2024 has already seen a trickle of spy shots of new bikes under the pros. In some cases, we know what they are (it’s written on the frame) and in others we can have a good guess.
It’s not just spy shots that can suggest what new road bikes brands are working on; the multi-year product life cycles for bikes combined with what hasn’t had an update for a while are also good pointers.
So below are a few new bikes that have already seen the light of day, plus another couple that we can speculate are due an upgrade.
New Trek Emonda
The most interesting spy shot to come out so far this year has to be what we assume is a new Trek Emonda.
As Josh discusses in his piece, the new bike looks to take the Madone Gen 7’s IsoFlow seat tube design and adapt it to a new platform, suggesting that this may be a design feature that will trickle across Trek’s range – or at least the expensive end of it.
If this is a new Emonda, presumably the aerodynamic advantage of a large hole under the saddle trumps the extra weight from a more complex feature in what is currently Trek’s lightweight bike.
Despite the IsoFlow seat tube, the Gen 7 Madone lost around 150g from the Gen 6 bike’s frame weight. A lot of that was due to shedding the IsoSpeed decoupler, but this suggests that Trek can fabricate the IsoFlow design without a huge amount of extra frame weight.
There’s been a general trend for lightweight bikes to get ever more aero. The current Emonda has aero tube profiles and we’ve seen the latest Bianchi Specialissima and Factor O2 VAM incorporate claimed aero benefits. Talking of which…
New Factor Ostro VAM
Another new bike which looks to have upped its aero quotient is the latest Factor Ostro VAM. While we’re not sure what the Trek in the spy shots might be, we know this is a new Ostro VAM – it’s written in big letters on the chainstays/top tube.
The front end of the new Ostro VAM is significantly more chunky than the current model, no doubt taking full advantage of the UCI’s tube profile rule relaxation. Meanwhile, the rear is noticeably lighter and includes Factor’s barely-there top tube to seat tube junction. In the O2 VAM, this was claimed to increase compliance and comfort, while allowing the front of the bike to be stiff enough to satisfy the pros. It looks as…
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