Observation on Venge and Tarmac

[fa63]

Saw these while browsing Bike Radar where they did a feature on new Etap equipped bikes, and made a quick animated GIF. They are essentially the same :-)

[fa63]

At least Cervelo tried a little harder

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[Mark McM]

Well, they are not quite the same - the Venge uses aerodynamic tubes, forks, stem, seatpost, etc., while the Tarmac uses more traditionally shaped components - but they do use the same geometry. And why wouldn't they? Specialized has their idea of a road racing geometry should be, so they would naturally use the same geometry for both.

Speaking of Cervelo, they are even more into using a common geometry than most. Their S series aero bikes, R series road bikes, and C series "cross" bikes all share the same basic geometries. The S5 has a shorter stack and longer reach, but that was acheived just by using a shorter head tube. The C series has a taller stack and shorter reach, but that was achieved by using longer head tube. If you were take a 54cm S5, a 54cm R5, and a 54cm C3, and add stem spacers as necessary to achieve identical handlebar heights, they would all fit exactly the same.

[fa63]

This post was tongue in cheek; I realize they are different :) But it struck me as interesting that the top tube angle and where the seatstays meet the seat tube are more or less identical. Guess it makes sense because even the Tarmac is marketed as a road bike with aero features.

[R3awak3n]

this post is great. It really shows you how ugly aero bikes are.

[vincenz]

this post is great. It really shows you how ugly aero bikes are.



Amen. Really all other non-round tube bikes too.

[Mzilliox]

some folks were born sans tongue, some sans cheek, and some sans tongue and cheek.

this is funny, marketing and stuff aero grams watts pro style :banana:

[KonaSS]

We are obviously seeing the convergence of fast frame shapes. Many new bikes will look like this. It all becomes a trade off between fast, weight, and ride feel.

[doubleklobbs]

Now if you could do the same comparison with the current top of the line aero frames from different brands it would be even more similar. BMC, Specialized, Canyon, Argon 18, Cannondale, Orbea, Colnago, Focus, and Merida are almost all identical. Props to Trek who are complete outliers with the shape of the top of the line Madone, but I find it to be a pretty undesirable look.

[ergott]

Now if you could do the same comparison with the current top of the line aero frames from different brands it would be even more similar. BMC, Specialized, Canyon, Argon 18, Cannondale, Orbea, Colnago, Focus, and Merida are almost all identical. Props to Trek who are complete outliers with the shape of the top of the line Madone, but I find it to be a pretty undesirable look.

Nah, do the same comparison for 80s bikes (steel is real) that y'all wish we could all go back to.