Now that Shimano’s finalized the flat mount disc brake standard and other brands are all on board, commitments to the design are being made by bigger and bigger frame manufacturers. Parlee’s one of them, and going forward the Altum Disc road bike and Chebacco gravel/cyclocross bike will switch to it and 12mm thru axles front and rear.
They, along with all of Parlee’s bikes, also get new stock logo paint and graphics options to dress up your new bike without blowing the budget on cosmetics…
There’s no denying the flat mount brakes are sleeker looking, but they also help with frame design since the mounting bolts are closer together and the caliper can sit slightly farther forward, opening up room for the seatstays on smaller frame sizes.
Dotted graphics inside the letters are just one of the new options, as are color blocks behind the logo as seen on the Chebacco in the background. Further back, on the wall, are a few more color options. Or go nuts – Parlee’s in house paint shop can get very, very creative.
We had an exclusive first look at the new Parlee TTiR recently, but we wanted to check out the disc brake covers and other aero features in more detail.
Carbon fiber covers shroud the outside from the wind, helping streamline the aerodynamics at certain yaw angles.
The rear and inside are left wide open to maintain enough air flow that the brakes and rotors don’t over heat. Considering it’s a triathlon bike (that’s not UCI legal) and as such is unlikely to see many long, sustained descents, the concept seems solid.
The rear uses the same concept, but covers more of the front of the rotor since the caliper is forward of the axle.
A custom handlebar uses a top cover on the stem section along with an ancillary section behind it to transition air more smoothly around a bento-box style storage compartment. Barring that, a sloped part fills in to prevent an abrupt end to the stem.
