Team Japan's V-IZU TCM

The Super Worlds showcased many superbikes, as Joe Baker discovers

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If there was an award for the most abstract-looking track bike at the 2023 World Championships, the Japanese Track Cycling Federation would have stolen the show. The V-IZU TCM, named after the Tokyo 2020 Izu Velodrome, is the third bike to take a leaf out of British Cycling’s book, with ultrawide fork legs and seatstays.

The V-IZU TCM follows a similar aerodynamic notion to both the Hope x Lotus and Look P24 (see news, page 6), which we covered last week. The wide fork legs, it’s understood, are designed to sit in line with a rider’s lower leg which can aid in smoothing airflow around this part of the rider. Still unreleased, no details have been divulged on the V-IZU TCM, but on the Hope x Lotus bike, these savings were said to be as much as 3% – certainly not to be sniffed at.

There are a number of interesting nuances on the Japanese bike that sets it apart from the Look P24 and the Hope x Lotus track bike. As well as wide fork blades, the V-IZU TCM also features carbon-fibre elements that sit horizontally on the side of the fork. These, we think, along with a fork shape that flares air slightly outwards, is an effort to throw air around the rider's leg, and reduce drag. It's a similar story at the rear of the bike too, the widened chainstays helping to smooth airflow behind the rider's legs.

The biggest thing that sets this bike apart though is a left-handed drivetrain. The design, which was first seen on the Felt TA FRD in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, is said to be more efficient in the velodrome due to the fact that the bike is often leaning left - though it hasn't taken off since 2016, so we speculate that gains could be less than marginal.

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