A while back we had a question from Ryan Dupree, he wanted more information on the well priced, all carbon, Pinarello F4:13 frame, at the time we only had a chance to get a quick look at one, this time we managed to get a good look at one, but there was a problem, it was that dreaded PINK one!
Well beggars can't be choosers! So we had a good look at the bike before we had a ride. If you want to read the technical stuff then go to our original review of the bike for Ryan,
Carbon Bliss here.
The Bits and Pieces
The equipment is a mixture of Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed and Pinarello's own branded kit, MOST. Not the best stuff on the market but good enough and very work able. Carbon cranks, wheels, bars and stem, tires, saddle, seat pin and bottom bracket are all from Most, its nice, but we think made to a price so will probably be the first to be replaced, but good enough to start of with.
The Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed works very well, it feels like the much more expensive Record group, but with less carbon and titanium (none) so it's heavier, feels good anyway. Look Keo pedals, Elite Ciussi bottle cage and Pinarello cork handle bar tape finish it all off.
That PINK Frame!
Onda Fork
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Lets not look at the color, maybe you like it and, well I must admit, its growing on me, but there are other colors to choose from that are a little more, err, a lot less pink! OK so what about the frame? The ONDA forks and the rear end are obviously different, but they are there for a reason, they should take any roughness out of the road surface, this is the plan, lets put it to the test.
Up Hill
The F4:13 climbs well, but does feel a bit heavy, this is probably caused by the equipment, the frame performs like the top-class bit of carbon that it is, but there was a feeling of sluggishness on the steeper sections, the frame would perform as you would expect, that heaviness would disappear if different wheels and some other lighter kit was on the frame, but this is a price thing.
On the Descent
This is where I found the bike worked the best, it seemed follow the curves, coming out of the bends in a perfect arc, braking coming into tight bends and sprinting out of them worked well without over shooting the bends and either ending up on the wrong side of the road or worse over the edge!
This frame is well balanced and has all the correct angles and dimensions for perfect handling in any down hill scenario, you do have to careful though as it could run away with you if you get too ambitious.
Chain Stay
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On the Flat
There is no better feeling than giving a good bike full throttle on a smooth road in a big gear, this should show any flex or loss of power, under flat out effort the Pinarello felt really good and didn't give anything away, all the push that went down into the pedals seemed to come out through the rear wheel.
Sprinting was OK, not brilliant as with the climbing the bike felt a little sluggish in the jump, but once up to speed it performed well without the back wheel jumping and it held its line.
Front View
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The Rough Road Test
On a bad surfaced section of flat road, no potholes just very bumpy, it felt smooth, vibrations, yes, but not too much to rattle your tooth fillings, on the same section on an Alloy/Carbon mix frame it was much more uncomfortable.
I would put this down to the dampening effect of the ONDA system, those bends in the forks and rear seat stays do work, they won't smooth out the road totally, but they do take the worst out most road surfaces.
What Do We Think?
The frame is a well balanced piece of work, well put together and thoroughly well designed, the lessons learnt from the top of the range Pinarello's obviously filters down to the cheaper frames, race experience gives bike builders like Pinarello an edge and Pinarello have been sponsoring professional teams and some of the best riders on the roads for a long time, that experience comes through in the handling of the F4:13, the frame for the price can not be faulted.
The draw backs on the complete bike is the equipment, but as we have said this keep the price down, if the bike was kitted out with Campagnolo Record and some fancy wheels it would be good enough to win any race on the Pro-Tour, but would cost a hell of a lot more, as it is it's a wonder of pricing and Carbon frame design.
The Pinarello F4:13; 8 out of 10, well it is pink!
The Complete Bike; 7 out of 10, the equipment lets it down.
More Pinarello bikes in BikeCyclingReviews:
PinarelloFP3
The F4:13
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