WINSPACE SLC5 road frameset

The WinSpace SLC5 is the brand's most accomplished road frameset: frame, fork and aero seatpost, to build with an electronic groupset. The integrated bar, such as the HYPER 2 Riser, is sold separately. It is neither the most aero nor the most specialised frame in the range: it is the all-rounder, good everywhere, that you ride without thinking about it.

The layup combines four carbon fibres: M46 and M65 for modulus, so stiffness, T800 and T1100 for tensile strength. FEM analysis settles the order of the seven layups. That balance gives a 705 g frame in size M, unpainted, and a complete frameset under 1.2 kg. The weight did not cost any aero: tested in wind tunnels in Japan and the United Kingdom, the SLC5 saves more than 13 W at 48 km/h over the previous generation, according to WinSpace.

Aero power grows with the cube of speed: at 40 km/h, about 7.5 W of that gain remains. Real in a fast bunch, discreet on an easy ride. Versatility also comes down to the build: climbing wheels for the mountains, deep rims for the flat, the same frame for both. Two limits: 32 mm tyres at most, and an electronic groupset is required, Shimano Di2, Campagnolo EPS or SRAM eTap.

WinSpace gave the SLC5 to the Mayenne Monbana My Pie professional team, from Paris-Roubaix to the polka-dot jersey at the women's Vuelta. MAAKE lists it because it goes for versatility rather than specialisation, and states its two limits plainly.