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The Fezzari Veyo debuted in January with a very-light-for-an-aero-bike frame, big tire clearance, and a few surprises. I’ve been riding it since couple months prior to launch and now, with a several hundred miles on it and a few really long (50-80 mile) rides, I have some thoughts.
The short version is this: It’s fast, fully modern with ample tire clearance, comfortable enough, and also really, really fast. Did I mention it’s fast? Because it is most definitely, noticeably, very fast.
Let’s take a closeup look at the frame and the complete bike weight first; ride review is at bottom…
Fezzari Veyo SL tech details & actual weight
I rode the size XL bike and, at 6’2″ with normal proportions, it fit great. Fezzari’s size chart would have put me on a Large, but the XL’s 585mm ETT is spot on for how I like a bike to fit.
That left plenty of seatpost extension thanks to a mildly sloping top tube, which also kept the bike feeling spritely underneath. Low seatstays improve comfort and aerodynamics, but my take is that they do more for the aero part than the comfort part (more on that below).
At a glance, I think the bike looks great…proportions, shapes, profile, I like it all. And a closer look only makes things look better and more interesting.
Truncated airfoil shapes throughout the frame blend into one another really nicely. A deeper head tube keeps the front end torsionally stuff, which is noticeable when standing and cranking.
They use the FSA stealth headset system, which keeps appearances clean without limiting cockpit selection.
When it is paired with their Vision stem, lower covers can hide the brake hoses and other other wires or cables from the handlebar back. If you use a handlebar and stem that runs those things internally, you’ll never see any of it. As is, it’s pretty much completely hidden from view (and wind).
The fork’s crown blends directly into the shape of the head tube. Compared to the skinny legs of the Fezzari Shafer gravel bike’s fork, this one looks more normal and provides excellent lateral stability and reasonable fore-aft impact deflection.
There’s no trying to hide the water bottles behind oversize downtubes, but they do shape those tubes well, and give you a two-position mount for the downtube’s cage. Run it lower if you’re only using one bottle, or move it up to make room for a second.
I like that Fezzari put the seat tube bottle’s placement as low as possible, at least hiding it within any turbulence caused by your feet and the first bottle.
The top tube is probably more shapely than it needs to be, but adds to the bike’s overall aesthetic. The bike is UCI approved if you want to race it, and they say it’s perfect for anything from crits to fondos.
The rear wheel tucks into the seat tube, and smooth lines flow from the downtube, across the BB shell, and into the stays.
Up top, a custom seatpost uses a truncated aero profile with a wedge to secure it. The rubber flap slides up and down the post as you adjust, helping keep the elements out, but a small hole allows height adjustments without peeling it up.
A standard Di2 battery holder fits inside the front edge of the post.
Back down low, the chainstays have a surprising amount of shaping. Combined with a BB shell that tapers all the way out to the edges, they provide a very stiff bottom half for maximum power transfer. I couldn’t detect any twist or flex under hard efforts, whether seated or standing.
I also just really liked the shaping from a visual standpoint, too. About the only things I’d change on this would be to use tool-free stealth thru axles and swap in a carbon fiber handlebar.
I ran 700×28 tires and there’s room for days. The frame is rated for up to 700x32mm tires.
I stuck with the “narrower” 28s because I wanted to focus on a speedy build during testing, and 28s provide a good amount of comfort without being too heavy. They also proved to work very well with the Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels in making this bike slide past air molecules like they didn’t exist.
For longer rides or if I knew the pavement would be less than ideal, I’d lean more on a bigger tire to help mitigate the little bit of road noise I felt. While the Veyo SL fit me very well, it’s still an aero frame, which by nature of the tube shapes tend to be stiffer than more traditionally shaped bikes.
That said, it’s not uncomfortable or harsh, just also not a regular road bike. The tradeoff for speed is worth it, and I still finished 4-5+ hour rides just fine. But also, I’d swap in a carbon bar and/or a bit thicker bar tape.
Complete bike weight with two Fezzari water bottles, Ultegra Di2, Ergon saddle, alloy FSA bar and stem, Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels and Schwalbe Pro One 700×28 tubeless tires is 17lb 6oz (7.83kg).
This isn’t a stock build, I used my wheels and tires, but Fezzari does offer a Zipp 404 wheelset upgrade option, so you can get pretty close to recreating this yourself. The point is, it’s pretty light, especially for an aero bike.
The Veyo Pro SL model (with Ultegra Di2) runs $4,999 with DT Swiss ER1600 alloy wheels. The Zipp 404 Firecrest upgrade adds $1,300 (or get Zipp 303S for +$700). The housebrand Dual Entry Bottle Cages that came on the bike are an $18 add-on (each) and are some of the tightest cages I’ve ever used…no chance of dropping a bottle out of these.
Fezzari Veyo SL ride review
I couldn’t really find any area where the Veyo didn’t impress me. Just cruising with friends? Perfect. Pacing folks into a headwind? Not too bad. Tucking in and absolutely dropping them on the descents? Easy.
Even with stronger riders, I seemed more able to keep up and keep going longer and/or faster than usual. It was subtle, but I felt like the “fast guys” in the bunch noticed, too, because they started taking a keen interest in the Veyo.
Fezzari says the bike’s designed to corner sharp and remain stable on high-speed, sweping descents. I didn’t have any alpine passes to test the latter on, but our own rolling hills and meandering backroad routes provided plenty of small tests for both.
The Veyo reacted quickly to intentional inputs without being overly sensitive to the careless micro movements made during normal riding. If you like a bike to handle with a lot of “character”, the Veyo SL will have searching hard for it, but that’s not a bad thing for a bike like this.
Meaning, I could ride two abreast, inches from another handlebar, without drama or concern. It came to life when needed, then settled back in for the long haul, steady and efficient.
Crank things up on a climb or sprint and it reacts immediately. And considering how light deep-ish wheels like the 404 have gotten these days, and that this frame is just 860g (claimed, size M), there’s no penalty on the ascents for aero benefits everywhere else.
Random Review Notes
I wanted to title this “…defies the wind, and expectations”, but by this point Fezzari has established itself as making some pretty darn good bikes that, by sticking to a consumer direct model, are also extremely affordable. So, I expected the Veyo to be good, and it delivered. The brand continues to offer top-shelf performance at great prices.
They’re also gently nudging things forward by incorporating future standards early, giving riders comfort knowing that their frame is upgradeable. The flexible internal routing design lets you run any cockpit you want while still having full internal routing feeding in at the headset. Like it or not, you’re going to see more and more of this in more and more categories.
The Veyo also has a UDH-like rear derailleur hanger. There’s no direct-mount road derailleur yet, but I could see that happening in the future, too. So, why not include it here? At a minimum, it puts rear derailleur placement into tighter spec than not, so it’s a good thing even if DM RD’s never happen on road.
Lastly, it handles rough dirt and light gravel roads just fine, too. Many of my longer weekend rides end up on random forest roads, the odd piece of singletrack, or even pure gravel. I’m happy to say that the Fezzari Veyo SL is plenty quick here, too, even if it does look a bit out of place.
All in all, Fezzari continues to punch above its price class for well-conceived, generously featured, forward-thinking bikes. The Veyo SL is a great addition to the aero bike category and one I’d recommend checking out.
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