Hi, all.
I seem to remember a podcast from last year where Nate, Chad and Jonathan were somewhat critical of the earlier models of the Specialized Venge.
Does anyone have any specific knowledge of what may have been the issues with the platform? I am looking at a used 2013 Venge but would rather not invest in something that has significant issues.
Thanks, all.
Josh
Terrible brakes, a particularly uncomfortable ride, and a PITA to work on, particularly cockpit.
I have a 2014 pre-VIAS venge and it has been my race bike for 4 seasons. Plenty of crashes, one carbon repair, but it is still going strong to this day.
If the bike you are looking at is 2013 then it should also be pre-VIAS (normal brakes, normal handlebars, ect.) Although it has some quirks It is closer to a standard road bike than the VIAS.
If you donāt mind that the bike is going on 6 years old then I can recommend the bike
Thanks for the clarification ā didnāt catch the year in the OP.
Awesome. Thank you. I was having trouble finding any review that was critical of the bike in that year range. I couldnt tell if it was just everyone hyping up the venge because it was a new approach to aero or if it was legitimately a solid bike.
Are the brakes on the ViAS less than great?
No personal experience on the VIAS but from what I have heard they were not fun to work on.
Some eye opening stuff about how bad Spesh really made the 2nd gen Venge (VIAS).
Read between the lines a bit and they nearly immediately recognized how poor a bike it was in so many regards. Add in the broken frames from the terrible rear brake design (and the comical solution via the replaceable hanger with an extra large lawyer tab) and you come to realize that the VIAS was a design destined to fail.
Sadly, it serves as an example of when engineering does all the work, and then doesnāt include people from many other departments to point out all the real issues with āthe perfect designā.
I had a 2013 Venge āPro Raceā until last year and it was a great bike which I used for racing, bunch rides and solo all-day rides.
No real issues except for the fact that it is not high on ācomfortā. It is an aero race bike, so isnāt as comfortable on long (100km+) rides as, say a Tarmac, but that doesnāt mean itās no good for theseā¦ it just means you feel a bit more ābeaten upā toward the end. Some carbon bars and 25mm tyres at lower pressures really evens this out.
I switched to a 2018 Giant Propel last year and it is noticably more comfortable than my Venge. However, I believe this is probably more to do with an extra 5 years of developments with frame geo, construction & layup more than anything elseā¦
Iāve got a 2014 Venge, and Iāve been a fan of it. My go to bike for majority of rides with the exception of hillier rides, which Iād rather ride the R5 for. Feels fast, but as everyone says not the most comfortable bike. Iāve done a couple of 100km rides on it though with no issues, but I also have a high tolerance for discomfort on the bike. The faster the bike, the less time youāre on the bike right?