Eddy Merckx Cycles have a new time trial bike in develop, with the ETT engineered in conjunction with Lexus in a bid to improve bicycle aerodynamics.

The partnership between the Belgian bike brand and the car manufacturer seeks to explore “how the advanced technology used by Lexus could be applied to racing bikes,” according to the Eddy Merckx website.

The video shoes the ETT undergoing wind tunnel testing at TMG, the Cologne-based motorsport division of Toyota. Real-life testing will begin soon with the Topsport Vlaanderen/Mercator and Wallonie-Bruxelles/Crédit Agricole teams sponsored by Merckx, who last season provided bikes to QuickStep.

The ETT is distinguished by slots on the downtube which look to reduce the aerodynamic drag while maintaining the same level of stiffness – a concept known as the Venturi effect which will surely raise eyebrows at the UCI.

“We want to combine performance and aerodynamics,” said Eddy Merckx Cycles engineer Dave Luyckx. “That’s why we are using the aerodynamic Venturi-effect on the downtube of our time trial bike.

“By opening up our downtube with these so-called Venturi slots, we are keeping the same stiffness as a closed profile but we can reduce the aerodynamic drag significantly.”