Team Uno-X is riding a radical, unreleased aero road bike at the 2024 Tour de France.Produced by Taiwanese brand (and Uno-X team sponsor) Dare, the bike bucks the prevailing trend for all-rounder bikes, instead taking a hyper-aero approach with little apparent consideration for weight.Prior to the race start in Florence, Italy, we got a close look at the new bike at the Uno-X team hotel.Could this be the bike to help the Uno-X team take its first victory at the sports biggest race?Return of the aero bikeDare's new road bike bucks the current trend for lightweight, all-rounder road bikes. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaIn recent years, weve seen a number of prominent brands ditch dedicated aero road bikes in favour of models that balance aerodynamic performance with low weight.Specialized, for example, famously put its S-Works Venge out to pasture when it released the S-Works Tarmac SL7 in 2020, while Treks recently announced eighth-generation Madone SLR spelled the end of its monda.Likewise, the release of a lightweight Giant Propel Advanced SL in 2022 has seen the brands iconic TCR relegated to only limited use in the WorldTour.The down tube appears to indicate this bike is called the 'Velocity Ace'. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaDare looks to be taking the opposite approach, with a design more akin to other all-out aero road bikes such as the Cervlo S5, Ribble Ultra SLR and Cannondale SystemSix Hi-Mod.As far as we can tell, Dares new aero road bike appears to be called the Velocity Ace, as this is printed on the down tube.Its most likely an update to the brands existing aero bike, the VSRu. The new bike doubles down on the aerodynamic optimisations, though, with deeper aerofoil tube shapes all over and a build focused entirely on speed.Deep-section tubes all-roundA head tube this deep wouldn't look out of place on a time trial bike. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaThe head tube is one of the most striking parts of the Velocity Ace.It uses a deep, truncated aerofoil profile and rises from the top tube to meet the rear of the bikes new integrated handlebar (more on this later).At the lower end, the head tube is sculpted to control the airflow off the fork crown.Viewed head on, the head tube is hourglass-shaped narrowing between the upper and lower headset bearings to further reduce drag.The aero-optimised fork is more aggressive than before. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaWhile the fork on the VSRu tapered slightly towards the bottom, the narrow bladed legs of the new fork stay deep all the way down.Where the down tube on the VSRu had a small cut-out for the front wheel, the Velocity Ace has a straight down tube with a deeper, wider truncated aerofoil profile.The deeper, wider down tube might provide more shelter for round bottles on the Velocity Ace. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaUnlike the new Trek Madone SLR, the Velocity Ace uses standard, non-integrated bottle cages with round cycling water bottles.It may be that the redesigned down tube provides greater airflow management around this area than before, however.At the rear of the bike, the aerofoil profiles of the seat tube, seatstays and seatpost have also been deepened significantly.The seat tube cluster has been reprofiled with deeper aerofoil tube shapes all-round. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaWhether this has any impact on compliance remains to be seen. Dropped seatstays aside, though, it doesnt appear that Dare has made many concessions to comfort.Like some time trial bikes, the seatpost appears to have multiple saddle clamp locations, enabling a rider to adjust the effective seat tube angle an important consideration for fit purposes.One of the deepest handlebars weve seenThis is one of the deepest aerofoil sections we've seen on a road bike handlebar. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaBeyond the head tube, the bikes new aero handlebar is also remarkable, thanks to its use of an exceptionally deep and thin aerofoil profile on the tops.Expectedly, the handlebar uses an integrated design, with the hydraulic brake hoses fully concealed within the bar and running into the frame unseen.The headset top cap on the Dare Velocity Ace looks to help smooth the airflow from the handlebar to the frame. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaThe top tube rises to meet the rear of the stem, while the headset top cap has been cleverly profiled to smooth out the junction between the two.Overall, Dares new bar appears to take the opposite approach to Ribbles ground-breaking Ultra handlebar (which features on the Ultra SLR). The Ribble bar uses a similarly deep aerofoil profile, but is much more bulbous, as its designed to manipulate the airflow hitting the rider behind it.Notably, Trek says the updated handlebar on its recently launched, eighth-generation Madone SLR does something similar (albeit on a smaller scale).The new handlebar on the Dare Velocity Ace is exceptionally deep and thin up top. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaThe Dare handlebar, in contrast, looks to be designed simply to reduce its impact on the airflow as much as possible.As with rear-end comfort, there doesnt seem to have been much consideration for a rider being able to hold the tops of the handlebar. As with the rest of the bike, it looks to be all about maximising aerodynamic efficiency.Kristof's cockpit dimensions are the same as at last year's Tour. - George Scott / Our MediaOn this bike, which belongs to four-time Tour de France stage winner, Alexander Kristof, the cockpit combines a 120mm-long stem with a 380mm-wide handlebar (measured centre to centre at the brake hoods).The frame also has a logo noting the headset contains CeramicSpeed's SLT (Solid Lubrication Technology) bearings which are claimed to provide exceptionally long lifespans, reducing the frequency with which the front end requires servicing.A speed-focused build with personal upgradesKristof opts for DT Swiss deep-section rims. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaThe rest of the build sees an uncompromising focus on speed.Like last year, Kristofs wheelset of choice is the DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut DB, with 62mm-deep rims.These are wrapped with Schwalbe Pro One TLE tyres, in a 700 x 28c size that measures up at 27.9mm-wide on the DT Swiss rims.As with last year, the tyres have conspicuous blue accents that dont come on the versions of the Pro One TLE available in shops.Kristof's bike was again equipped with blue-branded Schwalbe Pro One TLE tyres. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaHaving spotted these last year, we asked Schwalbe if this was a new, updated version of the German brands highly-rated tubeless tyre. Unfortunately, the brand declined to shed any light on the subject.According to our well-informed YouTube audience, though, these could be special-edition, race day-only versions of the tyre something faster, lighter but potentially less durable than the standard tyres, for example.Schwalbe has apparently created similarly-branded tyres for its sponsored mountain bike athletes previously, so that could be whats going on here.As for the drivetrain, Kristof and his Uno-X team are still running Shimanos flagshipDura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset.Kristof's Dare Velocity Ace has a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 drivetrain with some upgrades. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaThis year, though, the team has switched from using Shimanos Dura-Ace FC-R9200-P power meter crankset to FSAs Powerbox Team.This consists of an FSA power meter spider (which we believe is made by Power2Max) paired with the brand's carbon cranks and aluminium chainrings.Kristof has switched to a Prologo saddle for the 2024 season. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaWhen we saw Kristofs bike, a couple of days out from the race start, it was equipped with some huge 56/40t chainrings.Even though these were paired with a wide-ranging 11-34t cassette out back, we wonder whether Kristof might have swapped to something smaller for the races mountainous opening stage.Perhaps due to a change in team sponsor, Kristof has switched saddles from the Pro Stealth Curved Team he used at last years Tour to a Prologo Scratch M5 with carbon rails.Kristof is using the new OSPW RS Alpha system from CeramicSpeed. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaFinishing things off, Kristofs bike was also decked out with CeramicSpeeds latest OSPW (Oversized Pulley Wheel System) RS Alpha and a waxed chain.The 'Alpha Disc' solid pulley wheels are claimed to prevent dirt or debris entering the system and contaminating the bearings.A new bike thats heavier than the old oneThe Dare Velocity Ace has gained weight compared to its predecessor, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be slower. - Simon von Bromley / Our MediaIts rare to see a new road bike released thats significantly heavier than the outgoing version, but thats exactly what we have here.According to Dare, the VSRu had a claimed frame weight of 1,190g in a size small (although Kristof rides a 56cm frame). While we dont yet have a claimed weight for Velocity Ace frame, we think its deeper tubes and aggressive aerodynamic optimisations have likely added weight.That appears to be confirmed by the overall weight of Kristofs Dare Velocity Ace, too, which came in at spot-on 8kg, according to our scales.Alexander Kristof's Dare Velocity Ace weighed 8kg ahead of the 2024 Tour de France race start. - George Scott / Our MediaThats 255g more than the 7.745kg weight we took for his Dare VSRu at last years Tour.As things stand, thats all we know about Dares radical new aero road bike.Given a number of Uno-X riders are using the bike at this years Tour, it appears the bike is production ready and could launch imminently.Frameset: Dare Velocity Ace (size 56cm)Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 with FSA PowerBox Team power meter (56/40t chainrings, 11-34t cassette), FSA carbon cranks, CeramicSpeed OSPW RS Alpha and UFO waxed chainWheelset: DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut 62 DBTyres: Schwalbe Pro One TLE 29c (measured width 27.9mm)Bar/stem: Dare, 38cm handlebar width, 12cm stem lengthSeatpost: DareSaddle: Prologo Scratch M5 NackBottle cages: Elite Vico CarbonPedals: Shimano Dura-Ace