BOTW: An AC Approach to an S-Works Aethos

This week's Bike of the Week, the S-Works Aethos, is a bike that needs no help to keep its weight in check, but that didn't stop us from pulling out the scale anyway. The goal with this build was to make this particular Aethos lightweight yet maintain daily drivability. Spec highlights include a whole host of parts from the Spanish carbon wizards at Darimo, the Slovenian saddle artists at Berk and our personal favorite ceramic gods from Denmark, CeramicSpeed.

Frameset: S-Works Aethos
Group: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 9270
Wheels: AC Custom ENVE 2.3 rims laced to DT Swiss 180 hubs with Sapim CX Ray spokes
Tires: Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR 700x25
Rotors: Shimano RT
Saddle: Berk Lupina
Ceramic: CeramicSpeed coated bottom bracket and CeramicSpeed pulley wheels
Cockpit: Darimo Ellipse Road Handlebar, a Darimo IX2 Stem, Darimo T2 seatpost, Darimo seatpost clamp
Bottle Cage: Tune Wasserträger 2.0 w/ aftermarket titanium bolts
Weight: 12 pounds 6 ounces

Frameset

With an industry-leading stiffness-to-weight ratio, the S-Works Aethos makes everyone who rides it feel like their favorite pro. With a non-integrated front end, threaded bottom bracket and 27.2 seat post, this frame is easy to upgrade and, unlike many other modern road bikes, fun to build up.

Drivetrain

There is little that hasn't been written about the Shimano Dura Ace 9270 group. It works flawlessly, doesn't weigh much and enhances the visual impact of almost any bike it adorns. With the addition of CeramicSpeed pulley wheels and bottom bracket, this drivetrain is our most popular set-up.

Cockpit

Unwilling to give up on quality but determined to trim the grams, we turned to a small Spanish company, Darimo, for the all-important touchpoints. The brand's aftermarket handlebars, stems and seat posts are crazy light yet still do an excellent job of keeping things under control in comfort. In particular, we're big fans of Darimo's seat post clamp, a slim, light, hand-made in Spain little jewel called the Sub 4.

Wheels

The combination of ENVE SES 2.3 rims, Sapim CX-Ray spokes and DT Swiss 180 hubs work together to create an 1100 grams wheelset. These wheels are durable enough for daily drive duties while maintaining race day weight.