Keefer Madness

Specialized’s New Time Trial Bike for 2010

// June 30th, 2009 // Cycling

I was just in my local (andby far favorite) bike shop, The Bicycle Chain the other day picking up those new wheels. It seems with bike sales beating out car sales, the 2009 Specialized line is pretty much sold out across the board. Catalogs for the various bike companies start appearing in early July for the next year’s lineup.

It’s no secret of just how much of a fanboy I am when it comes to American bike manufacturer, Specialized. I was asking about 2010′s lineup — especially their TT bikes, as that line’s been pretty stagnant the past few years. I was told that anyone thinking of getting a Specialized TT bike should wait for 2010.

Now today, Velo News has an article about Team Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara’s new Specialized Time Trial bike, called “The Shiv” It’s quite the light and stiff beast:

By tying together the top and bottom of the steering tube with the nose cone (into which is mounted the bars and the front brake), and by making the head tube not only extremely deep but also quite wide for an aero’ bike, Specialized’s engineering team has managed to make the front end of the Shiv stiffer than the stiffest of its road bikes (which are quite stiff). And the entire bike, even with a 900-gram rear disc wheel on it, weighs in at a mere 16.8 pounds.

Under 17 pounds for a TT bike with that disc wheel on the back, is just freaking amazing. I know it’s a Time Trial bike and they’re made to be aerodynamic and go fast in a straight line, but wonder how this thing handles the turns?

Often times, the prototypes and cutting edge bikes the pros ride never see the light of day, but Specialized has already said this particular one will be publicly available — though I’m sure at quite a steep price. It costs a lot to ride something that light! Though I’m not likely to ever have such a beast, nor probably a TT bike at all, I look forward to drooling over this one in the tour and in the local bike shop come Spring 2010.

Specialized’s New Time Trial Bike for 2010