CeramicSpeed debuts aero rear derailleur cage

CeramicSpeed is introducing an aero rear derailleur cage, the new component having been first used on the new Wilier TT Turbine New Innovation Lab bikes that Astana Qazaqstan rode in the Giro d'Italia over the weekend.

We'll come back to the bike itself in a mo and deal with the CeramicSpeed rear derailleur cage first. This isn't the first aero rear derailleur cage ever but they're hardly a common sight. CeramicSpeed's cage was fitted to a Shimano Dura-Ace 9150 Di2 derailleur (not all pro bikes are fitted with the latest Dura-Ace 9250 components yet).

Although we have pictures of the Aero OSPW (Oversized Pulley wheel) cage, we're relying on Triathlete magazine for our info here because CeramicSpeed says – firmly but politely – that it's not commenting further until the Tour de France.

It was a big weekend for aero bikes and components with an individual time trial at the Giro d'Italia and the Ironman World Championships taking place in the USA. We saw new bikes from Colnago and Cadex, and new wheels from Black Inc.

Check out Colnago's TT1 with prototype Campagnolo components

Triathlete reported that the pre-production Aero OSPW cage is a collaboration between CeramicSpeed and UK-based Drag2Zero – a company whose work we've covered many times on road.cc in the past, although not recently. Drag2Zero, established by aerodynamicist Simon Smart, "provides technical and aerodynamic consultancy services to the cycle industry, pro tour teams and professional triathletes". 

The Aero OSPW cage operates in the usual way, it's just that the two jockey wheels and the chain that moves over them are hidden away from the moving air.

Although CeramicSpeed has yet to release any specific claims, it's fair to say that an aero rear derailleur cage is specialist kit that's going to be used only by those chasing the most marginal of marginal gains – hence its use by pro triathletes and WorldTeam cyclists.  

It'll be available for $800 from 21 June 2022. $800 converts to about £645, although there's no guarantee that European pricing will be the same. We asked, of course, but we got that 'no comment' response from CeramicSpeed.

As mentioned up top, the CeramicSpeed Aero OSPW shown here is on the Wilier TT Turbine bike used by Astana Qazaqstan riders in the Giro d'Italia over the weekend. 

"Starting from the previous frame, Wilier Triestina's Innovation Lab department has made some important changes to improve the performance, developing the Turbine SLR, a new version of Turbine that is much faster on roads with slopes and continuous changes of direction," says Wilier. "This was possible thanks to a strong reduction of the overall frame weight by 300g.
  
"In terms of design and technical solutions, the new frame has been optimised for the latest generation of groupsets, such as the new Shimano Dura-Ace. The down tube, for example, no longer has any holes for cables. 

"Other very important elements are the custom-made extension bars made by Wilier Triestina for the top athletes of the Kazakh team, optimised with tests in the wind tunnel and indoors inside the velodrome."
 
Although described as a prototype, the Wilier Triestina Turbine SLR has been on the UCI's List of Approved Models of Frameset for a few weeks. 

www.ceramicspeed.com
wilier.com/en