Specialized S-works Venge
The new Venge is lighter, faster and more like the Tarmac. Or is it?
Alot has changed in the seven years since Specialized’s Venge first arrived on the scene. What hasn’t changed, though, is the manufacturer’s commitment to making faster and faster road bikes. With this, its third generation of the Venge, it claims to have created its fastest bike yet.
How much faster? Eight seconds quicker over 40km compared to its predecessor, the Venge VIAS, according to Specialized’s director of integrated technologies, Chris Yu. Eight seconds over 40km is not huge – it basically means that after an hour or so of racing on the new Venge, you’ll have barely crossed the finish line before you’d be taking the chequered flag on the old Venge VIAS. That said, the VIAS was a seriously fast bike to supersede, and in doing so, Yu suggests, the new Venge’s chassis is ‘more aero than most dedicated TT bikes on the market today’. Quite a claim for a road bike.
Cleaning up its act
The Venge VIAS was undoubtedly one of the fastest road bikes I’ve ever tested. Would I have bought one, though? Nope. I just could never bring myself to love its appearance. The moment I clapped eyes on this new version, however, I was taken aback by how different it looked. Gone are the gargantuan tube profiles and peculiar riser handlebars, replaced by a much slimmer set of
tubes and a great looking Aerofly II bar/stem (two piece, not one) that makes it look, well… a lot more like the Tarmac.
Add that to the fact that Specialized has somehow managed to knock off nearly half a kilo from the Venge’s weight, and it begs the question: are these two icons of Specialized’s stable converging, especially given the latest Tarmac SL6 also seems to be getting more aero? Not according to Yu.
‘Even though it feels like the Tarmac and Venge are getting closer, the aero and weight differences between the two are actually nearly the same as they’ve been since the beginning,’ he says. ‘We’ve dropped the weight of both so there’s still a substantial difference between them. Similarly, while the Venge has gotten more aero, so too has the Tarmac SL6, but there’s still a substantial difference between them there too.’
It’s perhaps telling that both Peter Sagan and Julian Alaphilippe, the green and polka dot jersey winners respectively at this year’s Tour de France, both regularly switched between the two models throughout the race.
In great shape
To arrive at the new slimmed down Venge, the company used a supercomputer to virtually test thousands of tube shapes. ‘When we put our first prototype, literally created out of crude tube extrusions, in the Win Tunnel [Specialized’s in-house wind-tunnel], we saw numbers faster than the VIAS straight away,’ says Yu.
The breakthrough in tube shapes requiring significantly less material is the reason the new Venge is an incredible 460g lighter than the VIAS. That’s huge, given that we’re typically used to next-gen bikes shaving off a handful of grams, and its claimed frame weight of 960g (56cm) means it’s only about 30g heavier than the SL5 Tarmac Disc that not so very long ago was considered the climber’s choice for Grand Tour mountain stages.
The impact out on the road is likewise huge. This new Venge climbs as well as any disc bike
I have thrown a leg over, despite it not being the outright lightest. I’d put this down to the incredible stiffness, as the solidity of the bike is instantly palpable. It’s as keen as a greyhound out of the traps when it comes to acceleration on the flat, and on climbs I regularly found that as I began to sense my speed ebbing away seated, the Venge encouraged me to stand and kick again.
The reward was consistently the same – a feeling of unyielding strength beneath my hands and feet that would give me a few seconds of boosted pace to keep me motivated to push on for the top, and not slump back down into the saddle.
Audibly fast
The way the Venge holds speed is impressive too. It even sounds fast. Whizzing along, there’s always an accompanying sort of rumble-cum-swooshing sound (a swumble?) that gives a heightened sense of speed. The Roval CLX 64 wheels play a big part, and their assistance in the delivery of speed is matched by their ability to cope with gusty winds. The push from the wind always felt easily controllable and not the wobble-fest I might expect from 64mm deep rims.
All this meant that aboard the Venge I was still matching previous best times and holding average speeds I’d only previously been able to hit when in prime physical condition – something that, sadly, I’m currently a long way off. For that reason I don’t for one moment disbelieve Specialized’s claims about this bike’s speed potential.
I would, however, contest its claim of a 40% improvement in compliance. Maybe 4%, possibly 14%, but not 40%. The new Venge is still a long way from being a cushy ride. I could feel every ripple in the road surface, which was never a big concern for a one or two-hour thrash where the eyeballs-out pace delivered far more fun than any backside pain could dampen. But the balance swung back the other way once the clock ticked past three hours.
There is a way to extract some more comfort from the Venge, though, as there’s clearance for up to 32mm tyres. I tested with Specialized’s own Turbo Cotton 26mm tyres (which it suggests is optimal for speed) but going wider might be advisable if you’re inclined to regularly be in the saddle for upwards of three hours.
The Venge is all the ‘R’s: rigid, responsive and really fast. This time around, though, that speed hasn’t been achieved at the cost of all the other important elements that make a road bike desirable. And this time I’m smitten.
It’s as keen as a greyhound out of the traps when it comes to acceleration