Cyclingnews 2007 Reader Poll Results

Best team bike

By James Huang

2007's Best team bike: Cervélo SLC-SL

Perhaps we should no longer ask our readers what their favourite team bike is, and just ask when it will be something other than the black, white, and red machines of Team CSC. Cervélo takes the top spot for an unprecedented third year in a row with its enticing SLC-SL, a full carbon frame that matches the aerodynamic profiles of its Soloist Carbon but lops off an additional 200g to also make among one of the lightest frames in the pro peloton.

Trek moves up a significant two slots to take second place with its new Madone. The new frame sheds its predecessor's stodgy appearance for a swoopy new set of duds and a wealth of innovative features that include integrated bottom bracket bearings in an ultra-beefy 90mm-wide shell, a novel no-cut integrated seatmast, and an oversized and tapered E2 fork with a 1.5" lower bearing. For the Waterloo, Wisconsin-based company to leapfrog over such established competition as Colnago and Pinarello is no small feat, and we at Cyclingnews applaud Trek for its newly found boldness.

Third place is occupied by another complete redesign, the Pinarello Prince Carbon. After a short hiatus, Pinarello has reintroduced the model with a curvier new shape, stronger and stiffer fiber blend, and its own version of the oversized and tapered steerer tube (this time with a 1 1/4" lower bearing instead of 1 1/2"). The Caisse d'Epargne team rolled the new machine out relatively late in the 2007 season, but look for them to attack the entire 2008 schedule aboard Pinarello's newest creation.

Results

                                                       Votes  %
1 Team CSC Cervélo SLC-SL                                2632 27.62
2 Discovery Channel Trek Madone                          1128 11.84
3 Caisse d'Epargne Pinarello Prince Carbon               1001 10.50
4 Rabobank Colnago Extreme-Power                          534  5.60
5 Quick.Step-Innergetic Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL2    497  5.21
6 Milram Colnago Extreme-Power                            470  4.93
7 Saunier Duval-Prodir Scott Addict                       452  4.74
8 Astana BMC SLC01 Pro Machine                            438  4.60
9 Predictor-Lotto Ridley Noah                             385  4.04
10 Liquigas Cannondale SuperSix (tie)                     357  3.75
10 Crédit Agricole Look 595 (tie)                         357  3.75
11 Euskaltel-Euskadi Orbea Orca                           324  3.40
12 Cofidis Time VXRS Ulteam                               208  2.18
13 Gerolsteiner Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL2            205  2.15
14 Lampre-Fondital Wilier Cento                           182  1.91
15 Bouygues Telecom Time VXRS Ulteam                      170  1.78
16 Unibet.com Canyon Ultimate CF Pro                      126  1.32
17 Française des Jeux Lapierre X-Lite HM                   40  0.42
18 AG2r Prévoyance B'Twin FC700                            25  0.26
                                                  Total: 9531