Seen at Sea Otter: A Special Ventum Build at the Wove Saddles Booth
Photos: Kevin Mackinnon
Nick (he prefers to just go by that!), the founder of Wove, a Boulder-based company that produces lightweight, carbon saddles with a one-piece shell and rails construction, has a unique bike on display in his booth at the Sea Otter Classic Expo this week. We had a chance to get our hands on the speedy-looking machine and check out the unique components Nick has adorned his Ventum Tempus TT bike with.
You can check out Eric Wynn’s review of the Tempus by clicking on the link below.
Of course the bike features the lightweight Wove V8 TT+Tri Saddle.
The Evolve Slipstream Aerobars feature Wattshop adjustable aerobar risers and have a water bottle mount on which a Wove BTS Bottle Cage has been attached.
Attached to the saddle is the Double BTS Bottle Bracket with two Wove BTS Bottle Cages which, of course, have two Wove Elite Fly Bottles and integrated retention loops.
The Wattshop Cratus 172.5mm crank has a Pyramid 58T chainring and Wahoo Speedplay Power Meter Pedals.
The rear wheel is an Evolve Charger Trispoke with ceramic bearings. The SRAM Red XPLR rear derailleur features a 13-speed 10-46 cassette.
There’s an 80-mm deep Evolve TroikaMAX+ Trispoke front wheel – both wheels feature Evolve disc lock rings for aero disc rotors.
As if the bike wasn’t fast, and cool enough, when we checked out it out in the booth we found it equipped with Velovetta cycling shoes, too!
Damn Nick… Slick. Sick. Quick
That seat is neat and the double bottle cage mount more so.
If bottles supplied on course are shorter/not one litre might a shorter security strap be worth it? @Nick_wovebike
Might one assume that that Evolve ‘trispoke’ (ha ha) rear wheel is legal for Kona?
Which pros will be sporting this setup at Texas?
The Evolve Charger wheel wheel is definitely Kona legal. See an aero testing chart below comparing it to Evolve’s own ASYMM Turbulate disc wheel:
Skipper and Sam Long will be using these new Evolve bars, but not at IMTX. And Skipper is on Evolve wheels.
The XPLR rear derailleur and 13s 10-46 cassette with a 58t is definitely intended for courses like Nice. Magnus used a 58x30t setup, so this is ‘strong AG’ oriented. Love this 13s UDH groupset, and the jumps on the cassette are very nice.
The Wattshop crankset is a work of art and needs to be seen in person to appreciate. 124.5 q-factor - May need to space that out for chain line, though we may use a positive dish chainring… work in progress. The ease this system allows for changing crank length is just amazing.
The retention loop still has a good bit of retention to hold a 24oz bottle well without a need to shorten the loop mid race, and if a shorter bottles are commonly used the loop can be adjusted (photo below)
The new double bottle BTS bracket has the loops integrated into the bracket.
The new BTS cage is oval to hold both normal bottles and on course narrow bottles.
Athletes on Wove saddles at IMTX are Rudy von Berg, Trevor Foley, Kristian Blummenfelt, Jason Pohl. Kanute will be on the Ventum Tempus in Texas.
Has Jimmy R said that, when asked?
Is there anything in the rule book that says how much spoke has to be uncovered or is it up to the official?
I really like the seat tube angle on that Ventum. Finding a frame, particularly an older design which is all my buget will support, that has such an “aggressive” tube angle is my biggest challenge.
I’m a bit of an odd duck as I am shorter and need a smaller frame, but I prefer a longer crank than recommended. An aggressive seat tube angle allows me to ride a smaller frame with a long-ish crank and open up my hip angle a bit.
It’s not quite as deep a rim depth as the HED, and four of the Evolve Charger wheels were used at Kona last year.
5.02 (a) (ii) The rear wheel may be either spoke or solid construction (disc wheel). Wheel covers are permitted only on the rear wheel. For reasons of safety, solid (disc) rear wheels are prohibited at the IRONMAN World Championship - Kona; (DSQ)
That’s it.
These wheels make such a mockery of the spirit/reason for the rule they should just implement a max rim depth or scrap the rule all together.
Agree, and iirc I argued this in ?22 when the HED 180s were revealed. Who is the Head Referee for IRONMAN? He can interpret what the rule ‘means’.
IRONMAN faffs around with bottle capacity and placement (rule should be that the placing of one BTA bottle is not to extend more than ‘x’ inches behind the bottom of the steering tube central axis). Edit: And allow a course aid station provided bottle down your front for safety and counter-littering rationale (see Simmonds in Dubai) but do not allow leaving T1 with one/anything there.
How about (for Kona if disc wheels are such a risk) that you say: the rim of the rear shall not be more than 20cm greater than the front wheel rim? Do you feel lucky?
Because you and I both know someone would then try to run a 160mm deep front wheel.
How come no one ever takes close up pictures of the evolve bars?
Cranks are too long.
Right now someone could legally run that design of wheel on the front in Kona (though it would be suicidal). Effectively the standard for front wheels is “don’t go deeper than you can handle” and that seems to work out OK (some of the lighter F pros go as shallow as 40mm). I can’t see any reason the same standard wouldn’t make sense for rear wheels. Right now it’s stupid to have wheels that are designed for one race that occurs every two years (well, ok there’s Coz too).
the length, I believe, is simply for the stated configuration and rider “X”…the Cratus cranks have a flip chip / insert enabling the subject crank to accommodate 160 - 175.