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TECH NEWS
Pinarello available in Halfords stores from today
If you go down to your local Halfords today, you might see a fleet of Pinarellos taking pride of place on the shop floor. Last month we reported on the news that bicycle retailer Halfords would be selling Pinarellos, the choice of Bradley Wiggins and his Team Sky outfit, and today marks the day when a range of nine road and city bikes will be available in selected branches of Halfords.
Halfords have worked with the Italian manufacturer on a select range of nine models, six road bikes and three city bikes. As of today, the Pinarello nine bike range will be sold in Halfords’ new stores in Chingford, Nuneaton and Farnborough. These new stores feature newly designed displays in what is described as a ‘bright and open interior’. If you don’t live near these stores, you will be able to buy online for a home delivery.
So, let’s take a look at the nine bikes they’ll be selling then. The range features bikes priced from £799 up to £2,549 with the equally priced FPQUATTRO and Rokh. The Rokh is based on the Kobh, a bike favoured by Team Sky for the rough roads and cobbles of races like Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but uses a lower modulus carbon fibre, 30-ton high modulus 12k. This is a bike aimed at the endurance/sportive market, as comfort is a key factor with the frame's design.
The FPQUATTRO is Pinarello’s mid-range bike, it sits beneath the Dogma and Paris in its lineup of models. It has the unique wavy forks that make Pinarello’s so distinctive, and has a frame made from 30-ton high modulus 12k weave carbon fibre with a tapered head tube and internal cable routing, two features that are found on the top-end Dogma. It’s a UCI approved model so it’s race-ready. Frame weight is a claimed 1,100g for a size 54cm.
The FPDUE (£2,349.99) has all the styling cues of the higher end models and includes a tapered head tube and wavy fork and seat stays. Cables are routed internally, and the carbon fibre used is of the 24-ton high modulus 12K weave variety. Frame weight is a little higher at 1,120g for a size 54.
The most affordable carbon Pinarello in the range is the FPUNO Carbon Veloce (£1,999.99). This frame is made from 24-ton high modulus uni-directional carbon fibre with a tapered head tube and the same wavy forks and seat stays as higher up the range, and the same sculpted head tube that gives the frame a muscular appearance.
Finally, the most affordable road bike in the range is the FPUNO Aluminium Tiagra. It’s made from 6061 T6 aluminium and the tubes are hydroformed to give the frame the Pinarello signature appearance, with carbon fibre seatstays and chainstays and fork. It even carries the similar asymmetric features on the frame and fork of the full carbon models higher up the range. It’s built with a full Shimano Tiagra 10-speed groupset.
For hitting the city streets the Catena Vintage is a chromoly framed fixed-wheel bike costing £799.99, with a very retro look.
Costing the same is the ‘Only the Brave’ a single speed that has a distinctive stepped top tube and kinked seat stays, owing something to the wavy forks and stays of the road bikes. It’s fitted with a flat handlebar and deep-section aluminium rims.
Head over to www.halfords.com/Pinarello for more info.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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44 comments
I do have not problem with Halfords selling Bikes... been doing for years
But, I won't personally for this sort of money (if I had it), as they don't let you try them out first...
Until they do, support your local cycle shop...
hate to rain on your parade
http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Food/salads.html
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
You don't go to McDonalds for a salad.
This section reads a lot like comments on BMW's new foray into front wheel drive hatchbacks.
Watch the brand desirability disappear faster than Findus share prices...
I don't mean to be argumentative or a know it all but Sigma sell more than just the Tarmac.
I bought a bottom end Allez from them.
I can understand Pinarello going with Halfords as they are the biggest bike retailer in the UK and at the end of the day it's about making sales.
As someone says if you've got a skilled mechanic the bikes brand makes no difference when you repair it Carrera or Pinarello.
I think they've sold out as an aspirational brand, but the bottom line is king in any business.
Are any of these frames available through the existing dealer network or have they made these specifically for the their new target market? I don't remember seeing any FPUNO's last time I was in Sigma Sports.
I think the reason for such a high interest in this story is that it's a case of the big boys flexing their financial clout. I don,t blame pinarello wanting to capitalise on the success of the team sky thing and to sell more entry level bikes in the uk however I have an issue with the choice of retailer. If i we're an independent piña dealer I would be so mad about this. At least give the independent network a chance to captilise on the high profile of the brand at the moment. Short term it makes sense for pinarello but long term there will be a lot of bridges burnt with the dealer network. Pinarello really know how to make money, they make the cheapest bikes, spend the most on marketing and then charge the most for them. Very clever company but I feel this may backfire.
It'll be interesting to see how this pans out, I can see it being quite good for Pinarello in the long run though. Traditionally, it seems that large amount of Pinarello buyer is the sort of customer who buys into the prestige of the brand, like someone who would choose and Aston Martin or a Ferrari wants pay more for the exclusivity. I'm sure these types of buyers will be put off with a broader marketing of the brand, but while these guys drop a sizeable chunk on a single frame it's not going to make Pinarello rich in the same way that Specialized are, making money hand over fist with sales of £400 hybrids all the way up to S-Works Tarmacs. Who can deny Pinarello a slice of that kind of cake? We'll be seeing a fair few 2nd hand Dogmas for sale in the next year or two I think, one the "prestige" riders move elsewhere.
I'm not sure if it's the bike brand snobbery or the bike shop snobbery that gets me!
But I know that bikes are designed to do certain jobs and if they do that job well and are available in a range of different shops I'm not sure where the problem is.
As for devaluing a brand by putting it in Halfords (or Aldi for that matter) then it is only devalued if it was over-priced and over-hyped in the first place.
I love bikes and I love riding them; but come on who really cares which shops sell them?
That's fair enough, but whatever you think of it it's a fact that a lot of people *do* care about these things, which is why people pay £££s more for Pinarellos, Colnagos, even high-ticket Treks and Specializeds etc. when they could just get a Boardman instead. Recognising that and wondering why Pinarello would want to dilute it isn't snobbery. You don't have to actually *be* a snob to see that brand/shop snobbery exists and that people are influenced by it.
A lot of people care? Or just you? Case in point, Sigma Sport sell only the very top-end Specialized Tarmac bikes, and it doesn't seem customers who shop there are put off by the fact you can buy the same bikes, and their cheaper models, in shops like Evans or CycleSurgey
So you really think that nobody cares about this stuff? What is it then that lets Pinarello (in this case) sell a product for a lot more than (say) Boardman charge for a product that is just as good in pretty much every respect?
I'm not saying it's a good thing, but I think it's pretty clear there's something in it and I'd say the comments on the Halfords-Pinarello stories show that it's not just me that thinks so. FWIW there's a very good chance my next MTB will be a Boardman and had they been around when I got my road bike it's quite likely I'd be riding one now.
i'll ignore the halfords/pinarello shocker and instead settle on the fact that pinarello appear to have produced the most disgusting and apallingly-named bike in the world ever.
kinda matches the ugly bike design as well. wavy stays and forks are what kids draw.
hideous bikes
Absolutely - that flat barred horror really is 'only for the brave' (or severely aesthetically challenged). Yuk!
I rode on the Deloitte Ride Across Britain and we were supported by Halfords mechanics. I have to say they were all dedicated and knew their stuff. My understanding of Halfords was that they aimed themselves at the low/commercial end of the market. I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. But it does not surprise me if they have problems keeping these people.
Anyone who leaves their £10k bike in the hands of Halfords gets what they deserve.
I'm as big a bike and bike shop snob as the next man, but there's surely nothing mechanically different between a £500 Boardman, Trek, Spesh etc and a £2.5k Pinarello. Any reasonably competent mechanic should be able to build one up and fettle it.
Maybe Di2 would be beyond a Halfords Saturday lad (or is it easier?), but none of these bikes have it. Where I've become especially wary is with suspension rebuilds on MTBs: I've had two expensive Cannondale Headshock rebuild disasters perpetrated by supposedly properly trained mechanics at very well known and reputable LBSs. Resorted to doing it myself 'cos at least I'll take my time and not stop until its right.
I'd like to knock Halfords, but they do seem to be selling better bikes and a better range of parts. They saved my bacon last Sunday when I snapped a chain...
Back on the bikes - the thing that looks wrong for me on these 'budget' Pinarellos are the R500 wheels. The steel single-speed looks gorgeous.
Halfords are the least of their worries. pina should be dealing with the fakes you can buy for £399 from china that to all but the pina mega fan are indistinguishable from a real one.
pinarello sorry to break it to you all arent anything special, just well marketed and priced in the 'it so expensive it must be good' catergory
the reason the chinese imports are so easily available is becasue pina are made in china. not a bad thing but if i were boffing 6k on a frame set i would want it hand crafted lovingly by Luigi in Bologne not made on a line next to a boardman and a Moda.
bikes for middle aged sportive riders with big wallets. and i salute pinarello for this. hell if i could whip up a brand and make 6.5k profit per frame then i would.
+1 , you've hit the nail on the head re Pinarello. I wouldn't be a fan of the brand as it trades heavily on it's Italian heritage (and charges handsomely for it) but the reality is somewhat different.
Your argument is interesting but emotive rather than factual or accurate. Anybody who could make 6.5k profit on a 6k item would! Come on guys, dont get so emotive over who sells a bike, if you like the bike then buy it and decide which store you buy it from. Simple. Just because someone else buys a cheaper model from the same manufacturer in a different shop doesn't suddenly make your purchase less valuable (unless you bought it as a status symbol rather than as a bike to ride and enjoy).
Of course it's a deal between the two and yes that is a fundamental but the most basic principle has to be the brand value itself.
Undermine that and you have no customer base at all.
Will it work? Yes. Will it do the brand name any good? No.
I know more about marketing than most. I've written much of it over the years!
Well look at you...
I still don't agree with you
Time will tell though
I wasn't the one stating business fundamental's
I haven't said it won't work. So we do agree.
Do I think it's a wrong move for the brand, yes. But that's a different matter.
On that we don't agree.
I have to agree with Super Domestique. Perhaps it's an astute business move by Pinerello, but the brand image will change as a result (it already has for me). Look at Boardman's: we all know they are very good bikes at a very good price, but most serious road bike fans will avoid them simply because of the brand association with Halfords and C2W. It may be silly, but it's how it is.
I think you'll find it's a business deal between Halfords and Pinarello, and they have very good reasons for the prices and range of bikes they're selling.
A fundamental retail rule is selling products appropriate to your customers
Perhaps I wasn't clear.
Lack of trust - as in they only trust halfords with cheaper models. Note cheaper, not cheap.
Devalue - as in showing they view these as lesser, main stream products not linked, associated or connected via trickle down technology to their better models.
This might not be the case but it gives the impression of that. Hence why I would say it's a bad call.
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