Building the Specialized Venge Vias

Here are some more photos of building up the bike this morning and then some photos of afterward. There were many good concepts behind the hidden cable design and mounts as well as possibilities for having Junction A externally mounted beneath the adjustable Garmin mount on the front of the handlebars. Some of the setup for the front brake is difficult and I have to trim the cable several times and re-sleeve it before it actuated correctly and smoothly. The routing over the the steerer tube of the brake hoses and Di2 wire was well thought out and (while tight) came together great. The addition of the carbon waterbottle cage (included) with the SWAT tool and mounting bracket below the cage was a nice touch. We immediately went for Supakaz Black Kush tape instead of the stock white and also replaced the white Power saddle with a black one to stealth it out. All in all, it built nicely and looked good in the final photos. Final weight with the cage and SWAT (no pedals) as stock build for a 56cm was 17.57 lbs. I am just going to display all the photos below right after each other so you can see the details. Message or comment with any questions!

The New Specialized Venge Vias

Hey everyone! We’ve just got the one of the first Specialized Venge Vias bikes in the shop. More photos of the completed bike to come later today! It definitely looks sleek with the aero brakes and curvy handlebar. The 64SLX Rapide wheels seem really light and also quite aero. I’ll try to have a few photos of actual weights for the wheels and the complete bike with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 11 speed. While the brakes look tucked into the frame, they seem easy to work on and I noticed all the little bits in the packaging made sense with flexible brake noodles leading to the brakes and the wires and junction tucked away nicely in the stem and under the bottom bracket. One thing I really liked the concept of was the control unit and charging port located under the bottom bracket shell in a nice protective case (Junction A). This means Junction B is placed up at the stem (hidden away), which is reverse of how you would normally install them. More to follow!!!

Shimano XTR Di2 Images and First Thoughts

Well, if you have been to the shop in the past week, someone working likely called out the Black Inc Cannondale FSi equipped with Shimano XTR Di2. Long awaited, with many preview photos and promises, the Di2 set up beautifully on the 29er and looked great. Some of the wire routing might get a little refining in the near future, but looks sleek and operates flawlessly (when set up correctly). The auto front shifting mode (Synchro) is creative and helps remove even more shifting error possibilities from the rider so they may enjoy the results more than the operation. Even more attractive motor sounds (than road Di2) when the derailleurs shift is welcome and should be able to be heard quite well while riding. I did neglect to have a pedal installed when rotating the crank arms, so my actions are not nearly as smooth in response to how it will shift while riding. Hopefully, we will be able to experiment with merging both systems — like maybe a rear XTR Di2 derailleur with a large rear cassette on a road bike or gravel grinder or touring setup and a road front derailleur. Seeing each component in the Di2 software will also be a great experiment for feedback. I will be doing a follow up article regarding it soon. For now, here are a few photos of the group (except the crank) and later (once processed), I have a video to post of front and rear Synchro shifting.