Test drive the Parlee RZ7
New arrival from Parlee, the RZ7 is the American company's latest creation. Basically, it's a bit like the enfant terrible of the TTiR time trial and triathlon bike and the road bike, including years of learning how to build custom carbon bikes.
Her profile
Even before you get on it, you can see that its sleek profile exudes power and evokes the thrill of speed. Streamlined frame. Cockpit Socks. Aerodynamic seat post and fork. Fins covering the brake mechanism. Add to that some fairly streamlined wheels, and you get a bike that demands speed and delivers it.
The experience
On the road, its claims quickly prove indisputable. Because the RZ7's efficiency lies not only in its shape, but also in its construction. What feels like very high lateral stiffness (at the Crankset shell) translates into real pedaling efficiency. Less torsion means that the energy expended is conserved in the lever (the Crankset arms), and therefore the gear, rather than being lost in part to the flexing of the frame.
And you can feel it. The RZ7 reacts like a wild animal. At the slightest push of the pedals, it leaps forward. On flat ground, comfortably positioned on the lower part of the handlebars, you are struck by a feeling of power that is also reflected in reality: clearly, it takes less effort than usual to cut through the air.
This efficiency also comes with its share of adjustments.
In other words, you don't ride an RZ7 like an Altum, for example. Accelerating out of a turn is enough to realize that the lack of lateral flex in the frame requires a more delicate touch. But once you've mastered the finesse of the execution, you enter the curves with renewed, even tenfold confidence. And the first few pedal strokes, standing up, at the end of the change of direction, are so effective that you feel like you're flying... ahead of your opponents.
By climbing?
Nothing to complain about, on the contrary. Whether standing or sitting, this same rigidity proves to be providential.
As for comfort, it's not perfect: medium obstacles are more noticeable than with an Altum. But unlike many aero frames, road vibrations are remarkably well absorbed by the rear triangle.
If you want more speed, if you are already powerful and want to gain a significant advantage over your opponents, or if you have the ability to take advantage of an aggressive position that reduces body friction with the air and gives you free watts, this is the ideal machine. And it's even more so because its construction allows for the use of Tires wheels and Tires (32mm). So much so that one of our riders recently used his RZ7 to compete in a gravel race with punishing elevation gains, in hellish conditions, where he finished on the third step of the podium.
Still not sure? Come and try it out. You might just end up driving home with a wild animal in the trunk of your car.