{"id":39327,"date":"2022-07-13T16:48:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T14:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=688957"},"modified":"2022-07-13T17:07:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T15:07:13","slug":"is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Is this FSA prototype the future of road bikes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Stan Portus\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

FSA has revealed a prototype at Eurobike 2022<\/a>, which the brand says looks to the future of road bike<\/a> design.<\/p>\n

Matteo Palazzo of FSA says the bike was going to be presented at Eurobike 2020, but it wasn\u2019t revealed at the time due to the disruption caused by Covid.<\/p>\n

Palazzo says FSA worked with its communications studio and the designer Jonny Mole to develop the bike.<\/p>\n

In fact, the prototype appears to share a lot in common with a Mole design from 2013, which has many of the same features.<\/p>\n

However, Palazzo says the brand decided to show the bike this year to help launch its new 12-speed groupset, the FSA K-Force WE<\/a>, and as a memento of missed Eurobikes.<\/p>\n

Why create a concept bike?<\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The bike has a computer in the stem.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

First things first, the prototype bike, with its radical frame shape and aero spoke wheels, won\u2019t be turned into a product for general sale.<\/p>\n

Palazzo says the bike is really an exploration of what road bikes could become.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to create something unique that inspires the future of bikes. It\u2019s thinking about what a normal bike could be with all the technology integrated,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a project to play with our knowledge of bikes. We sat at the table and said \u2018what could a road bike be in 10 years?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
You can tell this bike isn\u2019t for riding from that chain alignment.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In terms of integration, the bike comes with an electronic groupset<\/a> with all cables routed internally. But of more interest is the computer built into the stem, which is itself part of a one-piece handlebar-stem-fork design.<\/p>\n

Palazzo says the front end of the bike was developed in a way that mimics motorbike design and stresses this isn\u2019t so far-fetched an idea for a bicycle.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The bike was designed with Jonny Mole, and his signature is on the chainstay.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is something you could build in real life. It looks futuristic, but that could be real,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have to see if that part of the design eventually makes it to regular bikes, but with the greater integration of some front ends \u2013 especially on time trial bikes<\/a> such as the recent Colnago TT1<\/a> \u2013 it doesn\u2019t seem too out there.<\/p>\n

Maximise the aerodynamics<\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
You can see aerodynamic, horizontal sections protruding from the bottom of the handlebar drops.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The FSA prototype bike is intended to be aerodynamic, according to Palazzo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe developed it starting with a wind tunnel to maximise the aerodynamics as far as possible,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The frame has flowing lines throughout, notably here where the top tube runs into the seatstays.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

We don\u2019t currently have any information about the bike\u2019s performance, but Palazzo did point out one feature that he says helps the aerodynamics.<\/p>\n

There are pieces of material extending horizontally at the bottom of the drop handlebar. Palazzo says these have a profile a bit like an aeroplane\u2019s wing and help improve aerodynamic performance \u2013 as well as offering riders another hand position.<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By Stan Portus Published: Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 12:00 am FSA has revealed a prototype at Eurobike 2022, which the brand says looks to the future of road bike design. Matteo Palazzo of FSA says the bike was going to be presented at Eurobike 2020, but it wasn\u2019t revealed at the time due to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39328,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-scaled.jpg",2560,1706,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/is-this-fsa-prototype-the-future-of-road-bikes-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Stan Portus Published: Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 12:00 am FSA has revealed a prototype at Eurobike 2022, which the brand says looks to the future of road bike design. Matteo Palazzo of FSA says the bike was going to be presented at Eurobike 2020, but it wasn\u2019t revealed at the time due to…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39327"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}