these measurements were simply scaled to produce other frame sizes of the same model. This system, or some derivation of this system is what is typically employed by most all large scale bike manufacturers.

This system of bike engineering is not ideal however. The results of such being that bikes are stiffer in the smaller sizes and more flexy in the larger sizes. As innovative a company as Specialized is, they have rethought this process in this year’s high end Tarmacs, their quintessential road race bike. Specialized research and development set out to measure the forces that a rider exerts on different points of the bicycle depending on both their height and weight. These measurements were quantitatively measured in real time and collected via strain gauges that were attached to multiple points of the bike.

The results of these tests were surprising, and will more than likely change how companies think about bike engineering in the future. What they have found is that more so than rider weight, rider height has a massive impact on force that is exerted on the frame. Ergo, Specialized then built stiffness and compliance goals for the frames and specifically designed each of the seven sizes (49cm-64cm) to meet these benchmarks.

The result of such research and development is the Specialized Rider-First Engineered™ technology.  This technology has helped improve handling, pedaling response (BB stiffness), ride compliance as  well as aerodynamics. Moreover, the ride quality of smaller and larger frames is equivalent to the medium size. Ergo,  smaller size frames produce a more balanced bike with improved in-corner handling while larger size frames benefit from marked improvements in steering response. This technology is employed in the high end Tarmacs this year, the S-Works, Pro, and Expert Tarmacs. Given these advances however, there is no doubt that Specialized will revamp the way all frame models are engineered in the future.