Developed with help from Team Sky (that’s Bradley Wiggins and friends), the Kobh frame has been designed to take on the Northern Spring Classics while retaining the characteristics of Pinarello's top-of-the-range Dogma 60.1.
The Kobh has both a slacker seat angle (by 1˚) and slacker head angle (by 0.5˚), and the Dogma’s monostay rear end is replaced here by a more standard design but with a large radius curve to absorb vibration. Tyre clearances have also been increased both front and rear.
The result of these changes is a plusher ride, helped by the Continental Dogma tyres: a 25mm on the front and – huge for a bike of this type – 28mm on the rear. This doesn’t detract from the Kobh’s handling though; it’s swift to accelerate and once up to speed it’s easy to maintain.
It doesn’t have the same point-and-shoot qualities as rivals like the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 or Scapin Hysak (look out for reviews of these two bikes on BikeRadar soon), but that said, it’s more than exciting enough.
While the rear end’s combination of big tyre and supple feel cosset you brilliantly, up front it’s a rather different story. It tracks and turns superbly but the one-piece MOST bar and stem is so incredibly rigid that far too much vibration is transmitted to your fingertips. However we swapped out this combo for a cockpit of Syntace bar and FSA stem, making the Kobh the perfect place to be.
Key features
Frame: Pinarello’s asymmetric design principles mean that the rear stays are offset, with the stiffness of the non-drive side designed to match that of the drive side, which results in better power transfer through the pedals.
Wheels: Campagnolo’s Shamal Ultras have full ceramic bearings. This creates superbly smooth-rolling hubs and great sealing to boot. One of the added bonuses of ceramic bearings is that they are much lighter than standard bearings.
Drivetrain: Campagnolo’s Super Record 11-speed handles shifting on the Kobh. Highlights include features such as six of the rear sprockets being titanium, with ceramic bearings throughout, and all the hardware is made of titanium.
Fork: The Onda’s profile is distinct from anything else on the market. Pinarello claims the multi-profile shape makes the best of the carbon fibre’s directional lay-up for a fork that’s rigid laterally but offers damping fore and aft.
This article was originally published in Cycling Plus magazine.