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Velocite is a Taiwan-based company founded in 2009 by Victor Major and his wife, Jessica. In December, the company won a Taiwanese entrepreneurship award for excellence.
Velocite’s latest product – revealed previously in drip-drip teases on the company’s website – is the Helios Aero, a matte-finished aero road bike, due for shipping in April.
Victor Major calls the bike "ground breaking".
He said: "The frame is a result of collaboration with world championship winning aero bike designer, Lewis Mathiske. The Velocite Helios Aero utilises Lewis’ exceptional aerodynamics knowledge obtained over the years working with top riders, and specialist low speed wind tunnels in Australia."
Major said the Helios Aero is unique because it is currently the only aero road frame that has "true aero profiles within the maximum allowable limits as set by the UCI" and has "unsurpassed lateral stiffness matching, or exceeding the stiffness of non-aero high performance road frames, at no significant weight premium. Until now, gaining true aerodynamic benefits and at the same time achieving superior frame stiffness was difficult, with designers having to make a choice between the two."
The advanced carbon fibre layup features extensive use of ultra high modulus carbon fibre while the high compression moulding technology ensures that both the interior and exterior of the frame are completely smooth, free of wrinkles and manufacturing debris.
The high compression moulding technology and the resulting smoothness of the interior of the frame enabled Velocite to implement internal cable routing entirely without internal guide tubes, allowing perfect shifting performance. This also makes the Helios Aero frame compatible with the Shimano Di2 and other emerging shift-by-wire systems.
Velocite Helios Aero uses a full carbon monocoque aero fork with a narrow profile, wide stance and carbon dropouts.
An aero seatpost features 48mm of fore-aft adjustability allowing extreme set-forward saddle position. Price for the frame set is $2999, while a complete Shimano Dura-Ace bike with high profile carbon clincher wheels is $6999.
Velocite retails its bikes online and has three international distributors (for the US, South Africa and Nordic countries). The company runs a sponsorship program for amateur cyclists worldwide, promoted via its website and Facebook presence. The company has 3138 Facebook friends.
Major said:
“Launching a new bicycle company in late 2009 during an economic downturn was seen as a risky move, but we not only launched, we managed to prosper. I believe that this is due to our uncompromising approach to product development and design, focusing purely on the high performance market niche.”
