As a person who uses English as a secondary language, I perceive the words a little bit differently. For me its not about pure semantics but “feel” of the word. Yes, Trek & Giant from meaning standpoint are strange names,s and you can say the same about Apple. But naming is not only about meaning but also how the name “feels” and rolls off the tongue. Simplon is, for me, just a not-pleasant word, and sounds like some offensive term for someone with some kind of mental disorder - it’s only emotional response, there is no logic in it. Half of the world uses the word Schmetterling to show the brutality of the German language (personally I like it) - and this is a similar example when you remove semantics and leave just a word. The same I could say about cars named Geely - I just don’t like the word itself.
I have nothing against the brand itself or the bike, just saying the name would be a very big con - it’s the same if the bike has a particular colour you do not like, and it’s an important part of the buying decision.
The bike and testing results have been around for a couple of years now, so I don’t really have much to comment.
Very likely to be a super aerodynamic road bike, but that’s all I can comment. Don’t know about any other ride characteristic.
Also, I hope everyone buying a bike like this doesn’t ride around in otherwise slow gear .
I have seen one too many people with super high end aero bikes, wearing obviously slow kit to races, with a greasy chain, slow tires, and wide a** handlebars…
Just saying that this is gonna be the first point of optimization, then turn to the bike
To a degree, yes. But optimizing a shape in and for the wind tunnel (where the air has laminar = smooth flow) and real-life outdoor riding conditions where the air has turbulent flow are very different things.
If you have a look at the data, then you see the difference between the Simplon and the runner-up is just 2 W or 1 %, and the two next-best bikes are 3 W slower (1.5 %). The top-8 are all within 5 W (i. e. 2.5 %). I am not sure what systematic and statistical errors are as they haven’t been published in the Excel sheet, but those numbers could even be within the margin of error. (Their notation suggests that the last significant digit is a single Watt at least.)
So yes, you have correlation, but the differences are so small that the order may change significantly when you consider non-laminar flow. If you go to more extreme comparisons (e. g. the TCR Advanced 1 tied for last place vs. one of the top-8 bikes), then I think your correlation does very likely carry over to the real world.
The reason that wind tunnel and field testing are highly correlated (see Validation of a Mathematical Model for Road Cycling Power - PubMed) is that the difference between turbulent and laminar flow is insignificant in this context. As but one example, there is no difference in drag between pedaling and not pedaling (averaged over leg positions), even though pedaling introduces turbulence.
Agree with this. Just based on the name it’s at a disadvantage. Ribble is the same. On the other hand, a company like Vitus, which I literally know nothing about, gives me a better feeling and I’d probably be more likely to buy them unknown. Welcome to the illogical world of branding and marketing. It is what it is.
I mentioned some aero bikes are converging on the same design in the first post reply because they’re designed for the same world. There must be a specific, shared goal they all have for them to come up with very similar designs.
Others seem to balance these yaw goals with other attributes that can’t be successfully done with carbon layup only, so they need to deviate from this new shared shape.
Someone rolled up on an Elves bike yesterday and it looks very similar, too. Another one added to the list.
However, there’s no way it rides as comfortably and confidently as a SystemSix. He even said himself it was a heavy piece of crap, but fast in a straight flat line.
Simplon may also be following similar aerodynamic formulas, but they appear to be a legit, small company with scruples. Their bike appears to be very well finished and thought out.
However, maybe I missed it, but I don’t see “tested with bottles” on these bikes like other makers.
Initial impressions matter, all of us are consumers. But imagine if a world tour team was riding winning on Simplon bikes, or Ribble bikes. All of sudden the name increases its stock and you’d start to associate it with performance and less from its taste in name.
Tons of options - and opinions - when one actually should have pounds of them…
Edit: And the difference in aero drag between 10 first bikes is like difference between very well tunnel optimized and super well tunnel optimized athlete position. Or two different generic drink bottles in a same bottle cage. It’s a thing everyone’s better consider when choosing position in a pack when sidewind or attacking.
I’m kinda curious to see what prices are like when it hits the US market. I don’t particularly love murdered-out black paint schemes, but I think the Van Rysel RCR is a nice looking bike. Looks a bit like a Factor Ostro or Tarmac SL7
I find Hambini’s style and stick grating and annoying. But he does know his stuff when it comes to engineering and aerodynamics. The larger point about being careful when extrapolating numbers from the wind tunnel to real life riding conditions holds.
Blanketing the field authoritatively with BS does not equate to “knowing his stuff”. He finds inconsequential issues and conflates them into major engineering / QC concerns. It is good for clicks.
So your point is that a bike/kit which is faster doesn’t matter to most people if they’re not racing? And if they’re racing, if it’s not very high level, still doesn’t matter?
Ridiculous point. All brands keep making better, faster, lighter bikes for everyone for the basic reason that it matters for everyone. It matters for them to be faster, it matters for them to have the best bike possible for whatever money they’re willing to spend.
You should also get acquainted with the Tour Mag protocol as it literally tests the bikes using the same protocol: same runs on the same tunnel, same kit, same dummy, etc.
As for the rest, and to do the reverse Ray Wolfinger, the plural of anecdote isn’t data.
He’s also been repeatedly requested/challenged re his alleged wind tunnel test and he never substantiated any of it. Not even pictures or vids of the wheels in the tunnel. The whole thing stinks.
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