Aerodynamics expert Paul Lew (second from left) and Storck founder Marcus Storck (middle) are taking integration to a whole new level.
Making short work of their recent Faster Wind Tunnel purchase and Paul Lew hire, Edco wheels is now working with Storck Bicycles to develop a frame-and-wheel package that optimizes aerodynamics together.
“(Marcus Storck) is working on a new TT/Tri bike design,” Paul Lew told us. “And he wanted to collaborate with us so that when this bike is finished, it’ll be spec’d with Edco wheels that may have a special shape specific to that bike. He’s exploring new frame shapes and fork shapes that optimize everything together.”
Look for at least the preliminary results of that project by Eurobike 2017, and don’t be surprised if you see that sort of collaboration with other brands, too…
“The concept is that bike and wheels work better when they’re designed to work together,” Lew says. “This is a good way for us as a test facility to understand what that takes, and the Storck collaboration is the first take on doing that.
“Now that we have Faster Wind Tunnel, it’s something we’d like to do with a lot of companies. That goes for companies even if they’re not using Edco wheels. They’d have access to the wind tunnel, but we’d also offer consulting.”
Even though Edco owns it, the Faster Wind Tunnel is being operated as a separate entity. Data from third party testing isn’t shared with Lew or Edco unless that third party requests their analysis. Lew says prior to Edco buying Faster, there were companies testing there, but he thinks it was driven more by individual athletes. Going forward, we’d really like to see it become more of an industry resource that brands use of their own volition.
