BIKE PROFILES - Trek Speed Concept with Enve 7/8 wheels and Shimano Di2

[@cmarnold78]

Thanks for the detailed review on this. I have watched so many on the Speed Concept and this is one of the best (am saving/lusting after one). It's designed for half and full distance Ironmans so for the weight weenies the weight is not an issue. Most courses are largely flat and there is no drafting so aero/fuel is the primary objective. A couple of cool things you didn't show was the integrated tool and flat kit as part of the lower bottle cage. Also the fuel storage in the top tube. Interestingly they do a pure UCI legal TT version of this frame without the fuel storage for TT races. Cool noticing his masking tape and rubber band bodge for mounting the Varia :). Also the down tube bottle is custom for the SpeedConcept and the bike is actually more aero with it in than out (Acts as a faring).

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Thank You Craig! This was a fast turnaround for the bike. It was in the shop fewer than 24 hours. I’m sure he’ll be back. I will be sure to point out the fuel and tool storage on a follow up video. We ordered a pair of Lake shoes for him. Maybe I can ask him to bring the bike in when he picks up his shoes

[@cmarnold78]

@@SeeYouUpTheRoad Yep he was lucky to find you! A massive stressor on triathletes is finding a good bike mechanic at short notice. Specially if you are travelling to races.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

@@cmarnold78 he is new to town from out of state. He hasn’t found his LBS yet. He lost his triathlon shoes in the move. We ordered a pair of lake cycling. Triathlon shoes with expedited shipping. Hopefully they arrive today. He’s racing tomorrow, Saturday if he is amenable, I would love to do a video shoot

[@maitramgiske7661]

I’m thinking of getting a bike that can cover the wide range of terrain, from road to mountain which means I would need to sets of wheels. One set is for road/racing and the othe for the mountain with high elevation and climbs. I saw that SRAM offer mix match gears but most have only one ring in front but I prefer 2. What would u recommend? For the back cassette I would go up to 42teeth so I can climbs mountains.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

@@maitramgiske7661 I’m not sure how to answer your question. I prefer 2X myself though

[@dravindarkcloudable]

When I come down to Borrego for the 6/12/24 in November I got to stop by and let you take a once over on my Spiegel bikes.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Let’s plan on it! Last year Lori, Barb and I rode out to Borrego Springs on Saturday spent the night and ride back on Sunday. 90 plus miles each day up and over a mountain ranges instead of doing laps and laps in the desert 🏜️ 😂

[@aaronhamlen8215]

Amazing bike thanks for sharing.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

You bet! I love showcasing high end goodness!

[@ianthompson6268]

just once I'd like to ride a bike like this.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Ha ha! You will!

[@alexjohnson6462]

You look fairly close to Oceanside. Are you going to check out the race on Saturday? My gripe with Shimano is how far behind the times they are with their cassette. Instead of "innovating" by wasting everyones time with yet another pointless n+1 cassette (i.e. 12 speed), they should have did what both SRAM and Campagnolo has already done and offer a 9 tooth or 10 tooth road cog. Their Microspline freehub is only compatible with their mountain bike groupsets. They should have made microspline rosd compatible also (and while they are at it, end their silly [recent] nonsense with having different pull ratios for both MTB and Road which causes all kinds of havoc with those dabbling in gravel who want to do mullet builds - I digress). As a TT'er, I always found it intensely difficult to get hold of large chainrings from Shimano. They never even advertised them on their web site for as long as I can remember. They were always an unlisted item to the public that mainly the pros could get hold of, but your local bike shop employee would look at you like you have 3 heads if you said you wanted a 54 or 56 tooth chainring for time trialing. My point being if they are not going to make large chainrings readily available, they should at least get with the times and have a 10 tooth cog.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

I will be riding my bike on Saturday. Should be 125 miles and 9K. I don’t watch triathlon races. 10 tooth cogs are less efficient than 11T that’s why Shimano didn’t do it. Rather than doing a 10T to do the same as SRAM, which was a dumb move, they increased the size of the chainrings to 54/40 as an option. When SRAM introduced the 12 cassettes you needed to upgrade your wheels too. The freehub is completely different from 11 to 12 speed. 55/42 has always been available in the dealer portal. Microspline works with 12 speed road hubs but more importantly it works with 11 speed hubs. Shimano did the right thing by not forcing you to have to buy a new wheelset. It appears you are misinformed and it makes your rant pointless.

[@alexjohnson6462]

Do they make road gearing cassettes with a 10 tooth cog for microspline, though. Thats what we're were talking about since the subject is TT bikes. Theres a reason you see a lot of both triathletes and time trial guys running SRAM nowadays and it is not because they like that brand. Its for two reasons: First, because there are way more aftermarket super large chainrings (56 to 60+) available than for Shimano. They can then run in the 12 or 13 cog for better chainline and efficiency. Shimanos 54 tooth is simply too small to do that (simple gear ratio calculation), so it forces small 54 tooth chainring users to run in the 11 because the 12 cog is often too easy a gear for many male competitors (or run in the 12 instead of 13 for the higher cadence guys). The second reason you see so many TT'ers running 10 tooth cogs with 56 to 60+ tooth chainrings is because it works better with a lot of TT'ers low cadence style when doing bigger downhills so they dont have to alter the cadence too much. Going downhill, the modest reduction in drivetrain efficiency is of negligible difference from the athletes perspective because their wattage is significantly reduced at that point such that its not taxing their threshold. The slight drivetrain efficiency loss only comes into play when they are at the extreme limits of their threshold such that pushing an extra 4 Watts might actually be noticeable. And that is why they are running the massive 56t to 60t chainrings, as mentioned, so they can run in the 11 or 12 tooth on the flats, rather than the 10. That is where the efficiency comes in. The 10 tooth is not on the bike for efficiency. It is for downhills. If Shimano really was motivated by drivetrain efficiency in sticking with 11 tooth minimum cog, they would be producing 56 and 60+ tooth chainrings in abundance. That is of course why they run massive chainrings (e.g. 64) in Hour Record attempts, as they can then use a [typically] 13 or 14 tooth cog in the back. And then there is the debatably silly "compact" chainrings which they seem to love selling on so many bikes which are several Watts more ineficient according to data charts you can find online. So, no, I do not think efficiency was their motivation. They will eventually switch to 10 tooth cogs. You'll see. :)

[@dsonyay]

I’m in a conundrum… regarding bike fit. I am in process of ordering a Trek Domane. My height is 68”. My inseam is 30”. According to Trek sizing based on my height, I should be in a 54, but based on my inseam, I should be in a 52 or even a 50. What the hell am I to do? I will be speaking to my own bike fitter here to see what he decides, but I’m thinking that I should go with inseam and buy the smallest frame that I can fit in. Do you agree with that? Does it make sense?

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

The inseam is a terrible and archaic way to size a bike. Your torso is the most important measurement. If you have short legs then it’s even more important to size the bike based on your torso. So many bike fitters or consumer based decisions screw this up all the time. They go with the smaller frame because the rider has short legs. Then their long torso puts their head well over the handlebars and/or front axle. This poor bike sizing process then completely screws up the weight distribution over the axles and compromised bike handling. To you in the flatlands probably inconsequential but here in the mountains it’s crucial.

[@dsonyay]

Late reply..: thanks for the comment! I will definitely keep that in mind when selecting the size I need. My fitter mentioned that too. He was saying nearly the same thing when we talked this morning. :)

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

@@dsonyay far too many people ride bikes that are too small for them! I should do a video about this topic. I see it all the time with latinos, Filipinos and anyone with a short inseam and long torso. Their head and sometimes head and neck are hanging over the handlebars over the front axle. That is terrible fit!! The bike will handle like shit. And before anyone argues with me ... if you are used to riding your bike that way and you have replicated that fitting mistaken all your life through 20 bikes or 20 years you don't know any better. I remember one time I was sizing guy up for a road bike. He was 6 ft and a bit. He had short legs and a long torso. I told him he was a 58 he vehemently told me "no I need a 56cm why are you forcing me to demo the 58cm" I told him because you have been sized and fitting incorrectly for a long time. We literally went round and round. Eventually he indulged me and took a 58cm out. He came back and said "Wow you were right! The handling the balance the stability is significantly better on this bike" I said I know this is what I do for a living. He said for the last 15 years every fitter put him on a 56cm because he had short legs and was trying to straddle the top tube and that was the measurement he used and all the other fitters used.

[@chrisscott8362]

Looks Fast just sitting there. Sweeet ride❤

[@rodjonsson813]

I wonder if they shouldn't just allow use of fairings.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Apologies - where do you see fairings on this bike or is that just a general question?

[@rodjonsson813]

@@SeeYouUpTheRoad Sorry George. Neglected to provide proper context - only imagined I did. That one would need to spend $10k to get a competitive aero machine that looks and handles nothing like a regular bike. Bolt-on upper wheel and cockpit fairings likely transform a regular road bike into something that does better - if the regs were to allow it.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

@@rodjonsson813 ahh!

[@junomaxzoey5146]

Nice bike. Is the cockpit all Bontrager ? Shimano Ultegra have a 53/39s crankset BTW

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

In their 12 speed line up? No they don’t. 50/34 and 52/36 only. and you can’t buy 53/39 Ultegra chainrings to customize it either.

[@dsonyay]

All that’s missing is a little mini fridge for keeping snacks cool and beverages cool

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Ha ha !!

[@WowRixter]

Looks fast standing still. Curious how heavy that rocket is? How'd you get that cassette so clean?

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Hello Ric I guess you didn’t watch the entire video. I mention the weight. Let me see if I can get a time stamp for you.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

9:08 I begin the weight segment

[@WowRixter]

@@SeeYouUpTheRoad my bad. Got called away. 22lbs 😳 must be tough going up a hill. Thanks George

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

@@WowRixter no worries, sir! The headline news is the bike is just a tiny bit over 10 kg. What I didn’t do was take out the items he may have in his top two fuel storage area or his downtube tool storage area. I literally had 15 minutes to shoot this video while he was inbound to pick up the bike. 🤣🤣

[@timtaylor9590]

ideally you'd want the elbow rests integrated out through to the forearms and hand grips. simpler, nicer looking, easier to make, less parts, lighter, and more aero. a worth while upgrade if he so chooses.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

These bars are purpose built and are perfect for what this bike is used for it’s a triathlon bike. There is nothing ideal about what you are proposing as an “upgrade”.

[@timtaylor9590]

@@SeeYouUpTheRoad the purpose is always to go faster, my point exactly. those are a dated design, have been out for decades. very traditional.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Three bars are designed to carry integrated water bottle with a hose coming out of it. The bars are purpose built. This is not a time trial bike where you optimize aerodynamics at the expense of everything else to include comfort. You’re on the bike 20-45 minutes and that’s it. In triathlon it’s all about practicality, comfort and where are you going to carry your water, fuel, tool kits, flat repair and so on for 112 miles. Aero is important but not at the top of the list.

[@jesusrodriguezestevez7231]

@@SeeYouUpTheRoad I actually disagree. One of the first things I changed on this exact bike was the pads (way more comfy) and next week the aero bars. Not exactly because of aerodynamics but because these bars are short in my case. Also the fact that the bars and the pads are connected - and do not have a lot of adjustment - makes it difficult to fit it. And for what I know from a couple of other people riding the same bike, they changed the bars as well, all Ironman distance triathletes. There is a quite interesting video from "The roaming cyclist" ranting about this cockpit. The BTA integration is neat but most bars can be fitted with a round cage which is alright in most cases. Apart from that the bike is great! I was a bit worried about the weight but even being heavier than my previous bike something around 1kg, it is quite faster. Mostly aerodynamics savings, I'd guess.

[@zachmuench7135]

Any idea what was going on with the seatpost dropping? Curious if that's a common issue on the new Speed Concept

[@jesusrodriguezestevez7231]

I don't think so. I have the same build as the one in the video (different wheels, tho) and no issues with the seatpost. Only issue I'm aware was the recall on the handlebar.

[@davidwatson1089]

Nice bike to fast for me.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Ha ha!