THE DOGMA SHOOTOUT: CONTENDER No.1 - The F10

Wow, we nailed this time frame for this Pinarello Dogma model test we're doing!  Record rainfall so far this year, wind, mudslides, downed trees, power lines and, houses.  It would have been so much more comfortable testing the latest fenders, or rain tires.

But, we are here and this is what we're riding so time to suck it up and stop complaining.  As a quick recap, I'm going to be riding three Pinarello Dogmas over the next few weeks. The F10, F10 disc and the K10.  We're not testing them in order to say how great they are—we already know that as we've been riding them for over a decade now.  We're riding each of these to see which model really works best for us in the area's that we ride.  Hopefully, that'll help you decide which could work best for the area you ride and the way you ride.

We started our testing on the standard, do it all, F10 model.  Rim brakes, clearance for 25's, the same bike that's won the last couple TDF's.  Again, due to the weather it could have been smarter to start off with the K10 or at least the F10 disc, but here we are.  This actually works out since we have so many miles logged on this model over the past two years.  I've actually taken a few more days off than is normal and ridden the trainer WAY more than normal and due to the amount of saddle time on the F10 I can still give a good description.

That all being said, I've still gotten a good amount of miles on this particular F10.  For this post I'm going to go over the build of this bike starting off with the frame and wheels.

This is a 51.5 frame which could seem small for my 5'10" build but short legs will do that for you.  My fit is as follows:

The wheels are Campagnolo's new Bora 60 WTO model.  The look fantastic to me, the hub and rim are both totally new and a different design from past Bora models.  They are plenty stiff and feel very fast, though on this bike the ability to run 28's would smooth out the ride a bit more (K10 anyone).  It's also been pretty windy around here and descending on wet, slick roads while getting plummeted with a blustering side wind led to a few white knuckle moments. Overall though, these wheels have performed excellently in condition that they most certainly were not meant for.  Braking was loud at first but once I laid some rubber on the braking surface they quieted down.  Wet weather braking is fine, nothing like a disc, but I would not hesitate riding them in the rain anytime.

The tires are Continentals new GP5000.  They also feel fast and feel super grippy.  So far, they have seemed durable as I have not had a flat yet.  That is impressive in the wet conditions as the water can act as a lubricant and make debris getting through the tire and into the tube easier.  There are a few cuts, but nothing out of the ordinary.  If I had to choose now, I'd still take my Vittoria Corsa's over these, but I do like the new Conti's.

The new Super Record crank set is by far the coolest crank set I've ever laid eyes on.  It looks good from the side, it looks good when you look down while riding and it looks good when I close my eyes and think about it.  It's very slender, and reminds me of a much cooler and newer carbon version of the old Mavic "star fish" crank (google it).  Like the rear mech it works as it should work, the shifts up front are fast and smooth and it feels like it's very stiff though I don't see myself flexing many cranks out there in the first place.  As I mentioned above, I'm using a 53X39 chain ring combination.  Not because I'm super hard or anything, just because that's what came on them.

Pedals are from Speedplay.  They work for me and since I've made the switch to them I've been unable to use anything else.  I've tried others over the past few years, but my knees just don't agree with anything but these.

The front derailleur looks cool as well.  Like the rest of the group it does it's job as it's supposed to so I don't have much more to say than that.  Well, a little more.  It looks a little more compact than last years version and Campagnolo thankfully took off the little front derailleur stiffener that really didn't do anything anyway, so thanks to them for making a change where it's needed.

There is a slightly new shape to the new levers, a little lower and more pointed inside sweep to them.  But, the biggest change is that there is now some adjustment to the levers!!!  We've been waiting a long time for this.  Campagnolo made a shim that made the reach longer in the past but had nothing for their users who had shorter fingers or who used bars that put the levers further away from their grasps.  It's just one extra setting, but it's worked great for everyone who's needed it so far.  Again, thank you Campagnolo!

It is winter, so we need lights.  At Above Category, we've made the switch over to Light & Motion.  Not only are they fantastic lights, but they are made right near us in Santa Cruz, California.  From what I've been told, this is the only cycling light company that makes their lights in the USA.  Couple that with that fact that they work so well, it should be an easy choice for your next set of lights.  This particular model is the Light & Motion Trail 1000 FC (Fast Charge). The rear light is one of my older Bontrager lights which has worked great for the past year, but I'm looking forward to swapping it out soon w/ the Light & Motion rear light.

New saddle company alert!  Repente is a new saddle company from Italy.  Usually I stay away from new saddles as I took a long time to find what works for me which has been the Fizik Arione 00.  But, these looked interesting, and very well made and the group of people making them have a lot of experience designing saddles so I decided to try the Comptus 4.0 model.  So far I really like it.  Have had to put it in a different position from my Fizik, but it's nice, and super light.  Will need a few longer rides on it to be sure, but so far, so good.

For steering duties, I'm trying out the new 3T Superleggara.  The bar with the worst marketing campaign ever.  But, it works for me, and no, it's not uncomfortable like they say.  Round natural drops give me way more hand positions in the drops for descending and accelerating.  They also have a super long reach which I thought may not be so good, but actually turned out to feel really good.

The stem is from MOST and looks good with the top cap and spacers that the frame comes with.  It also comes in a 140mm length which is not so common but what I need to work with the 51.5 frame.

I wanted to try the entire Super Record group so went with those brake calipers instead of the EE's that I normally use.  Sounding like a broken record, I'll say it again, like the rest of the group, they do their job incredibly well.  I've always liked Campagnolo's brakes.  Not too grabby but powerful enough to do the job well.  Hard to go wrong here. 

Thanks for reading, next up in this series will be a breakdown of the bike I'm riding next, the Pinarello Dogma F10 disc.  Are disc brakes really better?  Guess I'll see soon...