Campag4life

Thought I would share a nice experience today out on my daily ride.
I was cruising out on my training ride pushing about 200 watts, not too far from my FTP and I caught the wheel of a rather striking bike. He was ambling along and pulled up next to him and said hello and complimented him on his extraordinary bike. Not many of these around in my parts and there are lots of high end bikes. Further I hadn't ridden the new model Venge yet. After telling him how amazing his bike was we started riding together a bit. He wasn't what I call a strong rider but we were exactly the same height at 6'1" and he complemented me on my Roubaix and said he had a Roubaix as well back home in California he rides on longish rides and centuries. So we rode a bit and we shared our observations about the bike...I told him I knew a fair amount about it because I was a bike geek essentially and then casually and really jokingly asked him if he wanted to switch bikes and apparently he liked me...we rode different pedals also but were both size 11 in shoes...and he said why not?
Hell of a nice guy. He didn't even have many miles on the bike. It looked like a 56 which he confirmed and I thought was racey for a guy 6'1" but he looked sporty on it and he said he loved the fit. It didn't have massive drop and looked to have a 110mm stem or so. So we pulled over, swapped shoes and bikes and rode off together. I thought about dropping him because his bike was much nicer...JOKE and of course I had to let it run to see if the bike had more effortless speed and it did. He said he thought the bike was about 1-2mph on average faster than his Roubaix which was also a 58 like I ride. He said he liked my bike which has Campy and his new Venge had mechanical 9000 which I was used to because I owned it previously.

Will share some general observations:
Handling: Precise is the word that comes to mind. Goes exactly where you point it. Like a scalpel. Loved it. Very different than my Roubaix of course but I didn't feel out of control at any time.

Ride quality: we were on smooth roads and honestly it didn't feel like it rode any worse than my Roubaix. But again, we were on a smooth dedicated cycling road.

Saddle: Spesh Power Sworks. Loved it. Felt greater relief in the netherparts in the drops compared to my Toupe which is new.

Fit: Honestly, if I ever pick one up and after today's ride, I would love to own such a hotrod, I would consider a 56. A bit more drop and less stretched out compared to my size 58 Roubaix. I liked the fit.

Overall feel: The bike felt fast. I asked him if he minded if I would let it out...I wanted to take it to 25mph or so and hold it to see how it felt and he said go for it and I quickly dropped him. The bike would hold 25mph in the drops much easier than my Roubaix. Part frame size and partly my fit which was a hint more aero and more compact....more down and less out.. Part slippery smaller frame. Part very aero wheels.

Brakes: A last comment is about the brakes. Honestly they are as bad as have been reported. We chatted about that a bit. He told me he takes his Roubaix when he does more mountainous riding in CA. Honestly, the brakes really felt pretty weak. I reminded him that some of the top riders in the world race this bike in the pro ranks...virtually the exact same bike and they seem to be able to stop it. We laughed about that.

A great morning and pure delight. I will have to show some restraint in breaking my piggy bank. That toy is about $8K.

Pic of the exact bike and color below. Loved the color combo. Very cool.

maartendc

I'm sure its a nice bike but... I really hate that color scheme! Makes it look like a kids toy or something.

Nice that he let you ride it though.

Campag4life

I love the color scheme. A very distinctive design over and above the color.
I posted this thread in part to note that there are many great people associated with the sport as many know here. Sure was nice that he let me ride it. A treat to ride a bike so close to what the pros ride.

vinfix

It looks like a cool bike. I tried an older version, just a short ride and too small, but it was a go-fast bike. Too bad about the brakes. For 8 grand that shouldn't be an issue.

Shuffleman

I am sorry but you had me until the shoes. I can see letting somebody try my bike. However, there is zero chance that I am putting on some other persons sweaty shoes. No way. You are far more man than I am for that one alone.
I am not a fan of Specialized, only because I see them all over town. However, that color scheme is awesome. I saw one in a local shop a few months ago and loved it. In the last few years, I have seen running shoes goes from bland to very colorful. I am hoping that bikes go the same route. My black and white road bike is gorgeous, however it would be great to see less of the black and white bikes. I still have my old purple GT mtb. I love that thing. My black and gray new mtb bores me. Bring some color into the bikes....

Fldaves

Don't the crankarms on the pictured Venge look extremely short?

12strings

I would switch shoes of someone else in our regular club rides, but probably not a complete stranger.

Dan333SP

This was my first thought as well. If it was a friend and the shoes weren't sopping with sweat, maybe. If it was a stranger, that would just feel weird. I know you're not going to get some sort of foot fungus while wearing socks, but still. Ew.

softreset

Did you cut your hand on those DA9000 levers? Or did you make it out alright?

Campag4life

Hilarious. I like your sense of humor. Yes, DA9000 shifters feel like ass compared to Campy...the Venge owner commented as well but what was really funny was the bar set up. Shifters were way down the curve of the bar and the handlebar hooks were pointed up. Hoods were very low and hooks were high. Not a refined set up. I gave him some advice that I believe he will heed...remove a spacer and rearrange his hoods and bar position.

Campag4life

I am not a ew kind of guy...nor am I a germ fairy. I guess its because I have never had an issue...lol...and apparently he didn't give a flip either. Real men.

softreset

Excellent. I was worried that this was going to be a thread about DA9000 where you didn't comment about how terrible the DA9K shifters were compared to Campagnolo.

Crisis averted.

Campag4life

I have ridden the previous gen Venge as well. You guys have to try the new one. I believe my experience comports with the reviews on the web. I didn't think the brakes thing was a big deal but honestly if going $8K deep, it would probably be a Tarmac with the same wheels...believe a better overall bike...more modest aero cues of course but without the proprietary aero seatpost with crappy single bolt retention on the Venge and with DA brakes which are amazing. I ride Shimano Ultegra brakes on my Campy bikes. The Venge owner said wow about them and they are outstanding...love 'em. Stopping the new Venge felt like it was raining.

WalksOn2Wheels

To be fair, he didn't make any indications towards that until you purposely dragged it up.

Campag4life

Cool. Didn't want the Shimano fanboys to get their panties in a bunch. VIAS ain't about the grouppo. I would go either Campy Record or Sram's new wonder groupset eTap to avert some of the integrated stem cable wiring disaster.

softreset

You're absolutely right. But considering how often he would bring it up in other threads when it wasn't relevant either, it just seemed very appropriate to bring it up in his thread as well.

Campag4life

Thanks for the pull brother.

rms13

something about aero bikes that I hate

Campag4life

knew the haters would come. Afterall, its the 41.

rms13

There is not accounting for taste. I like matte black carbon bike and and modern steel bikes so what do I know?

Campag4life

Sacrilege to mention the antiquated s word in a thread about arguably the most technologically evolved bike on the planet.
Actually I believe the Trek Madone deserves top honors for a technical watershed and a bike I would consider before the VIAS.

dcsix

The color scheme is Tinkoff-ish. You can get away with outlandish colors when the hardware is top notch; on a cheap bike the colors would look..cheap..but not on this thing they don't, imo. Could never throw another dudes shoes on, though.

gsa103

Pros don't use the brakes (and consequently crash at frequency that most of us would find horrifying).

StanSeven

No real difference than walking barefoot where others just were - concrete around pool, beach, boardwalk, or locker room.

grwoolf

I bought an aero bike (Madone) earlier this year and the difference is real, but not 1-2 mph real (unless you are starting at 30+mph). 1 mph at ~25mph translates to about 30 watts. I think my madone frame/bars is good for ~10-15 watts @25mph compared to the tarmac it replaced (same wheels). Trek claims ~20 watts savings, but I know I'm not getting that.

With a top aero frame and bars combined with deep aero wheels compared to box rims, you might be getting close to 1mph at 25mph. If you are in a better position on an aero frame, 2mph or more is absolutely possible, but that's not typically a frame limitation. That said, a 58 roubaix with a huge head tube compared to 56 venge or tarmac could facilitate a more aero fit).