The Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, may not be happening this year, but the new tri bikes launches are continuing apace today with the latest Scott Plasma 6 being unveiled.
Following on from this week's new Orbea Ordu, the Scott Plasma 6 is a complete overhaul of the existing Plasma 5 – the non-drafting bike of double Olympic champ Alistair Brownlee and 2014 Kona winner Sebastian Kienle, who also possess two of the sharpest and most informative minds when it comes to multisport aerodynamics.
The Plasma 6 has been four years in development (seen above is Alistair Brownlee in the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub), with its key remit throughout this process being: “To simply build the fastest bike the triathlon world has ever seen,” the Swiss brand tell us.
The new Plasma 6 also follows the recent trend (see the Cervelo P5X) of being specifically developed for triathletes over TT riders and, in contrast to the Plasma 5, isn’t UCI compliant.
German bike powerhouse Sebastian Kienle (above) provided constant feedback throughout the whole development process, while wind tunnel testing with Ali Brownlee took place at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub to enhance the aerodynamic and storage features.
“The integration of the hydration system, bottle and spares is a huge improvement,” says Brownlee, who made his debut at the Ironman World Champs a year ago this weekend. “It’s both more practical and aerodynamic. It’s also considerably more adjustable than the Plasma 5, which means I could try new positions. All of this showed as saved watts from the wind tunnel data.”
Major aerodynamic updates include the position of the back wheel, with the tyre sitting as close to the seat tube as possible to minimise drag (there are also six different wheel mount positions).
A key feat of the original Plasma 5 was the storage integration, and Scott believe the new Plasma 6 takes this to an even higher level as this has been “a cornerstone of the design from the first day.”
The hydration and nutrition systems are integrated into the frame and cockpit, which reportedly allow the rider to drink and eat without leaving the aero position, while making it easy to refill on the move. The storage box and seatpost combo have been created as an airfoil design, so in theory should make the bike faster.
The Plasma 6 will be available in two different tri-focussed specs and one frame set in stores by early December 2020. Pricing of the Plasma 6 Premium is €14,999 (around £13,500), the Plasma 6 RC is €8,999 (around £8,100), and the Plasma 6 frameset is €6,999 (around £6,313).
Head over to www.scott-sports.com/plasma-6 for more.
