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TECH NEWS
Rose X-Lite CW combines aerodynamics and disc brakes for 2016
German direct-sales brand Rose has been offering disc brakes on road bikes for a number of years, and for 2016 the company’s new X-Lite CW combines an aerodynamic frame with disc brakes.
The new bike, which replaces the previous Xeon CW aero road bike, is actually offered in two versions. You can have it with direct-mount caliper brakes and quick release axles or, as pictured here, disc brakes using 12mm thru-axles front and rear.
It’s actually the same frame. There are disc and caliper rim brake mounts on both, but obviously a different fork is used on the two different bikes. That'll probably help keep costs down. The disc version uses Shimano’s Flat Mount standard for attaching the brake calipers to the frame and fork. The redundant disc mounts on the chainstay are covered with rubber bungs.
- 2015's hottest disc-equipped road bikes
The frame has clearly been designed to slip through the air cleanly, with truncated aero main tubes, a seat tube that hugs the rear wheel, internal cable and hose routing, and an aero seatpost. Rose claims 8% less drag with this new and improved bike. Will the aerodynamic benefits of the new bike be enough to offset the apparent drag caused by disc brakes? We don’t know, but we’ve contacted Rose to find out more.
Tyre clearance is increasing on modern road bikes, and the new X-Lite CW accommodates up to 25mm on the rim brake version, and 28mm on the disc bike. Why the difference? 25mm tyres is the widest the direct-mount brake calipers will accept, there is obviously less limitation with disc brakes.
The frame has a modular cable routing system, so it’s compatible with mechanical and electronic drivetrains. There are three bottle bosses on the down tube, the standard position or a lower position which is claimed to be more aerodynamic. To appeal to multisport types, the seatpost can be flipped around to steepen the effective seat angle and push the saddle further forward.
While improved aerodynamics as a key motivator behind the development of the new bike, stiffness hasn’t been ignored - the new bike is claimed to be stiffer than the previous model, with a reported 20% improved stiffness to weight ratio.
Frame weight is a claimed 990g (but doesn’t specific what size that is for) and will be available in five sizes from 51 to 62cm. The pictured model is the X-Lite CW C-8800 and costs £3,630 with a SRAM Red 22 Hydro R groupset and DT Swiss RC38 Spline wheels. Claimed weight is 7.1kg (15.65lb), impressive for a disc-equipped carbon road bike.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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12 comments
Canyon's Ultimate CF has already been ridden to numerous victories without disc brakes.
Why should they bother with an immature, non FIS legal system?
Because they make money by >selling< bikes.
Love the aero bike with disc brakes, love the aero bar and stem, hate the paint job with a passion! I thought we'd left the days of red/white/black behind.
Well they've certainly not blown the budget on the graphics
I think this looks really smart, although the paintjob doesn't 100% do it for me, and am particularly looking forward to seeing the inevitable disc-equipped Canyon Aeroad.
As for wheels, i'd be happy with a set of Reynolds Assaults (or Strikes) for starters. As time passes and especially once the use of discs in the pro peloton becomes widespread I expect we will see the number of viable/serious options expand significantly.
Inevitable? There's a CF Ultimate prototype. No word on when, if, that will make its way to the public. No testing is being carried out on a disc braked Aeroad. So that's probably years away.
Canyon are well behind Rose here and it doesn't help that they announce a MY and then deliver half a year later.
If you have an inside line on Canyon's R&D then fair enough but, in the absence of a compelling reason why they wouldn't bother then, yes, I believe it is inevitable. The existence of Projekt MRSC would seem to back me up on this.
No inside line. They said they didn't have plans for it as recently as June. Their 2016 MY has no discs. The Ultimate will come in at some point. Mid next year? Making an Aeroad at least the following year. A lot will have moved on by then. Canyon are well behind the disc game. Not helped by their Tour testing bikes being Campag and Campag not having a disc ready.
That has to be the lightest disc brake bike yet. From what I've seen all other premium carbon bikes are somewhere between 8-8.5kg
Have you checked out Focus Izalco Max Disc?
Now we are talking - aero road bikes with disc brakes! Yey!
Looks like we still need the wheel manufacturers to step up though - where are the deep section disc specific wheels, as opposed to the disc wheels on that Rose which appear to be just normal deep section rim brake rims that happen to be laced to disc hubs and have larger labels that happen to go over onto the brake track.
It's something I've been keeping a close eye on, it will be my next major purchase.
From what I've seen:
Zipp 303 Firecrest - essentially the same rim as the calliper brake wheel with different hubs.
DTSwiss RC38 spline - just about a deep section wheel, weighs about the same as the RC23 spline wheels I have right now but with another 15mm of rim.
Enve SES 3.4 Disc - look awesome but are *very* expensive. No Shimano CL hub options available yet it seems, and not especially deep.
I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones I've come across. There's an Ultegra-level after market wheel from Shimano as well which is 35mm I think. I'm kind of hoping they release a disc version of the Dura Ace C50 wheels - that would be perfect for me.