Fezzari Veyo vs TT Bike Head to Head - Which Bike is Fastest?

This year Fezzari released their all round aero road bike, boasting it's real world aero benefits based on its airfoil design. This intrigued me and I set out to see how aero this bike was in real life. I intended to make this bike my road and gravel bike by swapping out two wheelsets. As I started thinking more on it, I wondered, as this is an aero frame, if it could keep up with my dedicated time trial bike and replace the TT as well. So after building the Veyo I set out to gather some data. I had to learn many things along the way but after several attempts and learning experiences gathered some reliable data.

If you would like to get to the results quickly click here. If you are into all the nitty gritty, read on and enjoy!

Bikes

Cervelo P2C 54 cm Carbon Frame

Williams Carbon 85 mm rim wheels
Hutchinson Fusion 5 tubeless ready tires 25mm with butyl inner tubes (I attempted to make these tubeless but the internal width/arc of the wheel would not allow a valve to seal)
Internal and external routing
Vision aero bullhorns with brake ends only
Caliper carbon track padded brakes
Shimano Ultegra 53/39 front - 10 speed with mechanical aero bar shifters
28 T max Ultegra cassette and derailleur
Stages Gen 2 left hand power meter
Vision aero bars
Shimano Dura Ace 10 speed chain
Weight (bike as tested no bottle cages): 19.78 lb

Fezzari Side View

Fezzari Veyo Size Medium Carbon SL Frame

Light Bicycle Carbon 55 mm rim wheels
Continental Grand Prix 5000 28mm tubeless Rear and S TR front with Silca sealant
Almost completely internal routing
Prime Aero Drop bars with brifters (brake and shifters)
SRAM 12 speed 1x with electronic drop bar shifter
Rival hydraulic disc brakes with rotors
AXS Quarq crank power meter with 44 t chainring
SRAM flattop force chain
Rival xplr derailleur 1271 - 10 - 44 cassette
Redshift quick release aero bars
SRAM wireless blips taped to aero bar ends
Weight (bike as tested no bottle cages): 18.87 lb

Same equipment used on both bikes

Pedals: Time RXS
Saddle: ISN PN 1.1
Chain Lube: super secret by Silca
Crank length 170 mm

Bike Set Up

I set out to make both bikes set up and fit as identical as possible down to the mm
The front end including elbow width was the exact same mm wide on both bikes
After making some adjustments from my initial set up in the pictures - I was able to lower the stack on the Veyo, allowing my elbow pads to end up within a half cm of the P2C height
The saddle offset was about the same on both
As this bike could potentially become my TT and road bike I liked the idea of being able to easily take on and off the aero bars which is why I chose the redshift quick release bars
The bar and aero bar tape was taped in the same manner and up to the same flat aero part of the bar on both bars

Course

I decided to use a road with a slight gradient and record it going both directions to get slower and higher speeds. I measured the distance with my wahoo and picked start and finish objects to make sure I used the exact same course in both directions. There were no stop signs or stoplights on the course and no unexpected stops or potholes.

Course Elevation Profile Outbound - Distance 0.98 mi ~ 0.7% grade

Inbound Incline Elevation Profile

Course Elevation Profile Inbound - Distance 0.84 mi ~ -0.7% grade

Outbound Descent Elevation Profile

I also wanted to test the Veyo vs my TT bike in a real world race experiment and set out to do the annual Karen Hornbostel Memorial Time Trial (KHMTT) series which is a 9.7 mile course in Cherry Creek State Park. Unfortunately that did not go to plan as apparently some racers were upset that I raced twice, with 15 minutes to switch bikes and get back to the start for the second start, 😳 (even though I made sure to request ahead of time and was granted two start times) and beat their times - so alas, my fastest time was discarded and that data is not included in this article.* Like a rookie, I forgot to start my wahoo until a few minutes into the first race, so between that and my time being discarded I could not include those results.

*KHMTT did reach back out and decided to include my first and faster result (but not both).

Process

Power meters were zero offset via my wahoo with the left side pointed directly at the ground in a vertical direction. Tires pumped to SRAM tire pressure calculator guide recommendations for tire size, wheel width, etc. The same apparel, helmet, sunglasses, shoes, cleats, and pocket items were used in each repetition. After selecting my start and finish objects, I rode the Veyo on the aero bars for the first four data points. At each of the starts with the incline I went into the lap at ~15mph (+/- ~ 0.5mph). At the reverse side with the slight descent I went into the lap at ~ 19 mph (+/- ~0.5mph, most of the starts I was right on target). I learned after the first few repetitions that it would be helpful to have the average power of the interval and the last interval's average power on my lap data page so I could record it prior to the next interval and I could keep track of which bike and what power number I needed to match for the next interval. I then switched to the P2C and road in the aero bars for the next six data points. I did end up experiencing a few wind gusts and grabbed my bullhorns (while still maintaining a low aero position) to stabilize the bike for those few seconds and returned to the aero bars. I then switched back to the Veyo and completed four more data points. Finally, I finished out riding in the aero position for the final two data points on the P2C for a total of 16 data points.

Metrics

I based the intervals on power but included the speed and time in the graphs even though I did not see or view those while riding.

Ride Feel Difference

The Veyo felt significantly better in the wind than my TT bike especially with gusts of wind or when cars passed at high speeds. The airfoil design definitely impressed and is a big improvement from the older longer flatter tear drop shape. While the P2C naturally feels fast the Veyo not only felt fast but smooth like butter going over bumps with ease.

Results

** The slowest and fastest data points were removed and only the remaining median of each set of data points were included.

Discussion

The Veyo is fast! And it does what Fezzari claims! On average after removing the outlier data points (the slowest and fastest data points**) the Veyo proved to be 0.13 mph faster at 20 mph and 0.7 mph faster at 28 mph than my P2C time trial bike. This was quite remarkable and thoroughly vetted the claims Fezzari made regarding the Veyo being a real world aero bike.

On the outbound course on a slight incline I put out an average of three watts higher on the P2C and was still slower than the Veyo. On the inbound course with a slight descent I was seven watts higher on the Veyo than the P2C but the data doesn't show a remarkable difference between the power and speed on the descent.

There are some obvious differences in the bikes from internal and partially external cables, a one by vs two by, deeper vs shallower rims, caliper vs disc brakes, different tires etc. My objective was to see if the Veyo would be close in speed due to its aerodynamics to my Cervelo P2C time trial bike. This P2C was the actual bike and exact set up I used to win the Tour of the Gila in 2022. I purchased the P2C back in 2019 when I was still doing triathlons and duathlons and realized they still use time trial bikes in stage races so I kept the bike to use for those few races the past few years. The Cervelo P2C is an older time trial bike but in its defense most roadies do purchase an older less expensive time trial bike to use for the few races it's needed per year.

The advantages and disadvantages of each bike are listed below. These are my educated guesses based on past reading on aerodynamics, drivetrain efficiency, and rolling resistance.

Cervelo P2C

Fezzari Veyo

All in all, comparatively, the Veyo technically had more disadvantages stacked against it, and the P2C had equal advantages with fewer disadvantages on paper. But not all advantages and disadvantages are equal which is why testing is necessary!

One of my favorite aspects of the Veyo due to the advances in aerodynamic technology and aerodynamic wheel technology is the difference of its feel in the wind. Typically riding my time trial bike can be a scary experience with gusts of winds pushing the bike and legit making me a little terrified at high speeds. Using the Veyo and being able to compare it side by side made the ride experience very noticeably different. Wind gusts, not a problem on the Veyo.

Lastly, having an all round road bike that can also be used as a time trial bike is a huge win. Most people only need to use their time trial bike at omnium or stage races and use the bike for a couple months if that, and the rest of the year it hangs in the garage. To make it even easier to have a two or three for one bike as a road, time trial, or gravel bike, the redshift quick release aero bars easily snap on or off the bars quickly without any tools. Having a two or three for one bike obviously can make room for the n + 1 bikes required by cyclists. 😁

Disclosures and Biases

Honestly these results surprised me which is why I had to test it so many times. I wouldn't believe it until I saw the results. But after looking at some other results online in testing a time trial bike vs an aero road bike these results seem on point. Ultimately the rider is the biggest drag - so it makes sense that matching your time trial position on an aero road bike could be just as fast and faster on a newer more aerodynamic bike frame. Lastly, for disclosures, Fezzari is the bike sponsor for Flow Formulas Racing of which I am a racer.

Further Testing

My objective was to see if the Veyo could match my P2C Time Trial bike set up. For those interested in seeing the Veyo compared to a more recent time trial frame (especially for a time trial specialist), would require further testing.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this experiment and geeking out on building this bike, collecting and analyzing the data, and dialing in the bike fit to match my TT bike. The Veyo is certainly a fun fast bike to ride and I'm looking forward to the adventures I will have with it in the future. I am also very excited to get back on my Fezzari mountain bike with my fellow mountain riders where your results aren't discarded because you were faster than the other riders 🤣.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Vincent Delinger for all his help on getting the Veyo set up, maintenance on the P2C, and his patience in all my tedious adjustments to get both bikes set up just right, for George Mullen and his excellent TT bike fit, Philip McInturff for the photography, and Fezzari for the amazing Veyo frame with its aerodynamic geometry.