Our local Specialized dealer, Cycles de Oro, just got a 2012 Specialized Venge S-Works frame module in, so we jumped down to grab some photos and real world weights.
Seeing as how they’re presold all of their production runs on this and they only have a couple of frames making the media rounds, it’s unlikely you’ll see a ton of reviews on it…but seriously, would you really need to hear what any of us have to say if you’re in the market for something like this? No. But we still have our names on the list because, well, we wanna ride the damn thing, too!
Anyway, the first thing you notice is how simply massive the downtube and BB junction is. That’s my iPhone 4 with a case on it and it’s still slightly shorter than the vertical dissection. Jump past the break for a full run down and actual weights for a size 56 module…
Inside the BB shell is a fully enclosed carbon fiber tube, save for a small hole at the bottom for drainage and where the cable guides mount. The entire section is bulbous and smooth as all get out. The little “strings” you see on the bottom of the BB section are cable guides coming out of the downtube that facilitate running the shifter cables.
The headtube has an extremely narrow, hourglass shaped front profile, but from the side there’s plenty of material to stiffen it up. The non-drive side has inlets for the rear brake cable on the top tube and one of the shift cables on the downtube.
From the drive side you can see straight through the frame out the other cable inlet. The frame comes with ferrules and closures that mount to the screw hole near the inlet resulting in a smooth, clean appearance when it’s all put together.
Holes for Di2 are integrated into the frame for the battery (left) and front derailleur. The frame also comes with closures that are designed around Di2 for the other inlet holes, too.
A hard plastic spacer turns with the steerer tube to keep it aero even when you’re turning. In looking at it without an aerodynamic engineering degree, I’m not sure how this offers a benefit over simply building up the headtube to the same size since it’s not part of the stem, but it looks cool.
The top of the seatpost says to grease the clips, and both those and the post binder have torque limits printed directly on them. The seatpost is reversible, giving you 0º or 20º of offset.
Rear derailleur cable/wire comes directly out the rear of the dropout, out of the wind. The dropouts are faced with metal on the inside to protect the frame from wear against the hub.
The complete frame module (56) weighed in at 1,830g. At first glance that may not seem ultralight, but that’s for frame, fork w/ uncut steerer, headset, seatpost, binder, bottle cage bolts and bottom bracket. In American, that’s 4lbs 1oz:
Now, if only they’d get the McLaren Venge in!
