{"id":1783129,"date":"2026-02-20T16:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1783129"},"modified":"2026-02-20T16:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:16:15","slug":"this-specialized-aethos-hybrid-weighs-under-10-pounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1783129","title":{"rendered":"This Specialized Aethos Hybrid Weighs Under 10 Pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flat-Bar-Aethos-1-Full-Size.jpg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
Josh Ross<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published February 20, 2026 04:16PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Table of contents<\/h4>\n
    \u2022<\/span>Image Gallery<\/span>\u2022<\/span>Parts list<\/span><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    Fair Wheel Bikes is known for putting together cool builds and we\u2019ve got a new one from the Tucson bike shop. This time it\u2019s a flat-bar Specialized Aethos that\u2019s ready to ride\u2014as in actually ready to ride\u2014and hitting the scale at less than 10 lbs.<\/p>\n

    \"Fair
    (Photo: Fair Wheel Bikes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    If you are already outraged, you likely aren\u2019t alone. When I asked Fair Wheel co-owner Jason Woznick for details about this bike, he prefaced it with information he knew would come up. To start, Woznick set expectations by saying this build is inherently \u201cjust a basic bike for cruising around downtown. It\u2019s not a commuter. It\u2019s not a race bike or a hill climb special. This is a bike for someone who just wants to cruise around town taking in the sites on a super cool and very light weight bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Fair
    (Photo: Fair Wheel Bikes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Fun is good so that\u2019s certainly a good place to start, but Woznick also wanted to make sure it was clear that this really was a bike that could be ridden. There are custom parts and it is obviously feathery, but it\u2019s not overly delicate. Woznick is clear that \u201cnothing on this particular build has a weight limit under 200 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Fair
    (Photo: Fair Wheel Bikes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    There\u2019s also some housekeeping that he shared. While the bike looks like a fixie, it\u2019s not. That means the brake doesn\u2019t go on the front. \u201cA fixed gear uses a front [brake] because it can balance the braking between the caliper on the front and pedal braking on the rear,\u201d he said. \u201cA front brake without the ability to balance with some form of rear brake isn\u2019t a good idea.\u201d He also focused back on the point of the bike, noting that this is more akin to a beach cruiser or a BMX bike for the street and reminding everyone that \u201cit makes wheelies and manuals more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Fair
    (Photo: Fair Wheel Bikes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The other housekeeping detail that Woznick emphasized is about weight. Manufacturers\u2014and I do this as well in our bike reviews\u2014typically do not list the weight of the bike with pedals included. Pedals vary in weight and are easy to add to a full build weight, so it\u2019s generally left to the reader to do the math. Woznick thinks that might create some distrust in this case.<\/p>\n

    If you watch the video about this bike, Fair Wheel Bikes lists a weight of 4.36 kg \/ 9.61 lbs without pedals. Given that, Woznick expects that some people will assume the bike is actually heavier than 10 lbs. In fact, according to Woznick, it\u2019s not. He states that the choice was made to provide an \u201capples to apples comparison,\u201d but for those who are skeptical, the pedals added later were TriRig Mercury pedals. According to Woznick, those pedals weigh 88.5 grams for the set and push the final build weight to a grand total of 4.49 kg, or 9.90 lbs.<\/p>\n

    \n
    ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    As a final note, Woznick claims \u201cthere were lots of places we could have gone lighter, but this bike wasn\u2019t about being the lightest possible, it was about being the lightest bike that fit this particular rider\u2019s needs and aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n

    If you are looking to build your own flat bar Aethos, check out the Fair Wheel Bikes website for more info.<\/p>\n