Here we are at the Specialized Win Tunnel, a facility that is really a
monument to our dedication to aerodynamics, and that runs deep
especially in the sport of triathlon. Whether it would be back in 1989 in
co-development with DuPont, on the Specialized DuPont tri spoke, a wheel
that was so iconic for the time, that it actually defined not only shape then, but
even speed today. Or through partnerships with athletes to define the bike leg of
Ironman: Lauri Bowden, Peter Reid. Both World Champions that won on Specialize
in Kona. As you move into the modern time or the development of the bicycles,
though, the shapes have evolved quickly. In 2007, we launched a bike that looked
like a rocket ship, the Transition, that Chris mcCormick piloted to a debut Kona
win, and that bike was totally based off of low frontal area. Crazy skinny.
Two years later we introduced the Shiv TT, a bike with a nose cone with shape from
the front end that is extremely wide, so it sails in a crosswind. That bike was
also debuted to a Kona win, but that year was really pushing the boundaries of UCI
rules. So had at a moment in time where we had to think, "What are we going to do next?"
Are we gonna follow the rules of the previous space, something that really
shouldn't have anything to do with triathlon, or are we going to forge forward and
define the future? In 2011, we introduced a triathlon-specific Shiv, one defined
around aero, fuel, and fit, catering to all the needs of the triathlete. And that
year, Craig Alexander took that bike to an Ironman world record, winning World
Championships, and ultimately going 15 minutes faster on the bike course than
he did the year before.
That definition of aero, fuel, fit still drives us today. In all of the shapes, all
those moments I spoke to, were before we even have this facility. In 2012, we
opened the Win Tunnel, and we really got to work and under this sheet was really
the future. The future of what we believe the proper triathlon bike should be, and
the redefinition of aero, fuel, and fit.
This is the all-new Shiv.
The bike leg of a triathlon is probably the one cycling discipline where aero truly is
everything, and so realizing that, combined with the fact that Kona is the
ultimate race, with all new Shiv, our goal of course was to create the fastest bike
for the Ironman World Championships. Now if you look at the history of aero bikes,
in triathlon, there are really three main eras. In the
beginning, we all used effectively time trial bikes, and strapped our nutrition,
hydration, and spares however we could, and in many cases, we
ruined the aerodynamic performance of the frame and fork.
Then, with the introduction of the first generation Shiv, we were the first to
cast away the UCI rules, and as a result, were able to design a bike we're
carrying all those things was a little to no aerodynamic penalty. Finally, with the
introduction of the all-new Shiv, we've entered a new era where having all those
things that you need for a race actually represents an aerodynamic advantage.
Let's take a look at some of the features that allowed us to turn fuel
and fit into aero performance. Starting at the front of the bike, we see a
reintroduction of the nosecone first found in the original Shiv TT. Like on
that bike, the nosecone allows us to create an optimized cross section shape
around the head tube, while also allowing us to hide away the integrated hydration
hose. Moving up into the cockpit, the central pad spacers also hide away that
hydration hose and are designed using the same free foil optimized shapes as
first found on the Venge. This means that regardless of your pad
stack position, there is effectively no aerodynamic penalty from those spacers.
Moving across to the fork, rather than trying to minimize its frontal area, like
with pretty much every other fork design today, we instead chose to maximize its
ability to sail in crosswinds, like at Kona. In order to do that, we needed to
maximize the available surface area for those air foils to work, and so the
fork blades extend all the way from the axle up to the underside of the base
bar. These shapes are also asymmetrically designed so that they optimally take
into account crosswinds from their respective sides. With the down tube, just
like all of our other aero bikes, we found that there's not much aero
performance to be gained by pushing the shape to an extreme. On the other hand,
there's a lot to lose in terms of weight and stiffness, and so we turn to a
different free foil optimized shape in order to minimize weight, increase
stiffness, and preserve aerodynamic performance, and the volume afforded to
us by that free foil shape allowed us to integrate a fuel cell into the down tube.
At the back of the bike, like with all our other aero platforms today, we saw
that drop seat stays are incredibly important for aerodynamic performance,
and so with all-new Shiv, we wanted to push that to an extreme, but without
negatively impacting rear-end handling or power transfer. Finally, probably the
most striking feature of the all-new Shiv, is the integrated fuel cell in the
seat tube seat post. In the early R&D of the Shiv, we saw that the seat tube and seat post is
incredibly important for aerodynamic performance, even with the rider on board.
This is even more the case in trying to harness the crosswinds, like at Kona.
We developed optimized large airfoil shapes in order to maximize this effect.
At the same time, we recognized that those large air foils had a lot of
volume for storage. Unfortunately, this volume wasn't great for things like
tires and tubes because they would negatively impact the shape. Water, on the
other hand, can fit anywhere. So a feature that was originally born out of
aerodynamic performance has now become the integrated location for hydration.
In the years of R&D and athlete testing since the launch of the first Shiv, we
kept seeing that the way athletes set up their nutrition and hydration actually
mattered more in terms of aero than what we could possibly design in the frame
and fork. Knowing that, our focus with the new Shiv was to figure out how
to accommodate all those things in a way that actually increases aerodynamic
performance. Compared to the fastest possible race-ready setup with
the original Shiv, the all-new Shiv saves nearly a minute out on course at
Kona. Every minute makes a difference, that's why it's important to talk about
the fourth sport of triathlon: your fuel. The goal with the all-new Shiv was to
allow you, the athlete, to carry as much nutrition as possible it's to be able to
blow through aid stations, and save precious time, and carry the fuel that
you're used to, ultimately fuel that you can rely on. The gel that you're used to
eating, you now have the capacity to bring it.
The new Shiv has a down tube fuel cell that allows you to carry whatever you
want, and it's double the size of the fuel cell on the previous Shiv, plus you
can pop out the fuel cell and hide away your tube and tools. And that special
drink mix you're used to carrying? You now have the volume to carry it. The seat
tube fuel cell allows you to carry one and a half liters of fluid, which is more
than two times that of the previous Shiv. But capacity isn't the only aspect we
engineered. We obsessed over where to put your fuel on the bike, so that it's fully
integrated for speed. Being confident in your fit is of the utmost importance to
the triathlete so we knew that the all-new Shiv had to be adjustable and
adaptable for every individual rider across all sizes. Retul technology has
elevated the way that we can analyze rider data in order to best determine
fit ranges. Retul technology captures bike and body data across all different
disciplines and distances, so that we can analyze actual riders' positions in
order to determine those fit ranges. After analyzing all of the Retul data
and taking in a lot of rider feedback, we determine we needed to lower positions
across all the sizes without giving up anything at the higher ends. With a 115
millimeter adjustment for the pads on the front end, we're able to accommodate
both the lowest and highest positions for the most flexible riders as well as
the rest of us that need a more upright position on the bike. With all the reach
adjustments and the three different base bar positions, every rider can find their
ideal fit on the all-new Shiv. None of that hard work matters if your
fit doesn't go with you everywhere you go to train or race. The stable and secure
front end is easily removable and your fit stays static even when you box it up.
Five minutes with an allen key and five bolts, and your front end is safely
packed up without changing your fit. A few minutes in the hotel room putting
the bike back together quicker than ever gets you to the start line faster with
more time and less stress. Travel, train, and race with confidence. The Shiv lets
you focus on your fitness and not worry about your fit. And there we have it this
is the all-new S-Works Shiv, a bike that we believe redefines aerodynamics, fuel,
and fit. So this launch edition bike will only come in this colorway and this spec
once, and the first six bikes have already been spoken for: They're going to
our pros at Kona. But the next several hundred, those are for you.
It comes specifically in this colorway, this spec, and even with a custom case
designed for it, for ease of travel. Reservations are open on Specialized.com.
The first bikes will begin to deliver to our riders in March of 2019,
and it's an extremely limited quantity, so if you want one,
get in line immediately. On behalf of the entire team here that's built this Shiv,
we're super excited to bring it to you. We know whether you're racing in
Kona or anywhere else around the world, this is the bike that you'll set PRs on
in 2019. Thanks for watching.