Ventum NS1

Aracy road bike with more character than its looks suggest

- SAM CHALLIS

Hailing from the United States, Ventum isn’t a big name in the UK. It’s best known for its eccentric One triathlon frameset, which looks like Zorro’s ‘Z’ calling card, having done away with the down tube and seatstays in an attempt to improve aerodynamics. While the NS1 has been informed by knowledge gained during the development of the One, its looks are conventional by comparison. That said, the brand’s racy all-rounder is fast becoming Ventum’s most popular bike and it has just been updated for the first time, the original design having been introduced in 2019.

‘The NS1 has changed substantially,’ says Ventum’s Harry Keeran. ‘Along with a reiterated composite construction, it sports wider 35mm tyre clearance, simplified internal cable routing, a more compliant proprietary cockpit, a T47 bottom bracket and the adoption of Sram’s Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) standard.’

That’s just about the most up-to-date lot of updates you’re likely to find in a new bike.

Unusual aero

The NS1 joins the GS1 gravel bike in Ventum’s drop-bar lineup, and just like their radical forebear, aerodynamic efficiency is said to be a primary attribute. Aero-slipperiness has been achieved with more subtle techniques than simply flattening the tube profiles, though. Ventum says the frameset’s sharp tube angles promote the clean separation of air off the back of the tubes, but such tight corners are hard to achieve using carbon composite, so it has used a number of advanced fabrication techniques.