Nine Tri Bikes You Can’t Have

Published September 1, 2011 04:57PM

It seems like a crime, but you can’t buy these tri bikes in the United States. Drool all you want, but you have to take a trip over the Atlantic to enjoy these bikes.

KTM Solus Master

The seat tube, chain stays and seat stays look remarkably similar to the Cervelo P3. The downtube has a front wheel cutout and the seatpost juts straight up from the frame, making the bike’s geometry steeper as saddle position gets higher. It’s 2999 Euros with Shimano Ultegra.

Museeuw MCTT

Named after the cycling champion Museeuw uses its flax carbon to build this elegant time trial bike. It has a compact rear triangle, a dropped downtube that shrinks the gap behind the fork crown, standard brake calipers rather than integrated brakes and the shift cables route through the downtube. It has a standard stem and steerer tube aerobar attachment system and horizontal dropouts. 3,490 euros for this ride.

Bottecchia R 985 Cronothlon

It’s swooping seat tube swaps around the front wheel and the top tube juts above the steerer tube to reduce the gap behind the stem. The shift housing routes behind the stem and the front brake housing passes next to the fork and actuates the V-brake calipers that have quickly gained popularity as a hidden front brake. The rear brake is a TRP center-pull caliper. The seatpost clamp hardware is fairly broad and the headtube has a pointed cone extending over the tire.

Canyon Speedmax 2

Although this bike might make it to the States in a couple years, this version will only be available in Europe next year. It has an exceptionally clean aerobar attachment system and unique tube shapes that Canyon asserts are aerodynamically efficient—optimized from 0 to 15 degrees of yaw—and create minimal sideforce. This version has TT-specific geometry but Canyon is planning on creating 2 more versions with triathlon-specific geometry before bringing the bike to America.

Merida Time Warp Team

The Time Warp Team is possibly the only bike with a modular headtube. The upper section of the headtube is actually a removable and swappable piece that can be selected to reduce headset spacers. The downtube is narrow and has a subtle C-shapes swoop. The rear triangle has exceptionally deep tubes. The front caliper is external and the rear brake hides under the bottom bracket. Pro triathlete Matty White rides the Time Warp on the pro circuit in the States, so you could potentially see one of these, but they aren’t in shops.

Koga Time Trial

Although this version is a track bike (no brakes), the Koga TT is also available as a standard road bike. Its stem blends into the top tube and the seat tube has a totally unique bolt-on design.

Olmo Kronos

Deep tube shapes, an integrated seat post and the squat headtube jump out as key features of the Kronos. Its brakes mount at the standard locations and the top tube is raised to fill the gap behind the stem. The housing routes into the top tube.

Click here to view more photos of the Olmo Kronos.

Basso Konos

Rose Aero Flyer 440

The understated white graphics on the nude carbon finish aren’t flashy, but give the Aero Flyer a striking look. It’s top tube has a lifted segment behind the stem that accepts shift housing, the down tube has a wheel cutout and the seat post wraps around the rear wheel.

Follow Triathlete.com tech editor Aaron Hersh @triathletetech for updates throughout the Eurobike trade show.