2011 Velocite Helios Aero
Road bike lovers will definitely rejoice when the new road bike from Taiwanese-based bike maker Velocite bikes dubbed the 2011 Velocite Helios Aero hits the road this year. The Helios Aero is a ground breaking new road bike formed from the collaboration between Velocite bikes and award winning aero bike designer Lewis Mathiske, who has also worked with some of the best riders in the world. The new bike offers great aerodynamics only Mathiske can develop and make.
Velocite is proud of their latest innovation because it is the only bike with true aero profiles within the maximum allowable limits as dictated by the UCI as well as provides unequalled lateral stiffness matching or above average stiffness for non-aero high performance road frames with less emphasis on the weight.
This herculean feat was accomplished by the Velocite team by utilizing the best available composite carbon fibre materials and unique manufacturing methods. The advanced carbon fibre layup for the bike also sports an extensive use of ultra high modulus carbon fibre. Meanwhile, the high compression moulding technology also ensures that both the bike frame’s exterior and interior remain smooth and wrinkle free.
This cool looking bike also boasts of a full carbon BB30 shell and an asymmetric head tube with carbon fibre races. It is also built with a 1.5” bottom bearing that guarantees that Helios Aero can go uphill or downhill with great precision and efficiency. The bike has a high compression moulding, and the frame’s smooth interior allows the Velocite bike to work great without internal guide tubes, making for the perfect shifting performance as well as making the frame compatible with the Shimano Di2 and any other shift by wire systems.
Finally the 2011 Velocite Helios Aero sports a full carbon monocoque aero fork with a narrow profile, wide stance and coupled with carbon dropouts. The tapered 1.5” carbon steerer also helps in making rides stable while going down a slope or sprinting.
Velocite Helios Aero uses a full carbon monocoque aero fork with a narrow profile, wide stance and carbon dropouts. The tapered 1.5” carbon steerer ensures the best stability and confidence when descending, or sprinting. This makes the bike great for multi-stage racing, triathlon or even for a technical time trial event for riders. The new bike will ship to stores on April 2011 in medium sized frames weighing 1250g while other sizes will be available in June and is priced at $2999. A setup complete with Shimano Dura-Ace with carbon clincher wheels on the otherhand will cost riders $6999.
This is the Helios aero. Completely different from the Helios they produced recently. This older version is not in production anymore, which gives an old version Helios customer reason for reflection.
The former version of the Helios was advertised as having ‘unsurpassable quality’, being a top of the line stage racer and, despite its relatively cheap price tag, being better than the unnecessary expensive BMCs, Colnagos, etc. Velocite mentioned that they could keep the price low through a ‘special relationship’ with the Chinese factory. How they managed to do this, was and I am quoting again : ‘a secret’.
I bought this former version of the Helios. Later, I asked questions about the non production of the ‘old’ Helios on the Velocite website. The owner deleted my questions. He sent me a personal email and wrote that my questions didn’t have anything to do with customer-end relationships and discussing this on his website would raise other questions. He wrote me as well that they had changed to another factory because the initial factory was cutting corners in quality control. This was the factory that produced the Helios as well. Of course, I reflected immediately on this ‘special relationship’ remark.
I found this rather disappointing. Don’t let me be misunderstood: the Velocite owner had treated me well. When I immediately noticed a problem with the internal cable routing and I expressed my discomfort (because Velocite had advertised the internal cable routing as superb), he called me ‘pathetic’, granted. But later on he wrote that he was not a specialist in customer end relationships, was the owner of a starting company and therefore couldn’t pay me the money back, and proposed to lend me his personal Velocite titanium frame, built up with my personal equipment. So that’s positive.
The negative thing is, in my opinion, that Velocite is not as open as they suggest, at least in my case. Granted, I am a 50 year old former high level ultra long distance runner who, as a middle aged athlete, wants to contunue endurance training through cycling in the Taiwanese mountains. As far as top level cycling is concerned I’m a nobody if we don’t count age groups. If Contador, Evans or Schleck have good or bad remarks about your frame it counts more than when I say something. However. I invested plus minus 1600 USD in a frame. That is, for me, a lot of money. If there are problems with my Helios frame immediately whilst this frame is advertised as the best in the world and two years later the frame is not produced anymore, and you mention that you changed to another factory because of quality control cutting, and you produce the Helios Aero, which is a completely different frame, what do I think as a customer?
Granted again, they produced the Geos, which has the same purpose as the ‘old’ Helios, but is according to me (slightly?) different. It’s lighter, and I think the seat stays ar thicker. Plus it doesn’t have an integrated seat mast. How about the superbness of the old Helios? Why building the Geos then? This is not logical, if you act upon your claims. Am I being irrational? Correct me if I’m wrong, no problem.
The old Helios, initial performance flag ship of Velocite, has gone within two years.
- Matter of fact, I’m not accusing. I’m not having any problem with the old version of the Helios right now. But if you say you’re open, put it on the table, in openness (according to your claims you don’t have to hide anything or lie like other big brands, as you say). Don’t accuse me of being irrational, like the owner did a few weeks ago. Or pathetic, like he did two years ago. I am trying to understand the process.
If the things mentioned above are explicable in an open an logical manner, this will only be a strong point for Velocite.
I congratulate Velocite on the business award they received over here in Taiwan. I think they are doing a good job, in general, and I think the older version of the Helios is a normal part of issues you deal with as a starting company. But I bought that bike. And I want to ride it for at least another five years.
Quit your whining. Face it, you made the mistake of buying a product that was replaced quickly with a newer model. That happens with every com
Quit your whining. Face it, you bought a product that was replaced with a newer model. That happens with every company and every product across the globe.