PINARELLO BOLIDE TT FRAMESET

Pinarello debuted their new Bolide TT at the 2016 Giro d’Italia under Mikel Landa for his general classification

assault. It was then given to the entire Team Sky squad at the Tour de France, where Chris Froome used it in both

the rolling and hilly time trials to cement his general classification advantage and win his third Tour. It is

both lighter and faster than the older Bolide, something Team Sky certainly wished for-and was able to take

advantage of. The weight reduction is pretty impressive, 350g, meaning a 52 frame weighs 1044g. The aero savings

add up to even greater speeds.

Just looking at the new Bolide TT design tells you it’s faster. The shaping is sleeker everywhere. Start with the

aero fork tips. They have an elongated trailing edge, which is both structural (it is UCI-approved, after all),

and aerodynamic. The fork legs are more widely-spaced to provide more room for wide-rimmed wheels, and are also

narrower when seen from the front, to cut through the wind better. The bayonet fork’s head tube cover section, is

likewise further shaped to present a better leading edge. The scallops on the head tube, top tube, and seat tube

better channel wind smoothly around the bike. The downtube hugs the front wheel more closely for the upper

section, and the lower section is concave on the trailing edge to better shield a round water bottle from the

wind as well as improve airflow around the seat tube and wheels.