Kuota unleash Kougar aero road bike + video

Aero road bikes are all the rage at the moment and the latest company to add one to its lineup is Italian brand Kuoto, with the release of the Kougar aero road bike. The company describes it as an “aerodynamic version of a road bike without affecting the functional characteristics of a traditional bike.”

Watching the video and looking at the pictures, it’s clearly a road bike designed to slice effortlessly and clean through the air. There are requisite aero shaped main tubes, flat and wide fork blades and very minimal rear stays. The seat tube is aero with a cutaway so it hugs the rear wheel, and there’s an integrated seat clamp to hold the aero post in place.

Kuota have taken inspiration from a handful of manufacturers when it comes to the brakes. It has opted for a TRP mini V-brake up front, and located it at the  back of the fork, while the rear is a direct mount hidden behind the bottom bracket.

However, Kuota says a standard fork can be requested if you don't want the stock fork. Kuota offers up no aerodynamic data for this new frame, so we've no idea how it might compare to other aero frames on the market. 

The frame is constructed from carbon fibre, obviously, and Kuota claims a 1,030g frame weight for a medium. There is a BB386 bottom bracket, the seat tube accepts a Shimano Di2 internal battery, and the head tube is tapered with a 1.5in lower bearing. It’s available in four colours, red grey, green black and white and red.

Kuota has a strong reputation in the triathlon world and the video demonstrates the versatility of the Kougar. It has a convertible seatpost clamp so you can have either a 74 or 78 degree seat angle, depending on the sort of discipline you’ll be taking part in. Triathlon and Ironman rules are a bit more relaxed than UCI rules and the steeper seat angle lets you shove the saddle much further over the front of the bottom bracket for a more aero position.

We’ve contacted Kuota for details about availability and pricing of the Kougar. More at http://kuotacycle.it/en/content/kougar

In other news, Kuota has been confirmed as a partner of Team Androni for 2015 and 2016, and will supply the Italian squad with bikes for the season.

Says Kuota top man Maurizio Canzi: “Our goal is to create a partnership which focuses on the technical development of our products. In a few days the newest Khan frame (870 gr.) will be presented and dedicated to the Team.”

We’ll bring you details of that new Khan frame when we get them.