Italian icons Colnago and Pinarello always enjoy the crowds oggling their bikes at trade shows, and the scene is no different at Eurobike 2009, as reported by Procycling's Ellis Bacon.
Colnago go 'sportive
Of interest to the cyclosportive market is Colnago's new ACE full-carbon sportive bike, specced, as arguably all Italian frames should be, with Campagnolo – a Veloce groupset and Khamsin wheels in the ACE's case. Cyclosportifs can enjoy an approximately 20mm taller headtube over a more traditional 'race' set-up, as well as a longer wheelbase, demonstrating that the ACE is built for both speed and comfort over longer distances.
Colnago were unable to confirm whether they would be providing any top pro teams with frames for the 2010 season.
Having lost out as supplier to the Rabobank, Milram and Tinkoff (now Katusha) squads at the end of the 2008 season, Colnago were noticeable by their absence in 2009. Certainly the Italian marque will be keen to get the sport's biggest names back on their bikes next season – and namely aboard the exquisite, top-of-the-range EPS, which remains unchanged for '10, but does enjoy some bold, new paint designs for the new decade.
Pinarello get asymmetrical
The big news coming out of the Pinarello camp at Eurobike was the Italian manufacturer's new Dogma 60.1 frameset. Told that it was the first frame to use external asymmetry had us feeling a bit wobbly before the idea behind it was explained. “External symmetry for perfect equilibrium” is the Dogma 60.1's tagline, and the frame takes account of the pressures of the right-hand driveside to balance out the forces passing through the frame.
Pinarello's technical team have identified these imbalances, and use thicker or thinner wall constructions dependent on what's required. It's subtle when examining the frame up close, but the right-hand seatstay, for example, is visibly thicker than on the left. We'll reserve judgment until we've climbed aboard one ourselves, but Pinarello are adamant that this balancing-out of forces is revolutionary, and that other manufactuers will soon follow suit.
Pinarello have another year to run on their contract as bike supplier to top Spanish-French team Caisse d'Epargne, so expect to see Alejandro Valverde et al tearing it up in a race near you soon on the Dogma 60.1.
Unless the race is in Italy, where Valverde is banned from racing – which is a little ironic when you remember that Pinarello are Italian themselves. And while the Spaniard's racing future may hang in the balance as a result of his alleged involvement with Operacion Puerto, he can at least ride his bike with the satisfaction that his Dogma 60.1 is perfectly balanced.
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