Danielle Lewis’ Clean Ventum Tempus
Danielle Lewis’ rise in triathlon has been as raw and unpolished as the bike she once cobbled together from eBay deals and Craigslist finds. Without a bike sponsorship to her name, she raced atop a built-from-scraps Felt IA—mixing parts donated or discounted by local shops, often with visible wear and mismatched styling. It’s been a long journey for her since we shot her championship bike last year at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice.
A year later, as she comes to Hawaii backed not only by a bike sponsor, but also component sponsors that have helped her get what she needs for success.
Lets Dive in.
Front Drivetrain
SRAM Red AXS
| Crank Length | 165cm |
| Chain Rings | 56/43t |
| Power Meter | Red AXS Power Meter |
| Pedals | Wahoo SPEEDPLAY |
Rear Drivetrain Components
SRAM RED AXS
| Rear Derailluer | RED AXS, standard pulleys |
| Rear Cassette | RED 10-28t |
Cockpit
| Aerobars | Fast TT 2.0 Triathlon Aero Bar |
| BTA Hydration | Custom (mostly Tri Rig) |
| Number of Bottles | 2 |
| Cages | XLAB Gorilla |
| Computer Mount | Fast TT Garmin mount |
| Base Bar | Profile Design Wing Ultimate |
Rear Hydration
| Number of Bottles | 2 |
| Cages | XLAB Gorilla |
| Bottle Straps | WOVE |
| Hydration BTA | EZ Gains |
| Saddle | ISM PN 3.1 |
Wheels and Tires
| Front Wheel | FFWD RAW77 |
| Rear Wheel | FFWD RAW77 |
| Front Tire | Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR 28mm |
| Rear Tire | Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR 28mm |
I wonder what she plans to do with the bottle in the BTA, great idea but can’t be refilled, so does she dump it?
She has other bottle that she can refill that wasnt in the photoshoot. She will dump that one that is photo’d Im sure at some point.
What’s up with the saddle positioning and front end reach? Does she need a larger frame? That amount of leverage on the base bar would worry my dentist.
I think she is a hard fit to begin with. But my gut tells me she should look at a smaller frame.
So apparently her frame is a Large. You think she needs a smaller frame?
Look at how low her seat post is… If she went smaller she would able to raise that up and rotate her entire body forward. It would open up her hips, and she would probably be able to come back a little on the front end without giving up what she thinks is “free speed”. Anytime you see a seat post that short it’s a dead giveaway that you are probably on a larger frame than you should be.
My first reaction is this looked like a Premier Tactical, then I had a double take and in reality, it looks like an Orbea Ordu. Slick set up though!
The seatpost saddle combo is the most adjustable thing on a bike. With my 75cm saddle height I’m quite sure I would fit on most bike frames from a saddle position perspective by raising or lowering the seatpost and shifting the saddle forwards/backwards. Her saddle and saddle clamp are both shifter rearwards (I don’t know the seatpost angle of the Ventum), apparently that works for her. The most limiting factor is the reach on the frame, for which she clearly needs a Large, given the reach extenders on the front end.
Not really. Any time you go up.. You can can down. That’s how fit works. It’s a rotation of the whole.
Currently she is to low on the frame on the seat. And too fair forward and up. She “Thinks” she has fast as she can be. I bet if she went up in the back and down in the front it would pull her in a bit and she would be faster. Let alone be able to handle her bike better.
She is 176cm tall. I wonder if @E_DUB has ‘longer seat post is better’ bias. Suggests Matthews should have a smaller frame with more seat post exposed too. Maybe Mat Steinmetz can weigh in.
Even Kat’s husband thinks she would be better off on a smaller frame.. but Im happy to have @MatSteinmetz come and agree with me.
the bigger question is if that setup, with those extenders is even safe.
Yeah some of these more custom cockpits look sketch AF.
Honestly it just looks like a bad bike design. Ventum went aggressive with the seat tube angle and didn’t provide the reach to make it work. Every athlete seems to have their saddles pushed back and using similar reach extenders. Jason West’s in Nice has the same issues.
Appears to be either the wrong bike or a poor fit, or both. I’m curious what “clean” means in your title?