We don’t usually get new bike releases in the middle of December, but Specialized has bucked the trend by announcing new tiers of the fan favourite Aethos lightweight road bike model, alongside its annual new colour scheme reveal.
Aethos gets a lighter price point
The Aethos is the lightest model in Specialized’s road range, and up until now has garnered RRPs starting from £5,000 – that’s for the Aethos 10r Comp model with Shimano 105 Di2. As of today’s announcement though, there’s a (relatively) more affordable way to get your hands on an Aethos.
The new Sport 9r model looks very familiar. In fact, the geometry and silhouette of the new frame are identical to the models higher up the range. The 9r refers to the carbon lay-up, this being a lower grade than the 10r carbon previously found on the mid-range Aethos, and super lightweight 12r grade on the range-topping S-Works model.
Just when we thought we were getting rid of mechanical groupsets, the Aethos Sport features Shimano 105 12-speed mechanical. Despite this, the model comes in at just under £2,000 less, with an RRP of £3,250.
The Sport 9r has a claimed weight of 7.8kg (size 56), which, at first glance, seems to be very competitive for a 3k road bike. For example, the Basso Venta Disc 105 2023 that we recently reviewed weighs in at 9.05kg (size 56) albeit this is £651 cheaper.
It’s available in two colours, gloss fog tint carbon dune white and satin blue onyx metallic obsidian, and it’s specced with DT Swiss wheels and Specialized’s own brand alloy handlebars and stem. You can find the full build spec on Specialized’s website.
> The lightest road bike frames and components in the world
The Aethos has long appealed to riders thanks to its ride feel, classic lines and feathery weight. Does this new model do (nearly) all of that for less? Let us know your thoughts on the new model in the comments section below, and we’ll also aim to get one in for review.
You can also get your hands on an Aethos 10r frameset for £3,500, which joins the latest Tarmac SL8 10r frameset. It’s available in a satin carbon colour and 50% silver blue viavi/10% fog tint, with a claimed frame and fork weight of 1.34kg (size 56).
There are also new colours available for the S-Works Aethos frameset: satin clay/powder indigo, gloss carbon/magenta-gold and satin colour burst/harvest gold metallic, all priced at £4,750.
Further changes to the Aethos range are evident in the Comp model, which has been downgraded from 10r carbon to 9r carbon. We presume this is heavier, but Specialized is yet to confirm the weight. It’s priced at £5,000, and now features the new gloss metallic pine green smoke colourway
SL7
Despite the SL7 being superseded by the SL8, Specialized has released the following new colour schemes for the SL7.
The SL7 Comp is now available in gloss metallic spruce/metallic midnight shadow, satin red tint over carbon/red sky and satin obsidian/smoke.
Maybe they’ve got some stock to shift…
Crux
The Crux has always been the American brand’s out-n-out cyclocross bike, but this latest generation with super wide tyre clearances (47mm) blurs the lines between CX and gravel. This current generation of Crux is coming up to its third birthday, but for 2024 it has been refreshed with the following colourways: gloss vivid pink/electric green and satin taupe/smoke/midnight shadow/metallic spruce.
Diverge STR
The Diverge is the brand’s gravel bike designed to tame gnarlier terrain, and hasn’t missed out on the new paint party either. The Diverge STR Comp is now available in gloss white sage/pearl and satin metallic midnight shadow.
For more information go to www.specialized.com
Which is your favourite of the new colourways? Let us know in the comments section below…
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9 thoughts on “Specialized reveals 2024 colour schemes and the new £3,250 Aethos 9r”
Is it an Aethos when it’s 7
Is it an Aethos when it’s 7.8kg?
Is the Aethos actually that
Is the Aethos actually that popular? Dont think I’ve ever seen one in the wild although its pretty anonymous looking.
Kind of like a Tarmac from 10
Kind of like a Tarmac from 10 years ago. I’ve seen more of those in the wild recently than the Aethos.
Why not just lower the price
Why not just lower the price of the comp expert and pro too a sensible price and leave the s works for the dentists and vets to blow their disposable income on .the point of the aethos is how light it is and how it handles so build it with crap components and a heavier frame and whats the point ?
The whole dentist trope with
The whole dentist trope with S-Works is getting really old now, I don’t think it’s actually a real thing.
You’ve never been to
You’ve never been to Tunbridge Wells, then?
I dunno, £12k or so on a bike
I dunno, £12k or so on a bike kind of limits potential buyers to people who are pretty serious or pretty rich. I see the odd early-20-something on very fancy bikes (usually Canyons) going very fast indeed, but the large majority of S-Works and Pinarello owners I encounter seem to be gentlemen in late middle-age who give the impression of having done well out of their careers.
Not that there is anything at all wrong with anyone spending their money on whatever hobby they like, and I much prefer meeting them to meeting those who go round Surrey and Kent’s roads in their “sports” cars.
It’s available in two colours
This is two colours?!
Shocker, the road paint
Shocker, the road paint schemes are DULL! Just like the last iteration. The Crux looks awesome so why not put out those schemes on the road format. I would love it if they brought back the Tramac SL6 paint schemes.