Three cool bikes from Wilier, Mercedes & Pinarello

Wilier Triestina Filante SLR

The real world is messy. It’s not full of the clean, turbulence-free air found in a sterile wind tunnel. That’s why, for its newest aero bike, the Filante SLR, Wilier has turned to aeronautical NACA airfoils with a truncated kamm tail to make the most of real-world conditions. In the past, Wilier has relied on sharper tube angles, which are superior at certain wind angles, but, again, it’s far from all the time that we experience those winds. The Filante SLR rounds out those tube shapes, allowing air to better adhere to them across wind conditions and yaw angles. The fork stance is also super-wide, decreasing turbulence between the fork blade and wheel. And since the fork is the first thing the wind sees, aero savings here go a long way. The secondary benefit to those tube-shape changes is weight savings, with the rounded tubes requiring less of Wilier’s HUS-MOD unidirectional carbon-and-liquid-crystal-polymer material to lay up a super-responsive frame. In total, the new frame weighs just 870 grams, 11-percent less than its predecessor—and only 90 grams more than Wilier’s Zero SLR climbing/all-around race bike. $9,008 (Ultegra Di2 build); 2 colors; wilier-usa.com

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team V12 Carbon Edition Road Bike

Casual viewers may not realize it, but Formula 1 drivers are some of the fittest athletes on the planet. Having to withstand constant, insane changes in force for hours straight as you guide a rocket ship on wheels will necessitate that. So how do those elite drivers prepare for race day? Many turn to cycling. The evergreen winners at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team have gone so far as to design their own road bike. As expected for a team that traffics in the world’s fastest cars, the V12 Carbon Edition Road Bike is an aero frame that draws on automotive features like aero fins around the disc-brake calipers. But, upholstered by hand with Alcantara leather found in Mercedes sportscars, the custom 106-gram saddle might be the coolest feature. And because no F1 car would be complete without Pirelli tires, the Italian brand provides 25mm P Zero Velo tires in a limited-edition Petronas Green to match the team’s colors. But be sure to hurry if you want one—only 100 will be built. Oh, and you won’t find this at your local bike shop. You’ll need to head to your Mercedes dealership or visit nplusbikes.com. $6,000–$12,000 (depending on build); nplusbikes.com

Pinarello Prince Disk

Brands like Pinarello sink a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making the best possible race bikes. Luckily, Pinarello isn’t keeping the fruit of that labor out of reach. For its second-tier road bike platform, the Prince Disk, Pinarello hasn’t been afraid to borrow from the innovations of its flagship Dogma F12 line, allowing more riders than ever to benefit from the innovations found in one of the most successful models in the pro peloton. For about a third of the price of its older sibling, the Prince Disk delivers many of the same aero benefits, including full internal cable routing, a fork that integrates into the downtube, an integrated stem and a concave-shaped down tube that shields bottles from the wind. Additionally, square-shaped chainstays increase stiffness by 10 percent over round tubes for better power transfer. But the Prince is every much its own model, employing a smaller diameter in the downtube to increase comfort. Plus, a slightly higher stack and less reach builds in a touch more comfort than the Dogma, while still maintaining its focus as a race bike. For less than $5,000, a mechanical Ultegra build can be yours. $4,500 (Ultegra mechanical build); pinarello.com