March 25th, 2014 1:08am
History
The world of Cycling is filled with storied brands, first from Europe where the sport was founded, then to the upstart united states where we have our own cycling royalty heritage. But this story is not about heritage, it is about a European Brand designed and developed by a very successful European rider. No, this isn’t another slap your PRO name on an asian bike story. This is about a bike, designed by a pro rider for every rider using the design knowledge of the past, modern production technology and infusing it with real world racing experience and success. This test is about the Fondriest TF2 -1.0
And the company owner and bike designer is Muarizio Fondriest. Winner of 69 pro races back in the 80-90’s including stage wins in the TDF, Giro Italia along with victories in the Milan-San Remo and two world championships.
So the man could ride, can he make a bike that everyman can win on? thats the target of the TF2 and that’s what we want to find out.
The TF2 1.0 is in the middle of the Fondriest line up, and it is claimed to be Maurizio’s personal favorite bike for its do everything versatility.
Curb Appeal - One look a the TF2 and you know its not an off the shelf bike. The lines of the bike alone shout Italian - sexy and fast. Starting at the front with from the sweeping reverse bend fork and custom tapered head tube shape, to the unique arched box top tube and box down tubes and winged shaped zero off set seat post and scalloped seat tube. The finish, stunningly simple, yet eye catching combination of paint and exposed carbon finish and available 13 color combinations give this bike the WOW factor you would expect from Italy.
Ride
So what does this carbon beauty feel like under foot? The first thing we noticed is how incredibly smooth this bike is. This bike makes bad roads an fissures in the road absolutely dissappear. We didn’t get speak to the Maurizio but must credit the ride to his knowledge of how to manipulate the materials and layup to achieve the desired ride characteristics of vertical compliance and horizontal stiffness. There is almost no energy sucking vibrational transfer to the rider. This is a bike you can spend hours on the saddle on. Gran Fondos and centuries will be a much better experience because of this bike. If you like to descend the spot on geometry, strong fork and tapered head tube give this bike a stability that will rival any thing on the road. The TF2 is a carving machine that inspires confidence on the open road. Gaining all that stability has to cost you somewhere and that place would be in a crit. The Fondriest is not a quick handling bike designed for snappy line changes. It likes the high speed calculated turn.
When the road goes up the all around good manners make the TF2 a formidable climber thanks in part to the beefy chain stays and solid bottom bracket. The Selle SMP saddle also makes for a comfortable seated riding position.
Out on the flats the Fondriest spins up nicely and holds speed well. When you try to squash it, you can immediately feel the bikes lateral stiffness and stiff bottom bracket come into play. However the acceleration doesn’t seem to match the stiffness. I always felt the acceleration was a bit sluggish. With exact same head angle as one of our other current road bikes, we can only speculate that their is to too much vertical compliance or the wheels. I would have liked to try this bike with a good set of carbon wheels. Since we were on a Campy drive train, this wasn’t an option.
How does is all work together?
Campy Athena Group Set - Its not often we get to ride Campy components so it takes a bit of practice to go back to the thumb shifter. Add to the fact that this was our first review with electronic shifting and you have a real insight into what it is like for anyone trying to switch after 10 years of Shimano/SRAM muscle recall.
But with a little saddle time it all begins to come back. The Athena Electronic shifter showed up at our door already in tune so we can’t comment on the set up. What we can tell you is the Athena shifting is smooth fast and accurate. You have to learn to stop tapping the shifter and simply push and hold the shifter to go multiple gears. This is where the EPS system really shines. You can grab 11 gears quickly in either direction in a fraction of the time it takes to tap your lever 11 times and the shifting is nearly silent. I a sure this is quite handy for the CAT 1 level racer and above.
To actuate the shift, we found we could actually shift with only a pinky finger. That is a testament to how smooth the shifting is. The brakes show off the best ergonomics in industry and stop you with confidence.
Never once did we run out did the battery die and we rode the bike for over a week before plugging in the charger.
The Campy Power Torque carbon crankset and bottom bracket is also a nice piece if you’re grading on stiffness and smoothness. But we did learn that this crank requires a specialty tool and a bit of specialty knowledge to remove. Which won’t be a problem for your local dealer to repair, but the rider who likes to wrench on their own bikes might be in for more than they want.
Complete Bike Price as Tested $6700 or $3,380 for the 950 gram frame set. 7 sizes from XXS-XXL
Room for Improvement - I don’t get the feeling the bike wasn’t designed with electronic shifting in mind. The only place you could put the battery is on the down tube below where you are spilling drinks and food.
Sexy as the aero seat post might be, its zero offset wont work for some riders who require an offset seat post to have the bike properly fitted. The proprietary post and clamp system could also be an issue should a malfunction or breakage occur.
Suggestions for Upgrade. I would buy this bike and spec my favorite high end cable actuated model group set for about the same price and save half a pound. This was our first real try at electronic shifting and while it did everything well, it hasn’t won us over quite yet.
Wheels - The Ursus Wheels felt smooth under pedal. As a part of the whole build spec package, the entire bike was super smooth but we couldn’t separate the feeling of the wheels from the rest of the bike. As mentioned, I would have liked to ride the bike with a set of high dollar carbon wheels as we believe the wheels affected the acceleration of the bike.
Who is this bike made for? The Fondriest is for the rider that wants style with his performance, that wants comfort with some attitude. Its for the rider who likes riding boutique brands and getting all the technology benefits from the evolution of design and manufacturing. If you are looking for a bike that is super comfortable, competitive and has the pedigree of proven champion, the Fondriest may be for you.
So what does this carbon beauty feel like under foot? The first thing we noticed is how incredibly smooth this bike is. This bike makes bad roads an fissures in the road absolutely dissappear. We didn’t get speak to the Maurizio but must credit the ride to his knowledge of how to manipulate the materials and layup to achieve the desired ride characteristics of vertical compliance and horizontal stiffness. There is almost no energy sucking vibrational transfer to the rider. This is a bike you can spend hours on the saddle on. Gran Fondos and centuries will be a much better experience because of this bike. If you like to descend the spot on geometry, strong fork and tapered head tube give this bike a stability that will rival any thing on the road. The TF2 is a carving machine that inspires confidence on the open road. Gaining all that stability has to cost you somewhere and that place would be in a crit. The Fondriest is not a quick handling bike designed for snappy line changes. It likes the high speed calculated turn.
When the road goes up the all around good manners make the TF2 a formidable climber thanks in part to the beefy chain stays and solid bottom bracket. The Selle SMP saddle also makes for a comfortable seated riding position.
Out on the flats the Fondriest spins up nicely and holds speed well. When you try to squash it, you can immediately feel the bikes lateral stiffness and stiff bottom bracket come into play. However the acceleration doesn’t seem to match the stiffness. I always felt the acceleration was a bit sluggish. With exact same head angle as one of our other current road bikes, we can only speculate that their is to too much vertical compliance or the wheels. I would have liked to try this bike with a good set of carbon wheels. Since we were on a Campy drive train, this wasn’t an option.
How does is all work together?
Campy Athena Group Set - Its not often we get to ride Campy components so it takes a bit of practice to go back to the thumb shifter. Add to the fact that this was our first review with electronic shifting and you have a real insight into what it is like for anyone trying to switch after 10 years of Shimano/SRAM muscle recall.
But with a little saddle time it all begins to come back. The Athena Electronic shifter showed up at our door already in tune so we can’t comment on the set up. What we can tell you is the Athena shifting is smooth fast and accurate. You have to learn to stop tapping the shifter and simply push and hold the shifter to go multiple gears. This is where the EPS system really shines. You can grab 11 gears quickly in either direction in a fraction of the time it takes to tap your lever 11 times and the shifting is nearly silent. I a sure this is quite handy for the CAT 1 level racer and above.
To actuate the shift, we found we could actually shift with only a pinky finger. That is a testament to how smooth the shifting is. The brakes show off the best ergonomics in industry and stop you with confidence.
Never once did we run out did the battery die and we rode the bike for over a week before plugging in the charger.
The Campy Power Torque carbon crankset and bottom bracket is also a nice piece if you’re grading on stiffness and smoothness. But we did learn that this crank requires a specialty tool and a bit of specialty knowledge to remove. Which won’t be a problem for your local dealer to repair, but the rider who likes to wrench on their own bikes might be in for more than they want.
Complete Bike Price as Tested $6700 or $3,380 for the 950 gram frame set. 7 sizes from XXS-XXL
Room for Improvement
I don’t get the feeling the bike was designed with electronic shifting in mind. The only place you could put the battery is on the down tube below where you are highly likely to spill drinks and food.
Sexy as the aero seat post might be, its zero offset wont work for some riders who require an offset seat post to have the bike properly fitted. The proprietary post and clamp system could also be an issue should a malfunction or breakage occur.
Suggestions for Upgrade.
I would buy this bike and spec my favorite high end cable actuated model group set for about the same price and save half a pound. This was our first real try at electronic shifting and while it did everything well, it hasn’t won us over quite yet.
Wheels - The Ursus Wheels felt smooth under pedal. As a part of the whole build spec package, the entire bike was super smooth but we couldn’t separate the feeling of the wheels from the rest of the bike. As mentioned, I would have liked to ride the bike with a set of high dollar carbon wheels as we believe the wheels affected the acceleration of the bike.
Who is this bike made for? The Fondriest is for the rider that wants style with his performance, that wants comfort with some attitude. Its for the rider who likes riding boutique brands and getting all the technology benefits from the evolution of design and manufacturing. If you are looking for a bike that is super comfortable, competitive and has the pedigree of proven champion, the Fondriest may be for you.
The TF 2 in stunning orange and white. One of 13 color options available.
Location: News >> Italian Racer - The Fondriest TF2 - REVIEWED
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