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TECH NEWS
tom boonen specialized venge disc.png"Best bike I've ever had…" Tom Boonen likes his new Specialized Venge Disc then
Earlier this week we reported on the news that the Cannondale-Drapac team have been training through the winter aboard disc-equipped race bikes. And yesterday Tom Boonen, who enters his final season with QuickStep in 2017, has raved about the unbelievable performance of his Specialized Venge ViAS Disc race bike.
“Best bike I ever had, unbelievable performance!’ says Boonen in a caption accompanying a photograph he posted to Instagram. The post has had quite a reaction, with nearly 9k likes and scores of comments, most asking about the disc brakes.
- Could Cannondale-Drapac be the first team to adopt disc brakes
Now, of course, critics will be quick to point out that that obviously, Specialized has paid him to say that, but the spontaneous nature of the photo sharing app suggests to us that he’s voiced his own personal views on the bike, rather than being forced. We might be wrong, though, and a fat cheque might be just out of shot…
Tom Boonen has been involved in the development of the new disc-equipped Roubaix as well and was at the worldwide launch earlier this year. And it’s clear from this photo he’s one of a growing number of professionals using the winter to get familiar with disc brakes.
Review: Specialized Venge ViAS Expert Disc
Whether he uses disc brakes when the race season kicks off is another thing. Will we see him racing a disc-equipped race bike when it comes to competing in his favourite races, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, for the final time in his storied career?
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
Disc brakes, they've still got to iron out some issues and standardize some of the components.
Have they sorted out the temperature build up issues on long descents? Last I heard from one experienced journalist who came down hard at 40mph because of issues with the disc rotor (new bike, so no blaming maintenance issues) was that to make them safe for prolonged periods of braking, they would have to be a lot bigger than most manufacturers would like, for aesthetic reasons. Disc size isn't an issue on MTBs.
Let's just say that it would be very unprofessional of him, if he said it without sponsors knowledge. They are paid for every message that they put out on social networks.
Can i haz free bikez?
Well given that parts like drivetrain are common among same class bikes and the fact that all top end bikes do not have such great differences, this statement may not be such untrue or sponsor driven. Not to mention that Specialized in general makes good but overpriced products. P.e. The top saddles I have ever tried are definitely made by the big S
A famous cycling pro publicly praises the bike that he's paid to ride & publicise?
Who'd have thought?
Given that, as mentioned, he was supposedly involved in developing the Roubaix, this might just be his way get out of riding that particular contraption when it counts.
Do you really think that a consummate prof like Tom Boonen isn't aware of the power of instagram. Professional riders are paid to promote the kit they ride. I recently heard Sean Kelly sing the praises of the notoriously shite Mavic groupset that he had been paid to ride. That wasn't even from a specific manufacturer, just being other minor manufacturer's products rebadged as Mavic.
yeah, but to be fair - they have sponsored a 60 year old, how high are expectations gonna be?
"Best bike I've ever had, I didn't even have to pay for it and they even pay me a large amount of money to ride it"
Better looking without the original Venge bars and stem
Last year it was Cancellara and now the anticipation is building for Boonen's Classics swansong.
read the last line too quickly and thought it referred to his "steroid career", which I thought was a bit controversial.