Occasionally seen Chinese language model EXS, within the UK at the least, had a stand at Rouleur dwell staffed by an extremely effusive member of the crew. In between waxing lyrical concerning the model’s titanium axles for the Specialised Tarmac, its superlight stems, and its new built-in bar-stem combo, I used to be proven a fork that has the potential to permit a Specialised Aethos, or any round-tubed bike it was claimed, to run the hoses and cables contained in the body solely.
The fork is primarily geared toward these bikes that already function a point of inner cable routing. The Aethos on this hypothetical instance is routed internally from the top tube, however externally from there to the bars. When you wished to make a motorcycle that was absolutely exterior you would need to get just a little useful with an influence drill and really a lot void your guarantee.
I did not get many photographs, such was my whirlwind go to together with a slight language barrier, however from what I gathered the fork, together with a corresponding stem options a big channel down the entrance by which a entrance hydraulic brake hose could be fed.
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With this EXS fork you’ll be able to, it appears, make any partially internally routed bike into a totally inner one.(Picture credit score: Will Jones)
So efficient is it that I assumed this was a tarmac SL8 at first look. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
With a view to hold issues neat the fork ships with an higher bearing, bearing cowl, and a collection of spacers. It’s unclear how one would then plug the following holes, nevertheless it’s a mark of how efficient it’s that the bike on the model’s stand completely handed me by as I assumed it was ‘simply’ a Tarmac SL8 with a elaborate paint job. It was in truth an SL7, working its hoses internally.
The model’s consultant on the stand was initially eager to level out that this might make bikes just like the SL7 or the Aethos extra aero, or at the least lower a extra fashionable look, however equally there are a good few fashionable classics just like the Cannondale SuperSix Evo HiMod (the one the place the chainstays will not be dropped) that would obtain a contemporary overhaul.
Along with this intriguing carbon fork system the model had a load of hyper gentle goodies on present too, a lot of which I’ve included in my Rouleur Reside tech gallery. An intricately anodised rear hub – spectacular given it is part of the bike so hardly ever seen by anybody aside from the proprietor and their mechanic – together with a full titanium 12 velocity cassette, seatposts, a 3D printed titanium bottle cage, and a blindingly gentle built-in one-piece stem cap and stem bolt combo.
There is a lengthy method to go earlier than weight-weenie-ism takes again the bottom it has misplaced to the aero brigade, nevertheless it appears EXS at the least is doing its half to redress the steadiness.
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