In 2014, Diamondback presented a new theory on aerodynamic bicycles with the Serios TT/Tri bike. It used thicker than normal tube shapes to control the wind, rather than the popular waif-thin blades. Now, they’ve blown all norms out of the water to rocket from T1 to T2 with the all-new Andean.
Designed with aerodynamicist Kevin Quan, it presents the Aero Core concept, which says that the wheels are the most important part of the aero equation. Once those are selected and tires are installed, the best thing you can do is to fill the space between them as much as possible. Of course, a solid sheet would be hell in crosswinds, so they combined Quan’s experience with Dr. Phillippe Lavoie and his grad students at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS).
The concept started out in the UTIAS wind tunnel at half scale to prove the concept. In testing, they found that it was fastest with all of the storage compartments in place:
The gray line shows the Serios with HED Jet 6 front and Jet 9 rear wheels, with Continental Attack 22mm front and Force 24mm rear tires installed. The blue line shows the new Andean with the same cockpit and build as the Serios, without its storage compartments installed. The red line details the drag up to 20º yaw angle (cross wind) with everything installed as shown in the top photo, save for a Jet 9 front / Jet Disc rear wheel.
Final wind tunnel testing was done around HED Jet 6 wheels front and rear, with 24mm front and 26mm rear tires. The Aero Core concept fills in the gap between the center of the wheels, where the most turbulence is, with as much frame as possible. This also essentially takes the crankset out of the crosswind equation. They say the design gave them excellent drag reduction throughout the tested yaw angles.
Supercar aesthetics aside, there are a ton of useful features built into the bike that take full advantage of the massive fuselage.
Tool storage hides inside the main frame with a pop-up “gas cap” style cover.
Food, fuel and other nutrition can be stashed in the bento box section behind, on top of, and in front of the stem, which is hidden from the air by a horizontally placed water bottle.
Behind the seatpost is a slim covered pocket for your cash, cards, etc.
The Diamondback Andean will make its formal race debut at Ironman World Championships in Kona.
It will be available directly from Diamondback only. The move, they say, to direct-to-consumer for this model is two fold. First, it lets them offer the super bike at a better price, making it somewhat attainable. Second, it lets them work more closely with the end user to customize the build and preferences and improve the overall experience. We’re guessing it may also be a move to increase their reach beyond the existing dealer base. Prices start at $4,779.99 for the base build, which is in no way low end, and moves up to $8,069.99 with Dura-Ace Di2. Click the spec/price sheet to enlarge for all the options.
Want one? They’re taking $500 non-refundable deposits now for delivery in January 2017.
