Lucy Charles-Barclay has been on the comeback path ever since an injury derailed her early season plans, but she’ll be doing the line at this week’s 2022 Hawaii Ironman World Championship with the help of a new prototype bike from sponsor, Cube. We take a close look at the new prototype Aerium C:68X that’ll likely get plenty of airtime at this week’s event in Kona, as the speedy swim/biker will likely spend lots of time out front alone.
Can’t get enough Ironman World Championship coverage? Visit our Kona Hub for news, analysis, history, photo galleries, and so much more – new stories added daily from our team on the ground at the Big Island.
Lucy Charles-Barclay will be a riding a prototype Cube Aerium C:68X that is not yet available to the public in size XS .
She’s chosen DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT wheels for the Queen K, but will decide on specific rim depth based on winds leading into race day.
Charles-Barclay has a custom-painted Ceramicspeed OSPW Aero pulley wheel with a motivational tagline on her Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9200 12-speed drivetrain and 11-30 cassette.
Along with her custom pulley wheel, Charles-Barclay has a custom-painted Aerium C:68X frameset, and Wahoo Powrlink zero Dual-Sided pedals for power measurement.
Charles-Barclay will be running a monstrous 56-44t chainring up front on a 170mm crankset.
She’ll be racing with Schwalbe Pro one TT 25 front and 28 rear tires, pressure to be determined based on race-day conditions.
Sleek aero details like the cutout front end highlight the prototype Cube Aerium C:68X that Charles-Barclay will be riding.
Charles-Barclay’s cockpit consists of the “stock” Cube Aerium C:68X integrated aerobar front end.
To supplement race-day hydration, Charles-Barclay is using the between-the-arms system that comes on her prototype Cube Aerium C:68X and custom extensions, built by Cube.
Deep aerodynamic cups—a big trend amongst pros for the last few years—highlight the Cube’s integrated aerobar/hydration/nutrition storage system.
Charles-Barclay will use a pink Wahoo Element Bolt to display data while riding.
Nutrition is handled—in part—by the handy front straw of her between-the-arms system. Additional storage sits on the top tube.
Sleek lines and a minimal frontal profile highlight the prototype Cube Aerium C:68X’s integrated front end.
Other custom touches, like her name and puppy logo, highlight the unique custom paint job.
Additional hydration is delivered via a longer straw, magnetically attached to the bike’s top tube, just above a custom British flag accent.
Charles-Barclay has chosen an ISM PN 1.0 saddle for her return to the Queen K.
Additional behind-the-saddle hydration is supplied by a pair of XLab carbon Chimp bottle cages.