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2018 KTM Revelator Lisse aero road bike gets clean, creative cable integration

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KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike orange Prestige complete

KTM introduced the Lisse aero road bike as a concept last fall where we got a first look from Eurobike. The details were a bit thin at the time, other than disc brakes and fairly dramatic aero tube shaping. Almost a year later the bike has been revealed, and there are few changes to what is now the production-ready KTM Revelator Lisse aero road bike. But with a closer look, we reveal some interesting new tech that makes for a relatively easy-to-manage setup for completely internal cable routing even with mechanical drivetrains and a unique steerer tube spacer design that allows you to adjust the height of the bar without impacting those neatly integrated cables…

 

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike blue Elite complete

The Lisse is the latest bike to join KTM’s Revelator family of road bikes and is more of an all around solution that most of their other bikes. That is in large part due to the move to disc brakes across all road segments that has allowed the industry to pursue aerodynamics at the same time as getting better braking, more optimized carbon layups for that balance of drivetrain stiffness but rider comfort, and the extra room to ride fatter road tires that can be adapted to a wider range of road conditions.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike internal routing stem

From an aero standpoint KTM looked beyond just the aerodynamics of the frame & fork to see what really could most benefit on the total bike. They actually came to the conclusion that reducing turbulent wind was maybe the most important aspect of aero design. And only then could they really benefit from optimized frontal area and tubing profiles. Of course that led KTM first towards front end integration.

As KTM put it to us integrated cable solutions are pretty much a benchmark in the aero road bike category now. So they took that as an opportunity to explore a better solution for not just improved aerodynamics but also a more reasonable setup and real world usability.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike internal routing stem top cap removed KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike internal stem routing

The result is a unique stem that clamps the handle bar with a removable top plate that also builds into it a tidy cable routing setup. Two cables enter either side of the carbon stem via smooth bends that will work with even mechanical shift housing & hydraulic brake lines, and get held in place with a simple internal clamp (labeled for easy setup, ie. S-R for shifter-right), before being routed into the fork steerer.

It does not require any special handle bar. And the cables can be routed directly from behind the bar with a normal radius, while still staying completely out of the wind.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike internal routing fork KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike internal routing steerer tube

Inside the special full carbon steerer tube of the Lisse fork (shown here with a front cutaway window for demonstration purposes only) molded in plastic tubing guides each cable to its destination. The front brake stays inside the fork all the way to the dropout, while the rear brake & shift lines exit into the large downtube. Of course a special (not) star nut/steerer plug is needed, so the Lisse fork gets an alloy plug bonded in that lines up the routing and works with a special slotted top cap that ultimately gets covered over by the stem’s top plate.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike adjustable stem spacers

The other unique technology to the Lisse’s integrated stem is the way that bar height is adjusted. Since using a normal set of spacers under the stem would require the variable height of the steerer tube (remember above that the steerer’s top cap gets covered up by the stem, so the steerer tube must be cut to size at the factory where the steerer plug can be bonded in) KTM has an alternate method to adjust bar positioning. The four spacers above (plus the standard 0 one installed on the bike in the photos above) allow the rider to move the bar up or down in roughly 5mm increments on a typical 100mm stem (the longer the stem, the more adjustment).

It works as you can see above where the angle between the top of the headset (the flat table in the pic above) & the steerer tube (the inner hole in the spacers) remains the same, but the outer diameter that the stem actually clamps to changes, as do the angles of the lower extensions of the spacer that meet the overall outer shape of the stem. Besides providing the absolutely necessary ability to adjust handle bar height (or more clearly, bar stack), it also results in a clean solution where cable length for the internal setup is not impacted by altering bar height.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike downtube & fork KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike rear end

We already notices the widely set fork legs and squared off fork crown when we previewed the bike last year, which claim to reduce turbulence where the top part of the rim, tire & spokes are spinning forward against the wind. The fork design then transitions smoothly into a wide truncated aerofoil downtube. That in turn houses a modular cable access port to aid in setting up the internal routing, but can also be used to locate a Di2 junction box.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike rear triangle

Looking further to the claimed 1000g frame & 480g fork, the Lisse includes most of the same details we find on the majority of top-level aero road bikes these days. That means dropped seatstays – which again get widely set to allow airflow over the forward spinning wheel – plus a deep wheel cutout and tall but thin aero shaped stays.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike front end KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike fork tips

The Lisse fork continues some unique shaping with a teardrop extending just behind the 12mm thru-axle to smooth airflow over the fork tips. And at the front edge of the legs they taper to slice into the wind.

KTM is co-title sponsor for a French Pro Continental team, so sticking to UCI guidelines was always a driving force for the Lisse development. We didn’t see UCI approval stickers on the bikes yet, but they did find their way onto the approved list as of the latest 21 June 2017 UCI update. So they should be turning up in the pro peloton once the riders get their heads out of their… more accustomed to improved braking.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike Ritchey seatpost KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike bottom bracket cluster

The Lisse uses a proprietary D-shaped seatpost, produced for them by Ritchey, and clamped with an expander wedge accessible from under the toptube. Looking at the aerodynamics of the bike, the Lisse is very much asymmetrical allowing air to flow more smoothly to the less turbulent non-driveside around the lower downtube and Press Fit bottom bracket area.

KTM Revelator Lisse fully-integrated cockpit carbon disc-brake aero road bike Prestige geometry

The Revelator Lisse will be available later this year in two complete bike builds that share the same 85% 30T, 15% 24T carbon frameset. The Lisse Prestige will come in classic KTM orange & black with a SRAM Red HRD eTap groupset and DT Swiss PRC1400 wheels. The second Lisse Elite gets a blue & black paint job with a Shimano 105 mechanical groupset still with hydraulic braking and down spec’d to DT P1800 spline wheels.

Both bikes will be available in the same five size range with effective seattubes from 49-59cm, from your local KTM bikes dealer.

KTM-bikes.at

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22 Comments
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J
J
6 years ago

Venge VIAS?

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago
Reply to  J

Only the hideous stem looks similar

FFM
FFM
6 years ago
Reply to  J

*Budget Venge

Collin Snyder
Collin Snyder
6 years ago

So if you have a loose headset, you have to take of the stem cap, tighten, then reposition your bars and torque to spec. What a pain in the butt. Why not have a small access hole in the cover to allow you to access the star nut/plug. I’m all for aero and clean looks but sometimes that comes with some practicality issues.

Sam Ebert
Sam Ebert
6 years ago
Reply to  Collin Snyder

@Collin Snyder- how often does your headset need adjustment? These are the prices we pay for progression and capability. None of this is practical to begin with, relax.

Rideifbikes
Rideifbikes
6 years ago

Technically isn’t not adjusting stem and bar stack height but rather stem angle. Which further complicates fit as stem angle change also affects handle bar reach. They should let you cut the steer yourself and then bond in the star nut.

Greg
Greg
6 years ago
Reply to  Rideifbikes

Changing your fork stack also affects your handlebar reach.

i
i
6 years ago
Reply to  Rideifbikes

Sort of.. almost true, but not as much as you imply, or maybe think.

Changing the bar height by 5mm, with a 100mm stem would shorten the reach by 0.23mm.

And if you’re really keeping track or thinking about this, putting a spacer under the stem doesn’t move the bar vertically, but along the steerer which is angled back toward the saddle. Raising a bar by 5mm shortens the reach by 1.4 with a 74hta.

So by your own logic, this system is better than conventional spacers.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago
Reply to  i

Come up with whatever number you wantm. Those calculations mean little without the drop from saddle to bar.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

And actual seat angle, and original reach…

Cherk Chup
6 years ago

I had got the Revelator Sky… ride quality was pretty bad, very harsh over rough road and overly sensitive steering. Swapped to TCR Adv SL disc and it’s a much better ride.

I still hope they could do better with this unique looking new bike.

ebbe
ebbe
6 years ago
Reply to  Cherk Chup

Interesting. I have the Canic (the same geometry/frame, but with a longer rear end), and have not noticed the same at all. I’ve actually found it to be very stable, especially at speed (in descends, but also over rough stuff) and as comfortable as anything else. Possibly the sensitive steering you mention is offset by the longer wheel base of the Canic? And what width tires were you running? I run 28 mm at a bare minimum, up to 40 mm, which surely helps soften the ride 😉

Cherk Chup
6 years ago
Reply to  ebbe

Was using old SES 3.4 and 25mm Corsa G+ with latex tubes.

The sensitive steering was particularly serious when riding uphill so the front end doesn’t have too much pressure. Once the speed pick up it’s more stable but that bike was more difficult to accelerate (than my current TCR).

Maybe that’s not for me… not the fault of the bike…

ebbe
ebbe
6 years ago
Reply to  Cherk Chup

Ah, OK! Just curious as to your experiences 😉

Adilos Nave
Adilos Nave
6 years ago

Whoa, super impressive. Big fan of the design. Do they even offer KTM here in the States?

Matt White
Matt White
6 years ago
Reply to  Adilos Nave

KTM Bike Industries is their US seller. Check out their web page. They do direct sales if there isn’t an importer near you. I have a 2017 Revelator and a Myroon Sonic hard trail MTB. Both great bikes.

VeloKitty
VeloKitty
6 years ago

What a hideous front end. Cannondale’s approach for the 2018 Synapse looks soooo much better.

VeloKitty
VeloKitty
6 years ago

The stack/reach numbers looks very aggressive (which I like). But it looks like integrated stem is very tall, which negates the low stack.

TomM
TomM
6 years ago

I do like the general direction of hiding cables on an aero bike, especially with hydro brakes and wired electronic shifting. But the recent Ridley prototype looks cooler, fwiw.

Also, does the bb look very low to anyone else?

Greg
Greg
6 years ago
Reply to  TomM

I think it’s an illusion created by the chainstay angle. Chainstay does not bisect the bb nor the rear axle.

Mike M
Mike M
6 years ago
Reply to  TomM

The BB drop is pretty much in line with much of the similar top tier racing bikes. They do offer a bigger drop on smaller frames to improve handling, with the expectation that the rider will be using a shorter crank length to negate the chances of pedal strike. The sizing of the bike is a bit on the long side given the stack height. This bike has the intent of putting its rider on the low down and out of the air. Wheelbase is tiny bit longer as are the chain stays, but its not an all rounder and certainly no light weight. Its quite fair given it has a quite a bit of aerodynamic features and disc brakes.

This bike has a specified purpose and hopefully it does it well. I just don’t think its ideal for much of the riding/racing public.

jh
jh
6 years ago

truly a bike only their product manager could love. I think a bit more attention to asthetics would improve that brand’s opportunities to enter new markets.

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