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.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/j.andrews3@comcast.net/Bikes of the Tour/”/]
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View Comments
@Deakus
That is a very nice looking bike - good call on the gumwalls! I'm very tempted to pick up a pair once my G4000S wear out, but the roads around these parts are real shit and I doubt they'd hold up too well. I like to ride while I'm out, not change tubes and the Contis have always treated me well in that regard.
@VeloVita ill report on how they go regarding punctures....I had conti GPS on before but I am looking forwards to the ride quality...
@Deakus
I know I'll jinx myself by saying this, but so far, I've only had two flats in my lifetime. I attribute this to always checking pressures before a ride and making reasonable attempts at avoiding road debris/broken pavement/etc and to not riding the lightest race tires and/or tubes. I'd really love to try some really supple tires, but I'm not a small guy (192cm and around 91kg). If all goes well for you, I may just give them a try.
@Deakus Your lady looks mighty fine in those gumwalls. Very classy!
@VeloVita
Only 2 flats ever - do you ride solid pram wheels?
My own stupid cak handedness has caused more flats!!
Respect - I hope you haven't tempted fate though...
@Patrick
Believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone. As for wheels, most of my kms have been done on 32 spoke Open Pros with either Conti Ultra, Gatorskin or GP400S tires, all in the 25mm size and at my weight (91kg) I run them at around 95psi in front and 110psi in the rear. My current rims are 32 spoke Hed Belgium C2s and with the wider rim I run a little lower pressure on the tires - still so far so good. And yes, I'm sure my next ride will be nothing but flats.
@Deakus B E A utiful
@Deakus Excellent, can't wait to hear how it rides with those tyres.
I like Trek, but when you get close to the new Madone team issue you'll find that the piant job has glitter in it which makes it look like a 70s disco nightmare. It's much more Dancing Queen than Bianchi.
Imo, the new Scott Addict is the most aesthetically appealing road bike I've seen in the entire carbon area. While the Orica team issue looks ok, the black-red one is just sublime. No?
http://www.roadbike.de/news/scott-addict-und-solace-zwei-neue-carbon-rennraeder-fuer-2014.812481.9.htm
@kixsand I too thought it would collect crap, but it stays remarkably clean down there, I just lurve the naked seat stays, no brake look... and best of all, when I squeeze the lever, the bike slows down... :-)
@kixsand I too thought it would collect crap, but it stays remarkably clean down there, I just lurve the naked seat stays, no brake look... and best of all, when I squeeze the lever, the bike slows down... :-)