If you’re comparatively contemporary to professional biking then the Criterium du Dauphiné could also be unfamiliar to you. While the racing and terrain, set as it’s within the coronary heart of France, is a key a part of the tune-ups the important thing Tour de France contenders undergo, for us tech nerds it’s the place to see all the newest unreleased bikes.
Teams by no means threat utilizing brand-new gear for the primary time on the Tour, however are sometimes unable to make use of them a lot earlier than the Dauphiné for advertising causes. We’ve already seen a brand new Wilier climbing bike, and a brand new Trek all-rounder.
While most bike manufacturers appear to be settling in the meanwhile on a single race bike resolution, the presence of an unreleased new, presumably much more aero Canyon Aeroad on the Dauphiné reveals Canyon at the least is dedicated to giving its professional athletes the selection between a windcheater and a mountain goat.
Iteration, not wholesale change
The present Canyon Aeroad has an immediately recognisable silhouette; all parallel traces and crisp edges. This new mannequin, from the facet at the least, retains a lot of the DNA of the outdated mannequin. As it’s working from an already very aero-optimised base it’s no actual shock to see no large adjustments, however unusually in comparison with bikes just like the Specialized Tarmac SL8 and the brand new Trek, the brand new overseas has made the rear finish extra aero. I suppose it wouldn’t make a lot sense from a advertising perspective to make a motorcycle known as the Aeroad much less aero by placing the again finish on a weight-reduction plan; higher to double down and make it even quicker.
The seatpost stays closely sculpted to easy the airflow across the rear wheel, however on this new mannequin, the chainstay bridge is much extra infilled and options an unusually natural curve over the rear tyre the place it breaks free from the body.
The non-drive facet chainstay additionally hugs the rear wheel extra tightly, kinking outwards on the axle extra drastically than earlier than, whereas the drive-side stays comparatively straight.
We have already seen world champion Mathieu van der Poel on a ‘new’ Aeroad for a lot of months, however that seems now to only be the present platform with an improved seat clamp, slightly than a very new mannequin.
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As extra photos and particulars come up we’ll preserve you posted, and extra photographs will go in our member-exclusive tech gallery within the coming days.