Avanti Bicycle Company adds JetStream technology to
its time trial frames
John
Cobb's original JetStream carbon aero fork admittedly looks a bit odd, but
the unique split-blade design supposedly diverts air away from the churning
front wheel, thus smoothing overall air flow and decreasing aerodynamic drag.
According to Oval Concepts, who currently markets and distributes the JetStream,
the design can shave a substantial 55 seconds per hour at 50km/h as compared to
conventional forks. That sort of time savings naturally hasn't gone unnoticed by
some top ProTour contenders, either, including Gilbert Simoni, Damiano Cunego,
and most recently, Cadel Evans, who used it to help achieve his second-place
finish at this year's Tour de France.
New
Zealand bicycle company Avanti already equips its current Chrono
time trial/triathlon frame with a special version of the Oval Concepts JetStream
fork that places the brake caliper behind the crown, but has now integrated the
split-blade design into the carbon seat stays of the 2008 Chrono. According to
Avanti, recent tests conducted at San Diego's Low Speed Wind Tunnel have shown
that the new split stays can save nearly a full minute off of a one hour time
trial, roughly doubling the advantage of the fork alone. Avanti will also equip
the new Chrono with an exclusive version of the JetStream fork for even more
time savings.
"We
have a burning desire to make faster bikes and were looking for innovations to
enable that," said Avanti Group Product Manager Kim Struthers. "We had the idea
which we knew hadn't been tried before and consulted Morgan [Nicol] at Oval who
agreed there could be significant benefits of integrating the
technology."
This bike design was ridden by Greg
Fraine originally from Nelson, at the recent Kona Ironman where he won his age
group in the race. He has been riding a prototype TT Chronos with this design
incorporated into its rear stays.
This is very exciting for Avanti
having recently produced a BMX bike under the ABD banner that was ridden to win
a world champion 1st place by our Kiwi champion Sarah Walker in
Cruiser class and a second in Pro class BMX.