While the two bikes featured here are separated by thousands of pounds, they are in many ways just different sides of the same coin. Both are from venerated Italian brands seeking to provide a product, and an experience, that not only delivers the requisite performance but also the intangible qualities that cause cyclists to covet these marques over others.
The Colnago Steelnovo, severely limited in numbers, will be highly collectable in quick time, while the F1 offers the chance to jump aboard for those to whom riding a Pinarello was previously out of reach. I’d argue that ownership of both will likely be similarly joyous despite the disparity in cost.
Elsewhere we have two more intriguing products - a gravel wheelset from DT Swiss built around dynamo hubs and a carbon cockpit with a four-digit price tag, used by Tadej Pogacar no less.
Colnago Steelnovo
There was perhaps no better way for Colnago to celebrate 70 years of bicycle manufacturing than to make the ultimate steel bike.
The Steelnovo is an ode to the material for sure, but not just its tradition, its future, too. The frameset, made in a limited edition of just 70 pieces, continues Colnago’s long relationship with Columbus tubing, but it has many contemporary features. So while the meticulous welding and brazing conjures up steel Colnago icons of the past, such as the Master, the Steelnovo also uses 3D-printed lugs (to great effect judging by the seamless transition from tube to lug), has a carbon fork, can fit 35mm tyres and uses two modern standards - the T47 bottom bracket and the UDH rear dropout.
Fittingly, to complete the build Colnago has teamed up with a couple of Italian brands, with which it has a long history. There’s a Campagnolo Super Record wireless groupset, a pair of its Bora Ultra WTO 45 wheels, shod in Pirelli tyres. Only the saddle breaks the mould - it’s a Brooks Cambium C13, but even this British institution is now owned by Selle Royal.
It all adds up to an aesthetically stunning machine; is calling the Steelnovo the best-looking bike of the modern era pure hyperbole? Perhaps, but given that it’s likely to ride beautifully too, it’s a bike that doesn’t draw easy comparison. Nor does its price tag of €17,500.00.
Pinarello F1
If the Steelnovo is the stuff of dreams, then Pinarello’s F1 is far more rooted in reality.
In an effort to make its road bikes more accessible, the Italian marque has added the F1 to its lineup. While it uses the same frame design as the more expensive F models, it uses a lower-grade carbon - Toray T600 - to keep the costs down. This makes the F1 a tad heavier than the F5, but only by 40g, and you still get the sensible geometry that’s a little less aggressive than the brand’s flagship race bike, the Dogma F.
More price-saving measures are taken with the choice of the F1’s components. There’s a mechanical 12-speed 105 groupset and a set of alloy Shimano wheels. The cockpit is also aluminium. The result is a Pinarello, complete with its signature curves, for £3,000/$3,500. Whether that constitutes a bargain is debatable but any attempt to make premium brands more affordable should be commended.
DT Swiss dynamo gravel wheels
The practicality of a dynamo hub makes it a natural bedfollow for bikepackers and long-distance gravel riders. Up until now you’d probably have been required to go down the custom wheel build route for an off-road ready wheelset featuring the light-generating hubs. But no more.
DT Swiss has released two gravel wheelsets with dynamo hubs as standard - the GR 1600 DYN and the GR 1800 DYN. It’s teamed up with Shutter Precision, a market leader for dynamo hub technology, using the brand’s SP PL-7 generator inside a tailored hub shell. According to DT Swiss it has been created to “withstand the rigours of your off-road riding”, and is available as a hub-only option too.
The self-sufficiency that’s at the heart of the dynamo’s appeal likely makes up for any concerns that the technology slows you down. But if you’re a little worried about your efficiency when the light is on, DT Swiss says at 15 km/h the SP PL-7 generator only uses 4.2 watts of your rolling power to produce 3 watts of output.
Enve SES Aero Pro bars
The one-piece SES Aero Pro handlebars are the brainchild of both Enve and its most famous user, Tadej Pogacar.
Using feedback from the world’s best bike racer and his UAE teammates, the US brand set out to deliver bars that blend stiffness with aerodynamic properties, while still delivering the comfort that professional riders demand.
And it appears it has succeeded, with Pogacar using the bars in both of his Grand Tour wins this year, as well as his World Champs triumph. Details include Enve’s In-Route internal cabling system, an integrated computer mount and shaping that aims to help the rider achieve as small a frontal area as possible when riding in the drops.
The claimed weight varies depending on the size, but ranges from 345 to 365g. As for those sizes the SES Aero Pro bars are offered in three widths - 40, 42, 44cm at the drops - and six stem lengths, from 90cm to 140mm. With the bars retailing at $1,300 Pog will be glad he doesn’t have to pay for his pair.
