It was a good run. First unleashed onto the WorldTour in 2015, our Surface Silicone Topography (SST) technology, developed in conjunction with Drag2Zero’s Simon Smart, will no longer be compliant for UCI races when new regulations come into force on March 4th 2019. Read more on Endura D2Z here.
Utilised in team kits for Movistar Team and Bigla Team and also in Bridie O’Donnell and Vittoria Bussi’s Hour Record breaking skinsuits, our innovative use of 3D silicone chevrons was simply too fast for the sport’s governing body. SST now joins a long list of technological innovations to have fallen foul of the UCI – some good, some bad and some plain fugly.
The exclusive, patent pending technology was developed by us in close collaboration with Simon Smart of Drag2Zero, bringing together our knowledge of advanced materiel science and cutting edge garment construction techniques with Simon’s undisputed knowledge of cyclesport aerodynamics.
Validated by the world’s top road riders on the UCI WorldTour. SST is the result of years of R&D, studying airflow in wind tunnels in conjunction with the development of ground breaking new production methods to bring theoretical ideas to real world riding.
Where from here? We’re not done yet. As you’d imagine, we were already working on the next generation of aero kit when the UCI summoned us to Switzerland to discuss their rule change. What we have in the wind tunnel for testing now will be on the backs of our pro teams this season and available to the public soon after.
Of course, we’re not the first Scottish aero innovators to have proved too fast for the UCI to handle, Endura ambassador (and our Disruptor in Chief) Graeme Obree famously saw two of his aero positions – the Crouch and Superman – red carded after successful record rides. We sent Graeme to meet Simon Smart and test out a few things in Drag2Zero’s state of the art facility last year, the result was a fascinating insight into both aero tech, radical positions and a world class athlete.
