How can we not talk about the Tour? After Sunday’s stage it’s hard not to be a little excited. Until yesterday the most thrilling thing I had seen was Mark Cavendish’s mad man chase back to the peloton after a late-in-the-race crash. He needed to get back quickly as the race was hurtling toward a sprint finish he was supposed to win. Happily there was a TV moto trying to follow him. For much of the chase he was without teammates, picking his way through the following convoy at high speed, jumping curbs, drafting cars very close, zipping around everything with millimeters to spare. He is a sprinter. These scenes are happening during every stage but the TV viewers miss almost all of it.
And now the rant…
Are all carbon monocoque bikes getting uglier as their computer aided design becomes more and more functional? Engineers are designing for a combination of aerodynamics, weight, stiffness but badass looks are not a design parameter. BMC has been crowing about some new software that produces the best design after a zillion Monte Carlo simulations but man, that damn thing is not pretty. All the monocoque frames must be heading toward the same computer derived solution, but not quite yet.
I’m sorry to offend Pinarello owners but the new Dogma is incrementally uglier than all the other preceding ugly Dogmas. It pains me to say this. I am a devout Italophile and longtime admirerer of Pinarello bikes. And I’m the one around here lecturing about form following function, but this bike is wrong. I realize the kinky stays and fork blades are shaped that way for performance, aren’t they? The frame looks like it stayed in the easy-bake oven too long and everything got a bit wobbly before it cooled. The front fork is a horror, the seat stays are bent the wrong direction, the chain stays don’t match.
The all carbon-weave clear coat frames are boring. Pinarello takes a lot of pride in their paint and for that I salute them. Luckily Sky’s and Movistar’s bikes are painted glossy and dark. It’s harder to see just how nasty the front fork is. With all the frame designs stuttering toward the same solution, it’s the paint that sets them apart. Matte black Orbeas and Bianchis look nearly identical until the orange or celeste paint goes on.
Trek has also been into the paint for its frames. Thankfully one doesn’t see a carbon clear-coat Madone. They have a new weight- saving paint this year and for the Tour they unleashed a beautiful mono-pantone “lei ‘o pard blue” (not to be confused with leopard blue) for the Shack rides. Now that is a paint job! The new Madone is ugly. There, I said it, but the damn paint saves its kammtail ass. Its head tube, or what used to be the head tube looks clumsy. At least the Trek bikes have a proper front fork and it’s painted that great color, as is the seat mast. Would I like the Pinarello if it was painted up like this? Yes I’d like it a lot more but I can’t get around the wavy fork. The first time I saw a steel Colnago with straight fork I fell in love. It shouldn’t even work but does. I’d never considered that a front fork could be straight. Straight fork yes, wavy fork no. Is it just me? Obviously it is as every Pinarello has a noodle fork and they are selling nicely. What does Ernesto Colnago say about a Pinarello? Believe me, I wish I knew. The Colnago C-59 is a fantastic looking bike and if that was painted completely “leopard” blue, my head might explode.
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View Comments
The Katusha Canyons are looking good. Top tube not horizontal but at least it's straight. I know it's a bit of a Cervelo-a-like but still...
@VeloVita
Me too, I love the matching stem and seat mast with the rest of the paint. It's unusual in the peloton and they chose a beautiful color to do it with. And I agree on the stem matching the frame in general, it looks wicked.
@simon
Neither were Softrides.
@titirangisi
When asked, I told a teacher in grade school that my favorite color was Celeste. She told me to pick a real color.
@heinous
I think Canyon might be the first to do that sort of design, but I forget how that lawsuit worked out and don't really care. I think if Gianni is right that all bikes are moving toward the same conclusion in design, this will be very close. Its certianly the way Veloforma went with their newest road frame.
I loved my Cervelo R3 to pieces, literally. Always thought that was the best bike I'd ever ridden...too bad it broke. But I'm utterly psyched to get riding on the new steed as soon as I build it this week.
It has to be said, I'm beyond enamored with my Veloforma CCX's design and paintjob! Rode the shit out of it last week and it just kept taking and taking and taking whatever I laid into it. Amazing.
everytime i see the canyon bikes it reminds me of this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4QgWRycd7I
Europcar Colnagos are awesome.
I love that Colnago went back to lugged carbon with the C59. My C50 is still the nicest riding bike I've ever ridden, I'd love to have a spin on the new...
@sthilzy
I've got the new Roubaix SL4 frame. I love it and think it looks amazing...
In the end, looks are surface deep. It's how the frame rides that counts!
-Dinan
Thanks Gianni, this is my exact thoughts, you nailed it
Call me the negative realist, but why did Bianchi give it all away?? They own fuckin celeste and now some madone leopard something or other with a highly overrated nothing GCr has it??? really? Competitive cyclist said it best, coppi must be shaking his head right now, and rolling in his grave crying
and about the Dogma, dead on. Listen, I have a pinarello paris in the garage, but cannot stomach the new stuff. Traditional geometry fellas, and if you can't ride it, repeat HTFU Rule V as needed until your up to speed
If I am riding Italian, it MUST look the part, it MUST look good, or else I can always go get 'whatever', right? China's making some pretty good carbon all on their own. Italian is panache, its Pantani, its got the goods and the girls in short skirts agree. Tradition and traditional geometry is part of it. I can't and don't give a flying foul filth if a computer generated cad designed and aero tested frame is faster, if its ugly, game over. Ernesto said so too, so I agree.
BMC was one whom I loved the earlier SLC frames, in that anything donned with the swiss colors and cross, just bring my heritage to the forefront of my mind, but there you go again, now they have these short seat stays and butt ugly frames that totally take the sexiness out of the game like a screaming karate monkey in the middle of your hot date.
Here is how bad it has gotten with the cookie cutting carbon, when Cannondale has as good looking bike out in the peloton...guys, really?? Where did the Euro pimping character leave and go to??
@Dinan
Yes, true, but wouldn't that Roubaix look even better with a bright paint job, like Sylvan's?