Pro bike: Ben Swift's Pinarello Dogma 60.1
Swift shifts gear the electronic way
Much has been made of Team Sky's launch and subsequent start to the season in Adelaide, Australia and the bike that carried the British team to glory in last Sunday's Cancer Council Helpline Classic befits the excitement.
Prior to sponsoring Team Sky, Italian marque Pinarello had an existing contract to supply Spanish ProTour team Caisse d'Epargne and still provides its Dogma 60.1 for the team that includes riders such as Alejandro Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez, both of whom are riding this week's Santos Tour Down Under.
Another rider taking part is young British sprinter Ben Swift, who was at the centre of speculation surrounding his move from Russian squad Katusha before he appeared at the team presentation in London. The former track rider has speed to burn thanks to his past on the boards and has transferred that talent to the road, where Team Sky hopes to see the best out of the 22-year-old from Rotherham during the 2010 season.
The bike that will take him there is one of the best-looking and well-equipped rigs in the peloton. Pinarello's flagship frame is adorned with the usual swoops and strange tube shapes, none of which look out of place.
As befits the team's cutting-edge approach to preparation, marketing and presentation, the technology found on this bike is impressive. The best of everything and the latest in racing and training equipment has made its way onto the squad's machines.
The spec includes an SRM - the all-new PowerControl 7 unit - plus prototype Shimano Dura Ace 7810 composite pedals and prototype C50 composite tubular wheels. They complement the complete Shimano Dura Ace Di2 groupset, one of several teams at this year's Tour Down Under to do so.
Initial PowerControl units were tested by Mark Cavendish and George Hincapie at last year's Tour de France and the British super squad has its riders measuring power through the German company's latest.
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The pedals are almost completely constructed from composite material, save for the small alloy plate. There's no word about production as yet, but watch this space for news on when to expect them on the market.
The same applies to the wheelset used - there's still no word on the likelihood of these hoops going into production. They're an impressive-looking wheel and both the 50mm and 35mm versions have proven popular with professional teams during the 2009 season and into 2010.
Whilst the Di2 gruppo hasn't been spotted on many production bikes by this scribe, it has been increasingly adopted by Shimano-sponsored teams as part of the promotion and continued testing process as a second-generation of the Japanese company's flagship groupset may make an appearance sometime this year or next.
The downtube also features the latin phrase: "Is Qui Est Est Is Qui Non Est Consectãtur" which apparently translates to: "He who is, is. He who is not, seeks (or perseveres)." I'm no expert on latin, but that sounds like a type of motivational spiel. Nice.
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