In some ways, the more recent flock of race bikes has seen some of that splintering dissipate – the traditional race bike has assimilated aspects from aero machines and tyre clearance increases for added versatility: just look at the current Specialized Tarmac and its close proximity to the Venge.
But designers looking to fulfil a certain need will still tailor their creation to the demands of a certain genre. So what defines an aero bike from, say, an endurance-oriented machine or even a gravel bike?​
AN AERO BIKES
An aero bike is designed to be the fastest and most efficient drop-bar bicycle design. The key aim is to get the rider from point A to point B as quickly as possible.
In order to do this designers aim to minimise the effect of drag by creating a frame that allows air to flow around it more effectively. At the same time, they need to balance the proportions and tubing profiles to ensure weight and overall aesthetics are also taken into consideration.
Ribble, Scott and many other bike designers use CFD (Computational Flow Dynamics) software to analyse performance before bringing a design into the real world, and wind tunnel testing to optimise airflow over the bike and rider.
Esta historia es de la edición April 30, 2020 de CYCLING WEEKLY.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 30, 2020 de CYCLING WEEKLY.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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