Sexiest bike ever: the all new S-Works Shiv by Specialized

September 7, 5:47 PMBoise Triathlon ExaminerAndrew Beck

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When do I get one?

The all new S-Works Shiv by Specialized; if Batman had a bike, this would be it. This thing is sinister, menacing, and fast.

This machine leaves a lot to imagination. With nearly every mechanical component hidden within or closely against the frame, fantasies can run amuck thinking about what’s underneath its stealthy exterior. Specialized has proven time and again, most recently with its Transition model, that they are capable of making a bike not only look sexy, but perform in ways that will leave you wanting more. This is no exception. But there is much more to the all new Shiv than good looks, and its innovative bleeding edge technology and design set new standards of performance.

This is the bike that Fabian Cancellara has been smashing time trials on for the last half of 2009 for Saxo Bank, and it will be coming to market some time in 2010. Prices and quantities don’t seem to be set in stone yet, but you can bet that this will be hard to find and murder on the pocketbook.

Front calipers.

An entirely new approach was taken to improve the aerodynamics of this bike over the competition and drastic design risks were taken to achieve that. The first thing the eye gravitates to on this baleful machine is the front mount below the cockpit. The stem, top tube, head tube, and down tube come together into a fully integrated, massive segment. The handlebars and aerobar shafts are both also fully integrated, coming together to make one of the stiffest cockpits ever constructed, promising to deliver unparalleled road feel. Within that bulkhead you’ll find all of those hidden cables, which also lead to yet another aero feature that’s becoming increasingly popular in design – a sheltered front brake caliper. Being somewhat enclosed end below the front modular reduces dirty air collision with the down tube significantly versus typical higher placements in front of the fork.

Both Giant and Argon have experimented with similar modular designs up front to create smoother air breaking, but the Specialized Shiv completely smashes their drag numbers and comes in lighter when built out with like components. The net effect of the large, slim frontal bulkhead is that turbulent air “sticks” to it and comes off very clean over the larger surface area. At yaw angles of up to 20 degrees the Shiv even embarrasses its portfolio predecessors, the Transition and Tarmac.

Front profile.

 Despite the thin tube portioning, this bike is extremely stiff and it transfers power better than any other Specialized bike ever made, which is amazing considering it is one of the lightest, too. Even with a Zipp Sub 9 and 808, the Shiv only tilts the scale at 16.9 lbs.

 New engineering and manufacturing processes for one-piece monocoque design of the bottom bracket assembly gives the Shiv the sort of rear end stiffness you’d expect for such a high end ride, and even competes with high end road bikes. So far nearly every test rider who’s jammed the Shiv in a time trial extols its rigidity and response.

When this does hit mass production (if you could call it that) it will only be made it four sizes that are relatively limited and perhaps too much so for most triathletes. Because the tube lengths stay virtually the same on each size (just the seat post and front geometry change) the Specialized Shiv does not lend itself to the kind of endless fine tuning many triathletes insist their bikes undergo. The seat angle is static at 76 degrees and they don’t yet offer a forward adjustment piece. Because of this, don’t expect to see the Shiv much at all in many rack spaces next season. And let’s not forget the price tag; rumors are that the frame alone will sell at upwards of $10,000USD.

But there are a few big name triathletes who may give the Shiv a go at Kona this October, namely Terrenzo Bozone and Chris McCormack, who are sponsored by Specialized. They’ve been on a marketing campaign as of late and they’ve been seen on test rides together featuring the Shiv already on the big island. We’ll see how this bike does to get Macca back over the hump and onto the podium, and if it can help Bozone follow up on his Clearwater win in 2008 with a good showing in Hawaii.