Andres’ aero road disc

Andres from Beyond Aero asked me to build him a road bike – which seemed a simple enough request until we got into the details! He wanted to use disc brakes and have everything as integrated and aero as possible. With this in mind, Andres sent me the fork, headset bearings and stem from a BMC, the combination of which allows for the brakes hoses to run completely internally. I then had to create a headtube to fit – this meant machining the bearing seats for upper and lower to correctly fit the bearings and match up to the fork and stem. For the center section to join them, to reduce the frontal area this was given a tapered ovalisation.

The seattube was ovalised, and then a cut-out added for the rear wheel to fit into. Seatstays were ovalised and shaped for tire clearance, with an extra small bend to clear the disc caliper. The toptube is ovalised, the downtube is an aero section from Columbus, mating to a T47 BB shell which allows room for the brake hose to pass through before exiting from the chainstay.

There are often requests for a clearcoat finish – we have been trying to find a durable method for this; it is hard to keep corrosion at bay without the usual paint process. Andres agreed to test a new solution – his frame was handed off with a brushed finish, then Colorworks applied a two-part etch and clear process. It is holding up okay, but after hanging in the shop for a few months there are a few tendrils of corrosion appearing under the clear. We will see how it does in the long term.

With the release of SRAM Red AXS, Andres’ bike was one of the first to get the new group. To allow for a 1x or 2x setup, I machined a front derailleur hanger that bolts on – and the bosses are brazed to the inside of the seattube, so that it leaves a flush surface if the mount is removed.

• Tweet