- I'm here with this Specialized S-Works Venge
of Elia Viviani, the sprinter supreme if you like
of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step floors team.
And well compared to his predecessor the Venge ViAS,
this bike has taken something of a slim line diet.
Because it saved a whopping 460 grams
compared to that previous bike.
Where's the chunk of it come from?
Well 240 grams of that weight is being saved
in fact inside of the frame.
And then 25 grams in the fork,
25 grams in the seat post, and 107 in the cockpit.
Now all of that weight loss hasn't actually
come at a detriment to performance because apparently
there's 40% more compliance in the frame
compared to the Venge ViAS and that's across
all sizes importantly and as well as the fact
that apparently it's faster too, both on the open road
as well as in the wind tunnel.
And then if that's not enough for you,
it's got a higher stiffness to weight ratio than ever.
Now I've already touched on the fact that the
cockpit has in fact lost a considerable amount of weight
compared to the Venge ViAS' cockpit, but also
what I really like about the arrow fly bars
in particular is on the top, flat surface here
where traditionally you don't tend to tape up
the handle bars, quite often it can be a little
bit slippery on some bars, but these have got
a really nice textured finish on them.
Which, well I just can't stop touching at the moment,
but I must stop and then also just where the actual
bars meet into the stem, there's a nice bit of
plastic surround there, just to further help
the air flow and well the cables, they're tucked
away nicely there too, good job.
Right now sticking with the front end of the bike,
this is something I really like and it's the GPS mount.
Because it actually fits inside of the front plate
of the stem and then remains really central
on the front end of the bike.
Now for 2019, the squad have actually gone
to Brighton GPS units, which is quite a
well different move really, I don't think
I've ever seen them in the World Tour before.
Sticking then with the bars, we've got a pair
of sprint shifters fitted onto the drops
because of course Viviani is a sprinter so
there's no problem at all, he can remain
down there on the drops in the heat of the moment
and he can simply flick his switches
and choose his gears on the rear of the bike.
Now something else that has changed for the 2019 season
is in fact the power meter because it was a year ago
that here at the Tour Down Under I actually
spotted a 4iiii unit being used by both Quick-Step floors
then and also the Bora-Hansgrohe team,
that was branded up as a Specialized unit.
However, they've actually opted to use the
Shimano R9100P unit this year.
Wheels wise we've got Roval CLX 50 Rapides,
and Roval if you're unaware are actually
part of Specialized and they make the the wheels for them.
Now they're the tubular version and of course
fitted with disc breaks on there.
Incidentally for those of you who are really interested,
the front rotor is 160 millimeters in diameter
and the rear 140 millimeters.
Now the hubs, let's get on to them then shall we.
Well they're fitted with ceramic speed bearings,
so just saving a couple of watts here and there.
Then the rear hub is actually got DT Swiss internals
inside of there, so it's a ratchet mechanism
as opposed to a pull mechanism.
Something that's been around for probably
the best part of 20 years now.
Finishing off the wheels, where we've got a pair
of Specialized S-Works tubular tires and they're in
26 millimeter width.
Now you know the score by now, it's time for
the Free Hub sound check, let's have a listen.
(wheel spinning)
Measurements wise, well we've got
a 125 millimeter long stem,
bar width 40 centimeters, and saddle height 74 centimeters.
And the distance from the tip of the saddle
to the center of the handlebars is 57.3 centimeters.
And the drop from the saddle
to the handlebar is 11.5 centimeters.
What about the finishing touches then?
Well first up the handlebar tape, it's from Supacaz
and it has a gentle textured feel to it,
if that makes sense to you, so it's not too rough
but you certainly know it's there.
Then it's finished off with some cotton tape here,
self adhesive, similar sort of tape to actually
what we used to use on bikes back in the 70s,
before my time, believe it or not.
But it does hold in place really, really well.
Then we've got a Specialized S-Works Toupe, or Toupé,
carbon railed saddle there.
Pair of tax carbon fiber bottle cages and then here,
just mounted onto the front derailleur we've got
a K-Edge chain catcher, pretty sure that's
different as well actually for 2019, thinking about it.
Pedals, Shimano 19100 SPD SL, and yep they're set
on the toughest release setting, so the most amount
of tension required there, because of course
Viviani himself kicks out quite a bit of power,
doesn't he let's face it in those sprints.
And then something which I absolutely adore on this bike,
has to be where the Di2 Junction box is fitted
and it's here, in the back of the seat post.
That's nice and the group set, well it's
Shimano's flagship Dura-Ace 9170, cassette wise 11 to 28
and then chain rings 53 39.
Crank length 172.5 millimeters.
What about the weight then, we'll you're gonna
have to take my word for this, because as I was
weighing the bike I had a mechanic run out
and he asked me if he could borrow the scales.
This one come in at 6.92 kilos, now I would hang around
and film it again but there's some ducks
just over my shoulder there and they have seemed
to be taking a bit of a liking to me, an actual fact,
so I don't wanna push my luck today.
So there we are the 2019 Specialized S-Works Venge
belonging to Elia Viviani, let me know what you think of it
down there in the comment section below.
Personally I give it a big ole thumbs up,
because I prefer this frame style and shape
and also the colors too, so you know what to do too.
Give it a big thumbs up and also share it with your friends.
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