Test bike gallery: Aero road frames

For the May issue of Velo Magazine, the tech crew puts four aero road bikes through the ringer, providing expert opinions garnered from over 150 hours of ride time and adding in objective, third-party aero testing at the A2 Wind Tunnel and torsional stiffness testing at MicroBac Laboratories. The battle was between a Cervélo S5, Specialized Venge, Lightspeed C1 and Scott Foil, and the winner may come as a surprise. Pick up the May issue, on newsstands and in bike shops now, to find out which fast frame came out on top. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Litespeed's C1 offers excellent value;€” it was the cheapest in our test by a few thousand dollars despite its Dura-Ace build. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The Specialized Venge S-Works with SRAM Red. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The Scott Foil 10, built up with Mavic Cosmic wheels, Shimano Dura-Ace, and a Ritchey cockpit. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Cervelo offers two different bottle placement options. The upper two bolts are used if the rider needs to fit two bottles, and the lower is used for shorter events where one bottle is all that is required. Using only one bottle decreases drag, and more so when that bottle can be placed low in the frame. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The S5 is designed to work with both electronic and mechanical drivetrains. Our VWD test frame was built up with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Two saddle mount positions offer a wide range of adjustment. That means the S5 is great for road racing or triathlon. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Our Cervelo S5 came with a Rotor crankset, but with regular round rings rather than Rotor's oval Q-Rings. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The S5 frame hugs the rear wheel tightly. VWD stands for Vroomen White Design, and marks the top-level S5 frames. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Despite a $9,000 price tag, our S5 VWD came with these non-aero Fulcrum wheels. They're great training wheels, but the bike deserves something better for racing. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Cervelo stuck with a 1 1/8" head tube, which narrows in the middle. Very aero, but not as stiff as wider head tubes. How much less stiff? Pick up the May issue to find out. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Cervelo S5 head tube. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Nicely routed cables keeps wind drag to a minimum. Photo Brad Kaminski

Internal cable routing on the Scott Foil. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Ritchey builds the specially-shaped seatpost for Scott. We were big fans of the clamp mechanism, which was extremely solid and easy to use. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Mavic's Cosmic wheels are extremely durable and reasonably aerodynamic. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The beefy head tube of the Foil transitions into a very sleek looking top tube. Photo: Brad Kaminski

IMP Technology stands for Integrated Molding Process, which is a one-step carbon build process resulting in a lighter frame without sacrificing stiffness. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The graphic on the downtube shows the airfoil desigin that Scott used to create the Foil. It is similar to Trek's Kamm-tail design, lopping the back end off an aero shape to improve aerodyanamics (and stiffness) while staying with in the UCI-required 3:1 ratio. Photo: Brad Kaminski

A beefy bottom bracket junction. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The thin wishbone stays are intended to improve comfort while maintaining lateral stiffness. Our lab testing determined whether they achieved the latter. Photo: Brad Kaminski

A deep head tube and behind-the-stem cable routing for improved aerodynamics. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The C1's seatpost is proprietary, and quite easy to work on. However, the head design does allow for a bit of saddle twist if not properly torqued. Photo: Brad Kaminski

A bit of carbon visilble through the C1's translucent matte clearcoat. Photo: Brad Kaminski

A smooth seat tube junction. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The C1 is designe specifically to decrease drag with a water bottle in place. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Litespeed uses a very wide fork, which it says decreases drag caused by the spokes. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The Venge comes with these 45mm Roval wheels, which are durable and somewhat aero, but are also quite heavy. Even so, the Venge with SRAM Red was the lightest in our test by half a pound. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Specialized's own S-Works FACT crankset. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The traditionally-placed cable routing of the Venge may have hurt it in the wind tunnel, but makes it much easier to work on. Photo: Brad Kaminski

Venge seat tube junction. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The Venge can be easily set up for mechanical or electronic groups. The small black plug can be removed for use with internally-routed Di2. Photo: Brad Kaminski

The Venge features an cleanly-integrated headset cap. Photo: Brad Kaminski