Aethos 2. To whom? Why not to me?
Aethos 2. For whom?
Why not for me?
Just by looking at it, it's difficult to understand why Aethos exists at all. There's Tarmac (a racing bike) and Roubaix (a more comfortable long-distance bike). The story is also clear with Diverge and Crux. But Aethos?
When the (first) Aethos was created four years ago, it was to show how light a bike could be made. UCI rules? Not interested. Aethos was not for racing in UCI races. At the same time, it was the creation of the Aethos that helped develop the lightweight + aerodynamic Tarmac (created for racing in UCI races). Similarly, the development of the new (lightweight) Crux was spurred on by what had been tested with the first lightweight Aethos.
Now, however, the situation is the same, but also a little different. The Aethos 2 is still super light. The lightest frame (595g), saddle mount (-9g), brake mounts (-2g), BB-Cups (-6 grams), and new UDH frame dropout (-2g). But lightness was no longer the only goal.
The Aethos 2 is significantly more comfortable (+15 mm stack) than the Tarmac. It has a slightly longer wheelbase and a slightly lower center of gravity. But it does not have the same geometry as the Roubaix.
The Aethos 2 is super simple. If you look at all the tubes, you won't find any oddities. Like, for example, a weirdly shaped handlebar or seat tube. Everything is super-super simple. The cables are inside. Specialized itself quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupéry here: "Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away." It seems that everything possible has been taken away from the Aethos. What remains is the simplest (simplest!) bike possible. Except that it is completely modern, the latest in technology.
So... let Remco and everyone else who races ride the Tarmac. But maybe the Aethos is for me (and maybe for you too).
