Pinarello

Marvel Ultegra Complete Road Bike - 2015

Pinarello has always been a revered Italian cycling brand, but it's been in the last decade that the company's success in the grand tours has earned it enormous attention, and thus, business. Now in command of far larger R&D budgets, Pinarello has been able to afford to create less expensive, more everyday machines for the masses without compromising the famous handling or ride quality for which its premium machines are known. Case in point: The Pinarello Marvel, a little brother of the celebrated Prince, which is itself a little brother of the Dogma, a frame that is subject to much affection by the pros. The Pinarello Marvel Ultegra Complete bike takes the Marvel frameset and dresses it in race-ready parts and a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain, creating a machine that anyone can, and will, very much enjoy.

Now, let's explain that Dogma-Prince-Marvel lineage a little better. Most important to understand is that all three frames come out of the same carbon molds, and all three use an identical construction method, wherein a dissolvable poly foam is used to smoothly and precisely form the inner walls of the frame, eliminating structural consistency issues associated with using inflatable bladders for the same purpose. The Marvel uses the same Onda (Latin for "wave") seatstay and fork design from its more expensive siblings to smooth out the road. The frame also utilizes the same asymmetrical frame design the two more senior members of its family use, capitalizing on the crank's drive-side cranking forces by aligning various elements of the frame — some you can see, some you can't — from the rear triangle to the headtube in such a way that they harness this imbalance to its benefit. The result is a dramatically stiffer, more responsive bike when pedaling hard, and it's something you'll not want to do without once you’ve gotten used to it.

Digging deeper, though, we see that the material used in said molds is just as important, and Pinarello focuses here as well. Sourcing from Japan's foremost carbon manufacturer, Torayca, Pinarello uses 30k-ton carbon for the Marvel. What this means is that it takes 30,000 tons of pressure per square centimeter to deform the carbon. On the top-dog Dogma, Pinarello uses Torayca's 65k-ton carbon. This stronger carbon means that less needs to be used, resulting in a lighter frame. The Marvel, using 30k, takes a bit more material to achieve the same stiffness, but the weight gain is negligible, and the frame is still incredibly light and preserves the wonderful handling and the fantastic, almost steel-like ride quality for which the Dogma and Prince are known.

Built up with a host of Pinarello's house-brand MOst componentry and a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain, this Marvel's somewhat aggressive geometry makes it a perfect machine for the aspiring racer or a limit-pushing weekend warrior.