Ventum goes all out on its flagship NS1 V3 road bike, claiming it’s lighter, stiffer, and you guessed it, more aero than before

If you’ve listened to Lance Armstrong’s cycling podcast The Move there’s a good chance you’ll have heard him raving about his Ventum bikes. While Armstrong isn’t listed as an investor in Ventum, he’s one of its most visible and vocal supporters. It’s likely played a role in the rising demand for bikes in the US, and the Utah-based brand hopes to extend this popularity to Europe with the release of its best road bike, the NS1.

Now in its third generation, it’s designed to be the road bike “you reach for most”, one “that’s equally at home in big mountains as it is on windswept tarmac”. The redesign focused on three key elements: making it lighter, making it more aerodynamic and improving the fit without adversely affecting the handling.

Ventum says the latest NS1 is 203g lighter than its predecessor in a M/L (56cm) frame size. To achieve this weight reduction, it revised the carbon layup, refined the production process, and reduced mass in the front end of the frame and the seatstays, which are noticeably thinner than before. It resulted in a claimed frame weight of 852g and a bike that Ventum says is livelier and more responsive.

The aforementioned svelte front end has been reshaped, inspired by the brand’s Tempus TT bike. It’s deeper and sharper, with an hourglass head tube that reduces the bike’s frontal area considerably. The fork is new too, with deeper airfoils on the legs that extend down from the head tube. The aim here is to improve airflow while adding stiffness; Ventum says the new NS1 is 7.7% stiffer at the head tube than before and 11.9% at the bottom bracket, two areas where you notice it the most.

But a bike that’s designed to be ridden often over a range of terrain also needs to add comfort to the aero credentials. Ventum has adjusted the geometry with this in mind. The stack height is increased across the size range, as much as 13mm in the M/L size, which now has a stack of 565mm, with the idea that riders will attain and hold an aero position more easily. Reach numbers have remained; the M/L measures 397mm, compared to 395mm on the previous model.

Other changes are equally subtle, with the wheelbase just 6mm longer in the M/L size, with the aim of retaining the bike’s sprightly handling while adding a touch of extra stability.

Other noteworthy details include 35mm tyre clearance, a T47 bottom bracket, and UDH compatibility.