Gear
Torn on the KOBH: Pinarello’s Cobblestone Competitor vs the Dogma
Bicycling in the Alps never looked so good. Between the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and numerous trips through the French and Italian countryside, I needed a bike that would stand up to the elements (snow, rain and gravel during the Giro). This adventure called for using one of Pinarello’s 2011 KOBHs during a busy tour season with Punto Tours. And it was a great choice.
Just so you know, Pinarello has no idea who I am. I receive nothing from Pinarello for reviewing any of their products, and if I did, I would disclose it. It just so happens that I like to write about quality products, and they (so far) haven’t let me down.
The KOBH (pronounced /kob/as in “cobblestone”) was launched just prior to the 2010 Paris-Roubaix, as reported by Competitive Cyclist. In fact, their report on the KOBH is much more thorough than anything I can write here. We know that these carbon-fiber frames are strong for racing, but how strong are they over the cobblestones? There are a few aspects of the KOBH that make it an incredibly resilient ride over rocks regardless of its relatively “fragile” carbon-fiber based core.
A re-shaped “Dogma”
The bike is essentially the same as the Pinarello Dogma that I wrote about here in this post. However, as Competitive Cyclist puts it:
With the introduction of the KOBH, Pinarello takes the amazing form of the Dogma Carbon and re-fashions it for the worst of the Spring Classic pavé.
And they’ve done that by re-shaping the seat-stays, making them thinner yet wider than the Dogma’s. This technique is seen on a number of bikes created for the punishing cobblestone classics in northern 
Europe.
However, the KOBH also allows for bigger tires (28c tires as opposed to 27c). All the while, maintaining its asymmetrical design to maximize speed and efficiency under torque.
Obviously the headtube is a bit beefier, and both the headtube and the seattube are more perpendicular to the ground, so the compression of the material is along the length of the tube, not across it. An added plus is Pinarello’s use of the Torayca 60HM1K carbon with its “bursting” alloynano technology (which I wrote about here). So even if you stress the carbon, these alloy particles are released into the carbon fiber making it stronger and giving the carbon a longer life. And a longer bike life is important, especially when yours is riding on top of it.
The Pinarello Dogma 2 Professional Road Bike: To Be “Born Again”
About two months ago, I posted this article on the 2011 Pinarello Dogma 60.2. I wrote about its geometry, asymmetric styling and the pleasure of riding one on long uphills and steep descents. Little did I know that, within a few weeks, my comments about the Pinarello Dogma would seem outdated – almost antiquated – by a group of cyclists from Perth, Australia. On a trip with Punto Tours in the French Alps, every one of them was armed with the latest Pinarello creation: the Dogma 2.
However, Pinarello had only released the Dogma 2 not even a few months prior to these lads coming on tour. In fact, I got to handle not one, but thirteen fresh and beautiful high quality carbon-framed bicycles. Over our eight-day adventure through the French and Italian Alps, I had plenty of time to study the geometry of the bike. At first its design seemed unappealing (I’m a traditionalist), but then I began to understand the method to Pinarello’s engineering.
The first feature that caught my eye was the oversized head tube/fork crown combination. Pinarello studied the side-to-side asymmetry in this advanced frame. That asymmetry is still present in the Dogma 2 and is primarily focused on the sprinter and a fast transference of energy to the pedals. In layman’s terms, the right side of the bike is engineered differently than the left side, to account for the bike’s drive train. According to Competitive Cyclist in this post, all of this same research is brought to the Dogma 2, but now Pinarello has modified the front symmetry of the bike to make what is considered, “the most responsive Pinarello race bike ever.” As a result, the head tube is much larger and essentially more aerodynamic, and the fork is much larger at the crown. As I mentioned earlier, this is the most eye-catching feature in the new design since this reinforcement of the front-end allows for an even stiffer ride with a “more predictable braking and a more precise steering feel,” according to Competitive Cyclist.
To increase the aerodynamic characteristic of the frame, all of the cables are threaded internally and the tube junctures have been smoothed out. It is a fantastic machine and pricing it here would be useless. It is the newest, professional grade, top-of-the-line race bike from one of Italy’s premier manufactures. Online I’ve seen prices from $5,800.00 USD just for the frame. Of course, you wouldn’t want to put a Beetle engine in a Ferrari, so you can count on another $2,200.00 for a Campagnolo Record 11 transmission. Don’t forget wheels. You can dump another $1,500.00 to $3,000.00 easily. In the end, you get one expensive bike, but one hell of a high performing machine. So, if you are going to invest that much, make sure you’re riding at least 150 miles a week and avoiding the blueberry muffins and chocolate cupcakes. These days when ideologies come with a high price and seem to fluctuate like the market, this enhanced Dogma stiffness will never let you down.
Photo Credits: Brad Jardine
Nevi say Nevi: Italian Mountain Bike manufacturer strikes Gold with Titanium
Descending on single track is such a great feeling. Tucking behind the seat and opening the brakes ignites the endorphins, sending adrenaline through the body. Certainly many mountain bikers have experienced this adventure in cerebral chemistry, thinking that their bike is – without a doubt – the best in the world.
Think again.
A small bike manufacturer out of Bergamo, Italy has an interesting way of making fram
es. Nevi carefully chooses the titanium tubes (Grade 9 3AL-2.5V TI) and refines them before welding them together. After raw cutting them to the necessary specifications, the tubes are washed and lubed in vats using ultrasound! They are then welded together in an hyperbaric chamber (to prevent dust from interfering with the weld), creating an inert gas chamber.
Yet the most interesting part of the process is “attaching” the bottom bracket. Other frame manufacturers weld the bottom brac
ket as the rest of frame is completed which – according to Nevi – is wrong. Nevi measures its tubes, assembles its frame and places the bottom bracket at the end of the process. This way they assure the pedal center is perfectly perpendicular to the movement plane of the frame.
At the very end of this process, the chainstays, as well as the entire posterior of the frame, are assembled before being finished. Again, using the hyperbolic chamber helps to remove every impurity as the assembly is finished. They also make custom frames, so if the dimensions and sizes of the standard bikes don’t suit your needs, you can send them your information and they’ll make a custom fit.
Pros: The construction makes for a superb ride. Light and maneuverable in the tightest corners and the steepest track, Nevi’s construction is without flaw, and the lifetime guarantee puts their word behind each frame. I highly recommend the 29” for a smooth and effortless ride. The custom possibilities are endless – from the size of the seat tube to the length of the down tube – this probably will be the last mountain bike you ever buy.
Cons: It’s unfortunate that these frames are hard to come by. There is no retailer in North America (at least that I know of) and they are hard to come by in Europe. Nevi has a few of them listed here, but making them difficult to acquire makes them more desirable right? Don’t despair, that doesn’t mean you’ll never find one. Nevi say Nevi.
Pinarello Dogmas will make a Believer out of you.
It’s hard not to like this bike. For some enthusiasts, biking is a religion, the Tour de France is their church, and the Pinarello Dogma is their credo.
The concept behind the Pinarello Dogma is the idea of “asymmetrical frame” design, invented by this noteworthy bike manufacturer in Treviso, Italy. The way they see it, the drive-side of the bicycle frame puts asymmetrical force on the frame with each pedal stroke. To compensate for this imbalance, frame tweaks and design modifications allow the Dogma frame to be lighter than the Prince (a lower model, yet high-end machine), while remaining more resistant to impacts, according to research conducted by Bicycling Online.
These modifications are felt significantly in the acceleration and performance of the frame. The force is properly dispersed not only throughout the bottom-bracket and asymmetrical chainstays, but also throughout the entire frame for optimal speed and energy transference. So the symmetry plays a part, but so does Pinarello’s switch to Toray’s 60HM1K carbon fiber: a substance that almost prevents cracks and breaks. As Bicycling explains:
“…the new material has what Toray calls “nanoalloy” which, the company says, “disperses nanoscale elastomers between the carbon fibers. These elastomers absorb impacts and prevent the propagation of cracks as they occur”.”
However, the asymmetric composition of the frame doesn’t stop with chainstays (the bits that get the most force) as you would ima
gine. According to Competitive Cyclist, even the top tube has a rounded right-side, and a more flat left side; the right seat-stay is fatter near the brake-bridge; even the sides of the fork are asymmetrical. So what Pinarello has come up with was a construction whereby each side of the frame is a separate piece. Competitive Cyclist has written a great article explaining, in depth, the processes involved in creating such a complex frame here.
Pros: an amazing ride. The acceleration, climbing and power within the frame is astounding considering its insignificant weight. Tight cornering and solid descending are to be expected from a frame engineered to work with itself. The frame doesn’t give that sense of harshness other oversized frames often do. Plus, the addition of the new alloy-nano particles puts less strain on the carbon fibers, giving a longer life to the frame.
Cons: running between $16,999 and $17,900, the Pinarello Dogma may be the last bike people ever buy. It certainly has a professional price tag and may be wasted on those riders who don’t train in the Alps and average at least 100 sprint finishes per year. If you are sponsored by Pinarello, ask for the best. You may believe in this Dogma, but keep your money out of the offering basket. Try spending it on a little something more “down-to-earth” like the Pinarello Kobh.
Adventure Travel and Social Media: an “Epic Mix”
It’s hard to find a social media platform that does the talking for you. Those of us involved in online communities are often tweeting or posting our activities to our friends and followers. For the Adventure Travel market, this has been a great way to get the word out to our present customers and potential guests. There is no easier way to let folks know what you’re up to, where you are, than an iPhone app and a tweet.
Until now.
Vail Resorts has unveiled Epic Mix: the fusion of social media and adventure travel. The idea is simple – it takes all the tweeting and status updates and places it onto an automatic platform. An opt-in system, Epic Mix is a social media ski site which tracks the number of snow days, the accumulative elevation, your award pins, and your “rank” with other participants. One of the greatest features, however, is that you don’t have to move a finger: you can tie the updates to your facebook or twitter accounts, and your friends are updated while you are still on the mountain. After a few hours on the hill, you can log in and check your total elevation gain and compare them to other Vail skiers.
The pins are a great way to measure your progress on the mountain. Some are for a given number of days on snow, others are for achieving various milestones during the course of your winter vacation (for example, there is a pin for taking the legendary Chair 5 five times, skiing on New Year’s Day, and mastering the Back Bowls). In addition, the more you explore the vast slopes of Vail, the more points you earn, and the closer you come to winning their cash prize of $100,000.
The system works by an RF feed coming from the ski pass. At the entrance to every lift, there are sensors 
receiving the RF feed from your ski pass and transmitting it to the database. The system calculates the elevation from the bottom to the top of the lift (assuming you don’t jump off half-way), and then records your data from the next chairlift. All of the lifts you ride can be viewed and edited on the Epic Mix site. Although this information has startled a few people, keep in mind the Epic Pass is not a GPS tracking system and cannot find you on the hill at any one given time. It doesn’t know what run you are on, but calculates your skiing totals. Besides, if you’re not interested in sharing that information you don’t have to opt into the system – and for that matter you probably don’t tweet anyway.
Sport Cameras: Take Two
Getting great video is not such an easy task. Even when manufacturers continue to make small hand-held cameras, they don’t seem to have the same effect that a good POV sport camera would provide. The market for small sport cameras has widened and the technology is getting better. Here are two reviews on the ones I’ve been using to shoot some really great HD video.
The Camera: The GoPro Hero HD is one of the most popular sport cameras on the market. It films in total HD, with the option of three different filming formats: 1080p (true HD and wide-screen ratio), 960p (wide and tall HD with 170º angle view) and 720p (Ultra widescreen HD with typical 16:9 aspect ratio) with 30 or 60 fps. Why is any of this interesting? Because it allows for high quality digital video in a small camera, at a small price. The camera itself comes in a windproof casing with a fish-eye lens to get that wide-angle view. Although the audio is muffled as a result of this casing, it doesn’t matter: the focus is on the video, and it is spectacular stuff. The basic HD camera is priced at $299, with a number of accessories available to attach the camera to a bike, helmet, or surfboard. And all of that footage you can put on replaceable SD memory cards.
The cons: It’s hard to know when the camera is on. There are only two buttons, and a special pattern of pushing them turns the camera on. When it is activated, it makes a series of beeps and flashes a dim light that makes it confusing to tell when it’s filming or simply in standby. If you don’t get it right, you won’t have any video when you get home because the camera will either be off or in another mode (which has happened to me, much to my chagrin).
The Camera: The Contour HD picks up where the GoPro leaves off. It films in the same resolutions and frame rates as its competitor, but it’s missing the fish-eye – and that’s a good thing. The Contour HD has a simple wide-angle lens (135º) that allows you to pick up 
all of the action without distorting the image. The footage is stored on micro SD cards (even smaller) and there is a real microphone built into the camera for decent audio. One of the most impressive features is the laser leveling system. When the camera is mounted on a helmet, for example, a simple push of a button lights up two small leveling lasers to guide you to level the lens. This way what you film doesn’t look like it’s on the Titanic. In addition, the on/off switch is just that: one position is on, one is off. What you film is what you get. All the accessories are available to mount it to a bike or helmet, and Contour takes it a step further: their online programming allows you to control the audio and lighting as you desire. All in a hands-free camera.
The cons: Contour has recently come out with the Contour HD GPS model running for over $400 and with geo-locating. I don’t need the camera to tell me where I am, I’ll let the video speak for itself. Apart from this, I have yet to find any problems with the Contour.
Quittin’ Tarentaise: A Maker of Vacations goes on Vacation
Dear Faithful Reader:
My most heart-felt apologies for having left you with no news for well over two weeks. I assure you that during this period I have not been “on vacation” but designing vacations: namely Puglia, the Cinque Terre, Tarbes and Spain for Pomegranate Journey’s 2011 season, among other destinations. And since my business is the vacations of others, I find it difficult to be on vacation without working or researching a special location. And I have found a gem in the Tarentaise.
The Tarentaise is the valley of the upper Isère river in the French Alps. After the publication of our article in the 
Dauphine Libéré, the hosts at Chalet Merlot and Chalet Pecchio asked me if I’d like to come see their residences in this valley. I accepted the invitation willingly, and was awed by the natural beauty of the mountains, the construction of the Chalets and the gracefulness of the hosts, Nick and Margret.
The Tarentaise is the natural environment for the Tarine cows (a highly preserved breed in the French Alps) and is also a destination for skiers in the wintertime, with the popular resorts of Tignes and Val d’Isère (among others) along the upper part of the valley (Haute Tarentaise). Yet, the summer calls for mountain biking paths, hiking trails and white river rafting. The location makes for an exceptional holiday when skiing in the winter (there are approximately five resorts within 20 minutes of the Chalet), or 
cycling in the summer. There are routes taking the advanced biker (or advanced at heart) over the Col d’Iseran, Col du Petit San Bernard, and the Cormet de Roseland, to name a few. The chalet has a traditionally tasteful decor, fitting it in perfectly to its Alpine surroundings. When thinking of chalets in the French Alps, snowy peaks and warm fiery images flicker to mind. And no doubt, the glaciers were still white in August, and there was enough chill in the air that even on a few summer nights, a warm fire was a warm welcome.
However, there is nothing that compares to the warmth of the staff during the seasons. Whether summer or winter, Nick and Margret are exceptional hosts offering pick-ups from the train station, fresh baked banana bread for an 
afternoon snack, and a cool glass of Chignin Bergeron at the evening aperitif. Nick was generous enough to barbecue for the group on the last night of my stay. Grilled pork, chilled rosé, engaging conversation, all made for an excellent stay.
My sincere thanks to the staff and friends of Chalet Merlot and Chalet Pecchio. You all made my stay an enjoyable weekend. Again, special thanks to Nick and Margret for their unparalleled hospitality, to the point where it made leaving the Tarentaise a sad moment for this author. Yet, I look forward to seeing you all again with bikes and skis.
Bike Guide: Barrel Adjusters – A Barrel of Fun
New Shimano Barrel Adjusters
The mechanics of bicycles aren’t perfect, but they are pretty cool. If you think for a moment about how simple a bicycle is and how far it can carry you with as little as a push of the pedal, then you’ve come to realize the beauty in their engineering. It isn’t complex: a chain, some cogs, a comfortable seat, a handle bar, two wheels and some simple physics dictate the formula for a perfect ride. Yet in some instances, the ride isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s flawed – especially when you hear that click click click click coming from your back wheel. Or worse yet, maybe the bike is somehow shifting on its own. In these cases you may have too little (or too much) tension in the derailleur cable. You can ride for the rest of the day with this annoying sound, or you can get to know your barrel adjusters.
The beauty of this equipment is that you can tune your cable while riding the bike. If that sounds uncomfortable for some of you, then stop reading here. For anyone interested in bike mechanics, you have a barrel adjuster on the back derailleur as well as on the frame, or near the shifters, depending on the make of components you may have. Here, we’re talking about the adjusters found on the front of the bike, within reach as you ride.
SRAM Barrel adjusters on the cables
If while riding you hear that sound, try a few things:
1) Right side of the bike: Unless your bike has been cabled differently, the right side cable will help you tune the rear derailleur. As you ride, turn the cable in one direction but only in quarter turn increments. You don’t need a lot to go a long way.
2) Go back the other way: If you notice no change in the clicks, or the sound has gotten worse after about three or four turns, then turn the barrel adjusters the other way. Maybe instead of loosened, the cables need to be tightened (or vice versa) and this will help quiet the noise.
3) One-handed riders: If you’re not comfortable riding with your left hand while tweaking the barrel adjusters with your right, then don’t do it. Ideally, you would do this on a flat stretch where you can pedal and adjust simultaneously. I wouldn’t suggest doing it on a downhill in a curve – better to have both hands on the handlebars or you’ll have to adjust more than your cables after the crash.
4) Watch the fingers: Some of the barrel adjusters (Campagnolo and the new Shimano especially) are close to the wheel. Make sure not to get your fingers caught in the spokes – you’ll be left with fewer to grab your barrel adjusters the next time the cable gets loose.
New “Kuotes” from Kuota
For some of you, bicycles may be no more than a child’s pastime. Others may find them annoying velocipedes hogging the side of the road (which was made for cars, right?). Most cities in North America have been developed around the automobile: the long highways, the absence of bike paths in most urban centers and the animosity towards cyclists in general, are just a few clues. In Europe, however, the bicycle has been a means of transportation for some commoners well before the horse and carriage. It has played a significant role in both World Wars, in unifying countries, and in expanding economies. It is still used today by European postal workers, bakers, carpenters, priests, fisherman and thousands of adolescents. A bicycle’s attributes are endless.
The fellows at Kuota also have endless attributes. They are bicycle manufactures, pioneers in Italian design, and supporters of local charities all at the same time.
Kuota has humble beginnings as a bicycle fork company, specializing in steel and aluminum forks. They equipped most bicycle frames in the ’80s and ’90s with high-quality metal forks. As carbon fiber became a more popular material, they were the first company to specialize in carbon bicycle forks and again supplied them to all of the major bicycle brands. As Kuota began to watch bicycle frames switch from metal to carbon fiber in the ’90s, they began producing full carbon fiber frames. In 2001, Kuota bicycles (from the Italian “quota” – meaning “attaining new heights”) was born. Today, they supply the bikes for the professional racing team AG2R and in 2008 and 2009 they sponsored Agritubel. They’ve raced under Christophe Moreau and Cyril Dessel in the great bicycle races, rolled to victory with Norman Stadler’s Ironman conquests, and they are getting increased recognition and praise from the biking community in a number of product reviews such as this one from Bike Radar. It is for Kuota’s excellent craftsmanship, design and accomplishments that Pomegranate Journeys has decided to equip each of its European departures with Kuota’s Carbon-framed bicycles.
Much of Kuota’s recognition comes from the innovative design of these bicycles. They were the first to design the aerodynamic oversized carbon fiber tubing. As a result, most vibrations and wobbling is eliminated at high speeds. As Bike Radar points out in the above review of the KOM, the fork is constructed out of oversized tubes, and thus the front is exceptionally sturdy and solid in the turns. The boys in the Kuota engineering studio create each year’s model with an Italian designer’s eye. Rather than read the geometry sketches, they prefer to have the first prototype on hand to “see” what the final product looks like. Although they are interested in functionality, it is the beauty of the final product that they are most focused on. If they are not pleased with the final design, they start all over. Needless to say, Kuota bikes are chic, Italian design married to stylish efficiency.
But Kuota doesn’t stop at simply making a better bike, they also aim to make a better cyclist. They sponsor the Fabio Casartelli Medio Fondo (an amateur bike race) in honor of the late cyclist (and Lance’s domestique under Motorolla). Casartelli crashed in the 1995 Tour de France on the descent from the Col d’Aspet. It was because of that accident that the UCI began to make helmets obligatory in the pro races. All proceeds from this Medio Fondo go to fund bicycle safety programs in local schools through the Fabio Casartelli Foundation: how to ride in a line, how to keep to the side of the road, and especially how to properly wear a helmet. Kuota makes an impressive product, but they are also actively involved in bettering cycling for their local communities. By teaching the young proper cycling techniques, these young riders will have more concern for other vehicles on the road and incorporate safety into every ride. Then these kids will eventually grow into adults. Adults who will eventually get behind the wheel of a car and have a lot more respect for the kids – or anyone – cycling along the side of the road.
Garmin Garmin Garmin Chameleon
Technology keeps changing and Garmin is no different. It’s extraordinary how advanced personal GPS units have become over the past five years. In 2006 I picked up one of Garmin’s Edge 305 units to use here in Europe. At the time I was really impressed with its functionality. It didn’t have all the memory necessary to have a true map of where I was biking, yet it was able to trace all of my routes, pinpoint markers as well as calculate altitude, speed and all the other fundamentals by calibrating geographic location. The screen was pretty “primitive,” but in all respect it was a great starting point for many of today’s Garmin models, notably the Edge 705. This unit is a must for any long-distance bicycle adventurer. The 705′s joystick makes it a handy tool to toggle through the screens (which are color) and the classic buttons make it easy to activate the programs. The simultaneous displays are also customizable and the screen itself is huge compared to the 305. The added benefit is that it records your routes as its younger brother does, and it will tell you how to get to where you’re going if you download the regional maps to the unit. It will then memorize your routes and favorite locations just as your car Garmin will. It’s an exceptional piece of equipment for anyone interested in testing out their adventurous spirit who doesn’t have a map (although a map is a handy thing to have). If you’d like more on the reviews of the 705 check out the lads at bikeradar.com. They’ve done an excellent job explaining the 705′s assets and what Garmin needs to do to improve the next model (I would also add a feature to upload all of your data to the web by remote connection – maybe we won’t be waiting too long since Garmin has recently come out with the Nuvifone. Only time will tell).
After working as a bicycle tour guide for a decade and a half, I’m surprised so many of these niche tour operators are still using paper directions. Sur
e, from a cyclist’s point of view there’s a bit more security in having a hard-copy of directions in your hand, but I wonder how green the process is. I can imagine the amount of paper and toner wasted on each cyclist for each departure. There aren’t many companies in the industry making the switch from paper to portable technology. However Pomegranate Journeys is implementing the Garmin units on every bicycle for every tour. That’s a bold move considering most people are accustomed to thumbing through maps and folding over directions while pedaling along the itinerary. It’s only a matter of time before people start operating the units and follow the itinerary displayed on them instead of reading and riding (we’ve all just about replaced our land lines with mobile phones and our computers with smart phones right?). Granted, a map is still a nice thing to have, but when you’re on an organized tour with ten other cyclists, two guides and a van, you can do without the map and focus on the road. This initiative also gives Garmin a great opportunity to test multiple units simultaneously, affording them another huge technological change in next year’s model. What color will it be?