Team Sky, in conjunction with Jaguar, have unveiled the new Pinarello DOGMA K8-S for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The bike is set to feature on the cobbles of this year’s Tour de France, but Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe will be among the first Team Sky riders to race the bike this weekend in Flanders.
The new bike, with a claimed raw frame weight of 900g, has a bespoke mechanical rear suspension system called the DSS 1.0 – Dogma Suspension System – that features a miniature rear shock and flexible flat carbon chainstays that Pinarello believes “creates a revolutionary pivot point for the perfect riding comfort over the cobbles of northern Belgium and France."
Cyclingnews joined Team Sky riders Thomas, Rowe and Salvatore Puccio as they rode the final 100 kilometres of the Tour of Flanders route on Thursday as part of their final preparations ahead of Sunday’s Monument, and the feedback from the riders was expectedly positive.
“I'm in the best shape I've been in, and the team are in the best shape they've been in, and we've got a lovely new bike,” Thomas said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I rode [the bike] in February as well and it feels nice. The faster you go you can tell the difference even more. The back end definitely feels a lot comfier - not so rigid.”
The new rear suspension unit has been co-engineered by Pinarello, the team’s bike supplier since their WorldTour inception in 2010, and Jaguar, who initially joined the team as their vehicle supplier that same year.
The starting point for Pinarello’s development started with the K8 road bike with the main triangle acting as the foundation of the project. As is typical for bikes purposely built for the cobbled classics, the front end is built with a slacker head tube angle, while the fork rake has increased by 4mm. In total, this should make for better shock absorption up front along with increased stability given the longer wheelbase.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1CYf3Pg
No comments:
Post a Comment