Monday, September 25, 2005

Aero-concepts heads to Las Vegas

Aero-Concepts is set to head to the 2005 Interbike Convention today.    Aero-Concepts has partnered with both Sibex Sports and Elite Bicycles to feature the new Genesis Titanium 1-Piece Aerobar at their booths. David Greenfield, owner of Elite Bicycles has installed the new Genesis Bar on sponsored rider Todd Wiley's custom Elite and he will ride the new Genesis for the 2006 season.  Wiley is a professional rider located in the Philly area and will be working with Elite and Aero-Concepts to promote both brands. Sibex Sports will also feature the Titanium Genesis bar in their booth.  Sibex has a business relationship with Aero-Concepts and has helped in the design and manufacturing of the bar.  "National and International sales of the bar have been increasing" said Steven Harad, owner of Aero-Concepts.  "We have solid sales in the USA and England currently and the international markets are coming to Interbike to see the Genesis."  "Our goal is to have worldwide distributors in place for the 2006 season."  "I am currently looking for quality distributors who will also carry our titanium posts, stems and frames for the 2006 season." Aero-Concepts is located in Collegeville PA and can be reached at 610.585.8078 or stevenharad@yahoo.com

Monday, September 25, 2005

Bastos sets new course record at Beast of the East

HAYESVILLE, N.C. (September 25, 2005) – Pro triathlete Felipe Bastos (Breathe-O-Prene/Energice) , 24, of Brazil, set a new course record Saturday at the mountainous Beast of the East triathlon (1.8 km swim/90 km bike/21.2 km run), with his 4:26.05 win.

After dense fog delayed the race start, athletes headed into Lake Chatuge , but many got lost in a second fog bank that rolled in. Bastos, third out of the water, rode onto the 90-kilometer, mountainous road ride wary of what lied ahead.

“Ordinarily, I would push hard all day long, but I knew how brutal the bike course is, and the run is even worse. So, I planned to hold back until the run,” he said. Bastos arrived at the transition second only to a relay team.

“I held back so much that I actually felt fresh off the bike, and I just kept clocking sub-four-minute ‘k's' back-to-back-to-back,” Bastos continued. “I felt even better than I expected.” He broke the course record by just 44 seconds. “I knew it was going to be very close, and I really wanted that record.”

“I went to Beast of the East with three goals – win the race, break the course record and have a solid run at a half-ironman. This was a big confidence builder and great tune-up for Ironman Florida .”

For more information on Felipe Bastos, visit www.Felipe-Bastos.com , and his sponsors, Breath-O-Prene www.accumedtech.com , Energice www.energice.com , Elite Performance  www.eliteperformance1.com , Rudy Project www.rudyprojectusa.com , Paketa Magnesium Bikes www.paketa.com , Rotors  www.rotorcranksusa.com , Continental www.bikemine.com , Fizik www.fizik.com , Zensah www.zensah.com , Zipp www.Zipp.com , Cycling Innovations www.cyclinginnovations.com , Training Peaks www.trainingpeaks.com , Palm Subaru of Gainesville www.PalmSubaru.com , and Iron Guides www.IronGuides.net . For more information on Beast of the East, visit www.Eteamz.com/BeastoftheEast .

Monday, June 13th, 2005

Aero-Concepts Genesis review.

What I have here is the fifth generation prototype of upcoming Aero-Concepts Genesis titanium all-in-one aerobar. This is the very first commercially available titanium all-in-one combo I am aware of. I already like the concept.

Why Ti? Isn't it sooooooo last week?

First of all, you are not going to find a garage builder making ti frames. It is waaaay too hard to do it in the garage. Carbon fibre is a lot easier to work with in the garage.

Titanium, when fabricated correctly, can be a lifetime material. I have seen the first successful (read: not the Teledyne Titanium from the '70s) Litespeeds and Merlins last well over ten years. Some finally failed at the seat tube/BB area, which is the achilles heel of many bikes. But it took well over ten years of 10,000 miles plus per year, with plenty of racing may I add, on the two examples I have seen with my very own eyes.

While I have never experienced the mythical, magical ride of Ti bikes, many people I know who were frequent bike changers have made them their long-term rides; even going so far as having them painted up as their sponsors' bikes. One even went so far as to try and have a Colnago paintjob duplicated- but it was too good (it was actually better than the Colnago he tried to duplicate). Between that and my experience with well-made ti components, I do know of it's durability.

In a time where companies are wimpifying,er, um lightening handlebars (not a good move in my opinion), these are responsibly light; and you won't have to worry about whether a scratch will render them worthless, and there is a ten year warranty to help ease your mind on terms of durability. Chances are, you will tire of these before you would wear them out.

Before you wonder whether or not Steven Harad is trying to bring back the Aero or Die or the 100K style bend (for those of you who are old enough to remember these bars), he has no plans to do so. But you could twist these to do so. These are prototype bars, and as with most prototypes, they show some pre-production blips. One of which is that Steve is trying to get the correct pistol-grip shape. I twisted the extensions to make them photograph better. This is a hard thing to get just right, as a degree here or there can make a huge difference in how the bar feels in the hand. I can't wait to see the final product, and I am certainly not going to crucify Steve on a prototype, henceforth the funny angle on the extensions for photos.

The armrest cups will change considerably, as the holes will be slotted for larger range of adjustment. These have a decent range of adjustment with six holes, as well as a nice, long adjustment rail for the armrests.

Speaking of the cups, these are made of ti. Could they be too stiff? We can only find out from me. Steven told me the shape could change. I am going to see if a Syntace armrest cup, in my opinion the benchmark of armrest cups, will fit.

In a letter from Mr. Steven Harad, I will outline what he has remarked about the prototype:

6/7/05

Douglas,

Here is the Genesis Prototype for you to review and test. I will send you a final version once they arrive. The final bar has a few changes from this one. I have gone to a larger armrest holder, cleaned up the insertion tubes for te pistol grips, removed the "ski jumps" on the bullhorn so I can have a brake lever closer to the rider's hand, and overall cleaned up the weld quality and angles.
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For those of you who don't know Steven Harad, he has been in the bicycle business and tri business for a very long time. He was part of Elite Bicycles, as well as had his own tri shop. He does have the experience to do this, even if you have never heard of him.

Stay tuned to the blog for my upcoming impressions of this AND the finished product.

Wednesday, May 25th, 2005

Aero-Concepts signs on as an Associate Sponsor of Team Javelin.

COLLEGEVILLE, PA- Aero-Concepts will become an "Associate Sponsor" of Team Javelin for the 2005 season.  After carefully reviewing grass route marketing ideas, founder Steven Harad has agreed to offer price reductions to team members on all of the Aero-Concepts products including the new 1-Piece Titanium Genesis Aero Bar. 

"I really like the concept of Team Javelin" Harad said.  "It brings the team approach to the masses and allows companies like mine to reach a larger segment of the triathlon community as a team."  "I really look forward to working with everyone and introducing my line of Titanium products to them."

Team Javelin is part of Javelin Cycles and currently has over 800 members across the nation as well as international members.

"Aero-Concepts attend expos and events working with Team Javelin to ensure that all of the team members are happy with our products" said Harad.  "Our goal is to introduce our products to Team Javelin members first and then the general public."

For more information on Team Javelin, visit www.javelintriathlonteam.com . 

Here's another sign, perhaps, of the rebirth of titanium as a material du jour: a titanium aerobar. To be launched May 15 by new company Aero Concepts, the new bar is the result of five years' work by its creator Steve Harad.

"I started with aluminium and just wasn't happy with the outcome. It was essentially a 'me too' product," Harad told Cyclingnews. "I began working with Scott [Mares of Sibex Sports] to produce a full titanium 1-piece aero bar. Titanium allows me to produce something that noone else has."

That "something", according to Harad, is the Genesis aerobar, an adjustable time trial bar and stem assembly that weighs just 950g in 100mm stem/42cm width version. "We want the Genesis to be easily customized to fit the rider's needs," says Harad. "We are offering both "S Bend" extensions, straight extensions, and the typical curved extensions. Our pads are fully adjustable both fore and aft and left and right by approx. 5cm in each direction. Our bar is swept forward 5 degrees and has internal cable routing for increased aerodynamics."

The tech desk has to admit that it's been a long time since time trialing was a big part of my riding (beyond 'how fast can I get to the office this morning?') but the Aero Concepts Genesis certainly looks to have all the bases covered.