If you’ve been watching the early season races closely, you might have noticed that our Specialized supported athletes and teams have been sporting new models of familiar helmets and shoes. First spotted down under at the Australian road nationals and then at the Santos Tour Down Under, the S-Works 7 shoes and new Evade helmet caused quite a stir, not least because of their loud colour scheme. Despite their noisy entrance in the first races of the year, the full specifications of these new items have been kept securely under wraps, until now! The wait is over. Let’s take a detailed look at these exciting new pieces of kit.
S-Works 7
“Explosive speed, superior comfort.”
The new S-Works 7 shoe is designed to perform at the highest level without any compromise. Exceptional power transfer, undeniable style, superior comfort; all are packaged neatly into this updated top-of-the-line road shoe.
In response to feedback from the S-Works 6, the S-Works 7 benefit from new materials and a new construction method, incorporating our Body Geometry features to improve comfort. The vice-like grip of the previous iteration is gone, superseded by a more flexible fit that will remain comfortable for rides of any length. While they were at it, our designers also managed to clean up the lines to give the shoe a bit more flare, not to mention the exclusive BOA® dials that give the aesthetic a futuristic pop.
“Comfort like this wasn’t an accident, it’s science.”
Our ergonomically designed and scientifically tested Body Geometry features take responsibility for the all-important link between bike and rider, striving to boost power, increase efficiency and reduce the risk of injury. Attention has been given to the foot’s longitudinal arch, ensuring that the curve of the foot is supported sufficiently to prevent it from collapsing during the pedal stroke and therefore maximising power transfer. What’s more, our designers promise that numbness and hot spots are a thing of the past thanks to the design of the new footbed.
The Padlock™ Heel is where we’ve got ourselves in a little trouble before. The aim had always been to be slip-proof, but it came at the expense of comfort. Well, that just wouldn’t do, so following some rider feedback, the new Padlock™ Heel is more cushioned and flexible without compromising stiffness. Ultimately, every watt is sacred. Maximum power transfer is the name of the game and to do that, the comfort of the rider is of paramount importance.
You’ll find that the materials used to construct the S-Works 7 are second to none. The ply-by-ply carbon engineering for the shoe’s super light and stiff outsole was borrowed from Formula 1 and the Dyneema® Mesh that forms the main body of the shoe is the same stuff that NASA uses for atmospheric re-entry parachutes. Overkill? No such thing.
So, what about that space-age material, I hear you ask. Well, the extremely malleable and adaptive Dyneema® mesh won’t stretch but it will match the contours of the foot for “slipper-like” comfort without any power loss. The cherry on top – in fact, you get 2 – of the S-Works 7 shoe are the exclusive BOA® dials which were developed specifically for this shoe. Taking the BOA® mechanism to the next level, these CNC-machined alloy dials feature spring clutch internals and one-millimetre micro-adjustments.
S-Works Evade
“Be as fast as possible, but also as cool as possible.”
We admit that the original Evade was a little toasty, rarely gracing the summer races with its presence except in extreme (flat sprint) circumstances, so the designers took it back to the drawing board and the result is an aero helmet for everyday wear. With countless hours in the on-site Win Tunnel and numerous iterations, the result is a road helmet which is not only cooler but faster too.
The original Evade was born in the Win Tunnel from a want for speed and took many of its design pointers from the TT helmet. However, there’s more to a helmet than speed, so with the new Evade, the designers have pulled out all the stops to turn down the thermostat inside the new lid. The helmet’s revised shape is as comfortable as wearing no helmet at all. As far as aesthetics are concerned, it is less altered TT helmet and more dedicated aero lid with a shortened tail and lower bulk.
As part of the design process, the team gave themselves an education in helmet cooling, burning multiple helmet pads, and fingertips, all in the name of science. The objective was to create a helmet that makes you want to go aero on every ride. Oh, and the Win Tunnel? Well, it’s called that for a reason. This new Evade is the fastest helmet ever tested; faster than the original Evade and nearly as quick as our TT helmet. We have done away with the typical compromise between being lightweight, well ventilated and aerodynamic, maximising all three and designing a helmet that has a 6-second advantage over the course of a 40km TT.
The Evade retains the 4th Dimension Cooling System found in many of our other performance helmets with deeper channels, large vents and aligned exhaust ports to optimise air flow. As for impact protection, the patented Energy Optimised Multi-Density EPS construction paired with the Aramid-Reinforced Skeleton for internal EPS support make the helmet stiffer and lighter while also helping to manage impact energy.
The internal construction is designed to achieve the perfect fit for every wearer with an Ultra-Light HairPort II micro-dial fit system with height adjustability and a Tri-Fix web splitter for improved comfort and ease of strap adjustment. Comfort, sweat management and adjustability are all taken care of in the fastest and coolest helmet on the market.
