PINARELLO DYODO: IT’S HERE…

Every once in a while we get something in that we just have no idea what to do with. The thing is, we offer what we use. If we try it, put some good miles on it and like it, we love talking about it and getting it in the hands of others. So here we sit, looking at the new Pinarello Dyodo, an E-Bike (read pedal-assist). Yes, you heard that correctly, an E-Bike. I would not have thought that in a thousand years we’d have an E-Bike on offer at Above Category. But here we are. So the big question is, is this a good thing? A bad thing? Is it even a thing?

What are we doing then? Pinarello USA is announcing the launch of the Dyodo today or already did an hour or so ago. So we’re announcing that we can now get you one. As I stated above though none of us really know what to do with it as no one here is looking for an E-Bike. So, we’re thinking of what they (E-Bikes), and specifically the Pinarello will be good for. Before we begin though, we know that the E-Bike topic can be a volatile one, like 100X more volatile than tubular vs. clincher and even that much more than the rim vs. disc brake debate. I’m not going to get swamped down in what others are thinking and will focus instead on our very introductory thoughts. And that is, if it gets more folks on bikes, we’re down. That’s it people, conversation over. I think (hope) that I can say that E-Bikes will never be the main category for us here at Above Category, but for any of our clients who are looking for a cool one, at first glance, the Pinarello looks like its going to be pretty sweet.

Of course, we’re going to get one in, and we’re going to max that thing out as much as it can be maxed out. The main downer of E-Bikes is the weight, so we’re going to go at this thing from all angles and see what we can do. But, that is for another day and another post. For now, we just wanted to let you know that it’s coming! We’ll also get into how it rides and all of that. We’ve only had a few rides on the bike up to now, not enough to say what we like and what we don’t like. But here are a few points. One, you still have to put some effort in, it’s not a free ride, but one of our testers took 4 minutes off of his previous best on a 10 min climb. Two, it’s heavy but still lighter than Pinarello’s European version of the Dyodo, the Nytro. And three, it’s also a bit faster than the Nytro which tops out at 25kph while the Dyodo maxes out at 20mph, due to US restrictions on what a Class 1 E-bike can be. When we get our official shop bike in, we’ll get some more miles on it and see how much weight we can shed as well.

Wrapping this up here is our very first stab at what this bike could be used for.

Slower people that want to ride w/ faster people. This is my least favorite reason. There is this thing called work, sweat, tears and all of that. Get on a bike and train, put the miles in and earn your spot in the fast group. On the other hand, though, let’s talk about getting folks on bikes. In that case, let’s say you want to get your brother, sister, wife, mom, dad, boss, etc to try the wonders of riding, but don’t want them bored to tears going back and forth down the bike path. This could be a good option, let them see how far you can get on a bike, the things that you can see. Little by little they can use less power and then all of a sudden they are kicking your ass because they are used to riding a 28-pound bike up the hills w/ the power turned off. Or maybe that won’t happen, but you will have succeeded in getting someone on a bike, and if you are nice and sweet, they will have hopefully fallen in love with it and are ready for the real thing. Or here’s another scenario, let’s say Peter Segan asks me to do a ride through the Italian Dolomites w/ he and his team. I know I’m almost as fit as he is, but just in case I can take the E-Bike and have a great day riding and learning with the worlds best bike rider over terrain that you usually wouldn’t be able to keep up in. Or, you could let your pride get the best of you and miss out on what could be a pretty amazing experience. And we all know stuff like this happens every day. 🙂 So, concluding this point, if you are a category four racer and want to keep up with the category one racers, you should NOT get an E-Bike to help you do that. But, if you really want to go experience the best sport on earth with someone who happens to be a lot faster than you this could be an excellent option. Commuting. Yes, please! More people out of the car and onto the bike. Maybe it’s those two hills between the house and the office that keep you off the bike and in the car. Perhaps it’s the ungodly headwind that changes direction from the morning to the evening to club you into submission that keeps you off a bike and in the car? Maybe its the fact that you don’t want to show up to work sweating like crazy? Whatever it is, going by bike is awesome while going by car is not so much. You should be telling everyone at your place of work about E-Bikes and getting them on one. Setting PR’s or KOM’s on Strava. This is my favorite, and since the Dyodo looks like a regular bike at first glance no one will ever know, and you can live a lie forever! And it feels so good to pass people with inches to spare while climbing up a steep climb at double their speed talking to your friend who’s on his E-Bike besides you while not breathing. Who doesn’t love that? O.K, really, don’t be this person that does any of this. Also, don’t be the person who does this on bike paths and bike lanes. There is E-Bike etiquette, right? Has anyone written the rules of how to be a cool E-Bike rider yet? Maybe that will be in our next post on this as well.