Trek used Saturday’s Stage 7 Time Trial at the Amgen Tour of California to announce their all-new consumer-ready line of Speed Concept triathlon / time trial bikes. Formerly only available to sponsored athletes like Lance Armstrong and Chris Lieto, Trek’s offerings for the Tri and TT crowd were comparatively weak. No longer.
Trek will now offer three models, two in carbon, with a wide range of sizes and spec levels to suit just about any rider on any budget. Starting with the top-end 9-series OCLV carbon models, there is also the 7-series with TCT carbon and 2-series with hydroformed Alpha Aluminum. Here’s the official word:
PRESS RELEASE: Trek Bicycle, the world leader in bicycle technology and innovation, officially launched its highly anticipated Speed Concept line of Triathlon and Time Trial specific bicycles on Saturday against the backdrop of the Amgen Tour of California’s Stage 7 Time Trial in Los Angeles. With its unprecedented aerodynamic profile, a host of new integrated technologies, and the most adjustability of any triathlon bike available, the all new Trek Speed Concept establishes a new benchmark of performance for triathlon and time trial specific bicycles.
“This launch represents the culmination of more than three years of design, engineering, and development,” remarked John Burke, President of Trek Bicycle, to a crowd of more than 300 Trek retailers, international media, and industry VIPs. “The Speed Concept project is the most technologically advanced endeavor Trek has ever undertaken, and I’m proud to say it’s resulted in the most advanced bicycle we have ever made.”
Pivotal to the success of the Speed Concept line were three primary design parameters. “We set out to create the most aerodynamic bike ever designed, hide as much of the bike from the wind as possible, and make sure it fit the broadest range of athletes,” said Trek Road and Tri Product Manager Tyler Pilger.
“Trek thought of everything with this bike,” said two-time Ironman champion Chris Lieto. “Just looking at the bike you can tell it’s fast. Everything is hidden; cables, fuel, flat repair…everything I need to put up the best bike split on the course.”
“When I ride this bike, I feel like I’m cheating,” added World 70.3 Champion Julie Dibens. “It just doesn’t seem fair to the rest of the field that I have this bike.”
At the center of the Speed Concept’s superior aerodynamics is Trek’s revolutionary Kammtail tube shape. The Kammtail Virtual Foil (KVF) is the fastest, most aerodynamic tube shape ever produced for a bicycle.
“Kammtail does three things for the bicycle,” said Doug Cusack, Advanced Concepts Engineer at Trek. “Basically, if you create a longer airfoil and truncate the trailing edge, it tricks the wind into thinking it is still full length, creating a virtual airfoil. The benefit is the virtual air foil effectively bends with crosswinds (yaw), maintaining its aerodynamic properties in all types of wind conditions.”
“The Kammtail design also allows us to create a tube shape that is stiffer and lighter than traditional aero designs, giving the bike more stability and better cornering,” added Cusack. “This is by far the most aerodynamic bike the world has ever seen.”
While the Speed Concept’s KVF tube shape is responsible for the majority of its superior aerodynamic properties, Trek’s engineering team made sure to take all sources of aerodynamic drag into consideration during its design.
“We didn’t want to create a bike that was fast only in the wind tunnel under perfect conditions,” said Pilger. “We wanted a bike that had everything tucked neatly into the frame design that a rider needs to race an Ironman. Hidden brakes, fully-internal cable routing, electronics, storage for fuel and flat repair, and even the skewer profile all create zero additional drag and an unprecedented aerodynamic profile.”
In addition to its unparalleled aerodynamic advantage, the Speed Concept line’s versatility and adjustability help set it apart from the competition. With five unique sizes, six different stems, and more adjustability than the typical road bike, the Speed Concept line blends unmatched aerodynamics with the perfect fit for nearly every athlete.
Trek will offer the Speed Concept in three unique platforms in 2010, for a total of 12 models in all. As the pinnacle of triathlon performance, Speed Concept 9 Series models are manufactured in the USA from Trek’s proprietary OCLV2
Carbon and are completely customizable through Trek’s custom bike program, Project One.
To compliment the high-performance and fully-customizable Speed Concept 9 Series, Trek also introduced the Speed Concept 7 Series platform. Comprised of five models with MSRPs ranging from $2899 to $3799, the Speed Concept 7 Series incorporates the same revolutionary aerodynamic advantages of the 9 Series but is constructed using Trek’s advanced TCT carbon.
“The only bike that measured faster in the wind tunnel than the Speed Concept 7 Series was the Speed Concept 9 Series,” said Pilger. “The 7 Series offers amazing technology and an absolute best-in-class value.”
Built with Kammtail tube shapes out of hydroformed aluminum, the 2 model offerings included in the Speed Concept 2 Series round out Trek’s new Speed Concept line and represent the most technologically advanced entry-level triathlon bikes on the market today.
“We really wanted to create a line of tri-specific bikes with a model that’s perfect for every rider,” said Trek’s Global Road and Triathlon Brand Manager Nick Howe. “The introduction of the 2 Series really cements Trek’s dedication to the sport and our commitment to making best-in-class products available to every cyclist.”
For more information on Trek’s all new Speed Concept line of bicycles, visit www.trekbikes.com/speedconcept
