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Pinarello reveal new Bolide time trial bike

New bike set to make its debut in Giro d'Italia

Pinarello have a new time trial bike called the Bolide that they say is 15% more aerodynamically efficient and 5% lighter that the existing Graal used by Team Sky. Bradley Wiggins looks set to ride the new bike in his bid for Giro d'Italia glory.

Pinarello list these key features:

• The use of new airfoil tube sections. Profiles are designed to ensure the lowest aerodynamic resistance in all wind conditions (frontal, lateral, etc.), as well as, in certain conditions, to generate a forward thrust.

• The use of a “concave back” on the seat tube, to allow a closer position of the rear wheel, significantly improving the airflow in that area.

• Complete integration of the brakes, which “hides” them from the airflow, greatly reducing aerodynamic resistance.

• Internal cable routing that optimizes the interaction between the airfoils and the airflow, in addition to an aesthetic impact, innovative for a racing bike.

• Integrated handlebar, which gives a unique continuity with the frame and greatly reduce the resistance, compared to a traditional stem and bar.

• The integration of battery and electronic controllers, completely hidden inside the frame.

• Electronic shifter controls integrated into the handlebar, which further reduces the turbulence in the frontal area of the bike.

Those brake covers are interesting. The UCI rules say that you're not allowed to use anything that's purely a fairing and Cervélo have produced separate triathlon and UCI-legal versions of their P5, the UCI-legal version coming without the brake-covering nose cone that looks vaguely similar to the Bolide's front brake cover. The Bolide has UCI approval though, so we're assuming that the covers must be structural in some sense. We'll be interested to hear the full reasoning here.

Pinarello say that the Bolide maintains the frame stiffness of the Graal with a tapered head tube (1 1/8in at the top, 1 1/4in at the bottom), asymmetric chainstays (an existing feature of Pinarello bikes), and an oversized BB86 bottom bracket. They use Torayca 65HM1K carbon fibre that’s been laid up for rigidity with reinforcement in high-stress areas.

The brakes are completely hidden under two covers to reduce turbulence and there’s a new removable front mech hanger. You can remove it for flatter races where you’re only going to use one chainring, and replace it with a special plate. Speaking of gearing, the Bolide is fully compatible with both mechanical and electronic groupsets.

 

As for the name, the word ‘bolide’ relates to meteors and meteorites. It really means ‘fireball’. 

Due to the timing of the release and the fact that Team Sky are all over the publicity photographs, we’re assuming that the bike will make its race debut in the Giro d’Italia.

For more info go to www.pinarello.com

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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24 comments

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Ham-planet | 11 years ago
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For everyone wondering about the 'fairings' on the brakes:
CLARIFICATION GUIDE OF THE UCI TECHNICAL REGULATION
"Article 1.3.024 [...] The addition of a cover to a braking system, as shown in the image below [BMC TM01], is authorised. The unit is considered to be integrated with the frame or fork."

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ron611087 | 11 years ago
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So where's Martyn Ashton?

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pdows47 | 11 years ago
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How are the brake covers not a fairing??

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cat1commuter replied to pdows47 | 11 years ago
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pdows47 wrote:

How are the brake covers not a fairing??

I don't know. They must be! I thought they'd be structural, but they're not. I've seen pictures which show that they're clearly just a fairing. The brakes mount with two bolts to the frame like on the new Treks.

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Goldfever4 | 11 years ago
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Interesting that in the pictures Wiggins is riding it with an elliptical chainring, which is not UCI legal. Wonder if it will be raced without the brake covers then.

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Colin Peyresourde replied to Goldfever4 | 11 years ago
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Goldfever4 wrote:

Interesting that in the pictures Wiggins is riding it with an elliptical chainring, which is not UCI legal. Wonder if it will be raced without the brake covers then.

Since when? He rode with them all last season. I think he even dropped his chain in the Tour of Romandie using a Q-ring.

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merckxissimo replied to Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
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Colin Peyresourde wrote:
Goldfever4 wrote:

Interesting that in the pictures Wiggins is riding it with an elliptical chainring, which is not UCI legal. Wonder if it will be raced without the brake covers then.

Since when? He rode with them all last season. I think he even dropped his chain in the Tour of Romandie using a Q-ring.

In the Beeb video recently he said "I'm off those silly rings now". Guessing we'll see very shortly though!  3

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beej.a replied to Goldfever4 | 11 years ago
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Osymetric chainrings are UCI legal. Froome was using them in Oman earlier this year. i don't think they will take the covers off the breaks. They might pass it off as being "Structural" which is what BMC did with the TMR01 on the front end to hide the cables

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farrell | 11 years ago
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I'm not normally a fan of TT bikes but I'm more cock in hand excited by the look of this bike than Gillian Taylforth in a layby.

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Northernbikeguy | 11 years ago
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No go-faster lemons on the downtube?

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cat1commuter | 11 years ago
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I just worked out why Wiggo's bike has gold on it! Doh!

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Mat Brett | 11 years ago
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This is the relevant UCI rule:

"1.3.024 Any device, added or blended into the structure, that is destined to decrease, or which has the effect of decreasing, resistance to air penetration or artificially to accelerate propulsion, such as a protective screen, fuselage form fairing or the like, shall be prohibited.

A protective screen shall be defined as a fixed component that serves as a windscreen or windbreak designed to protect another fixed element of the bicycle in order to reduce its wind resistance.

A fairing shall be defined as the use or adaptation of a component of the bicycle in such a fashion that it encloses a moving part of the bicycle such as the wheels or the chainset. Therefore it should be possible to pass a rigid card (like a credit card) between the fixed structure and the moving part."

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beej.a | 11 years ago
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thank god... the Graal was a horrible looking monstrosity

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cat1commuter | 11 years ago
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I think the whole brake comes off when you remove the "cover". ie: The brake components are attached to the "cover" rather than the frame.

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Mat Brett replied to cat1commuter | 11 years ago
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cat1commuter wrote:

I think the whole brake comes off when you remove the "cover". ie: The brake components are attached to the "cover" rather than the frame.

Possibly. That's what we were wondering. But that seems like a tenuous side-stepping around the rules. Who knows? This is the UCI we're talking about. We'll soon find out.

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Mart0023 | 11 years ago
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would it not need the covers removing to make it UCI legal?

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Mat Brett replied to Mart0023 | 11 years ago
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Mart0023 wrote:

would it not need the covers removing to make it UCI legal?

I don't think so. You can see in some of the pics that the covers are in Team Sky's usual blue. They wouldn't have done that unless they were going to be used by Team Sky, surely, so we're assuming (dangerous, I know) that the bike will be raced by Wiggo with the covers in place.

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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Can't see how this is UCI-legal when similar stuff isn't but it looks fast as hell.

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Ghedebrav | 11 years ago
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An unusually overt 'Italian' aesthetic for a Pinarello. Not quite Cinelli's Wysiwyg, but like it.

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Paul J | 11 years ago
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It means meteor/fireball in dutch too, the "fast/race car" use derives from that, and it's more like an adjective than a noun.

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Mat Brett replied to Paul J | 11 years ago
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Paul J wrote:

It means meteor/fireball in dutch too, the "fast/race car" use derives from that, and it's more like an adjective than a noun.

That'll teach us not to trust Google Translate, then.

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danb | 11 years ago
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Wiggins didn't ride the Pinarello for the Olympics did he? thought he was on the UKSI bike..

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gw replied to danb | 11 years ago
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danb wrote:

Wiggins didn't ride the Pinarello for the Olympics did he? thought he was on the UKSI bike..

yep, but he was riding for team GB not Sky, he wont be able to ride the uksi bike whilst riding for the trade team

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euanlindsay | 11 years ago
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Currently there is only one size approved by the UCI 550

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