 |
 Extreme Fitness |
|
|
|
|
|
Opera Bikes 2005 Giorgione Hydro
|
|
|
|
Reviews
|
Views
|
Date product posted
|
|
0
|
2447
|
Mon April 18, 2005
|
|
 |
|
Recommended By
|
Average Price
|
Average Rating
|
|
No recommendations
|
None indicated
|
None indicated
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description:
|
When the Opera Bike Giorgione was first introduced in 2003, a few of our discerning customers were a bit perplexed at why the Pinarello family would manufacture a frame so seemingly similar to the Prince. Not unlike the Prince, the Giorgione was a full alloy front mated to a eerily similar carbon fiber rear seatstay. Especially given the fact that so many comparisons had been made between the SC61.10a Aluminum of the Prince and the Easton SC7000 of the Merckx Team SC (and the Opera Bike Giorgione), it seemed like the two frames were covering virtually the same ground.
Such commentary, we assure you, ceased immediately after one meaningful ride on the Giorgione. Its SC7000 tubes provided a noticeably mellower ride than the Prince. It was as though the Prince was a pure thoroughbred, made explicitly for sprinters and the explosive accelerations of short-distance kermesse racing. The Giorgione, in contrast, was more like a Spring Classics dream -- responsive to sustained big chainring power, but remarkably smooth over lousy terrain. It was like a gentle Prince, and many, many riders fell in love with its forgiving ride.
With the introduction of the Giorgione Hydro, Opera Bike lends additional drivetrain stiffness to the Giorgione while going even further to eliminate road shock. At the same time, the Giorgone Hydro gains substantial strength thanks to the hydroforming done to the tubes of its main triangle.
The key to the Giorgione Hydro's drivetrain stiffness is its use of the Pinarello M.O.st bottom bracket system. As detailed in our description of the Leonardo FP, the M.O.st's use of an oversized bottom bracket shell and huge cartridge bearings gives the frame an immediately noticeable increase in resistance to torsional flex. The enlarged bottom bracket also creates a bigger welding surface, thereby assuring an even stonger interface between the bottom bracket shell and the tubes of the main frame -- a big plus for frame durability.
The Giorgione Hydro will ride with even greater smoothness than the standard Giorgione thanks to the fact that it uses the Opus full carbon fork and seatstay. Identical to the Pinarello Onda used on their highest end frames, the Opus doesn't have the typical raking curvature to it. Rather, the Opus fork and stays have a noteable "s" shape. Pinarello claims the "s" gives the bike better stability during braking and cornering, superior durability, and good bit more vertical compliance.
The hydroforming process that gives the Giorgione Hydro its name is elemental for giving the frame such awesome durability. A conventional butted aluminum tube can only be butted for strength at its ends. While tube junctions are undeniably high-stress zones on a frame, other unique points on a tube are subject to forces that butting can't address due to their location. Examples include the area where a front derailleur clamps around the seat tube, the water bottle bosses, and the downtube cable stops. The compression and/or disruption of the natural form of the frame tubes at these spots have historically been headaches for framebuilders. Hydroforming essentially allows a builder to reinforce isolated areas of a tube by the manner in which the tubing mold is shaped.
How does hydroforming work? A normal butted aluminum tube is placed in a custom-made hydroform mold and ungodly amounts of hydraulic pressure cause the tube to take the shape of the mold. Not only does this add great strength to a frame where it's needed the most, but if a builder is creative he can give the frame sculpture-like details unlike anything ever before possible, as best evidenced by the beauty of the Giorgione Hydro.
Beyond the Opus fork and the M.O.st BB components, the the Giorgione Hydro includes an Opera Bike 1-1/8" integrated headset and a 31.6mm carbon fiber seatpost. It requires the use of a 35.0mm front derailleur, and is available in in 1cm increments between 50cm-62cm and in 44cm, 46cm, and 48cm. It is made in a gorgeous Blue/Silver paint scheme.
|
|
Keywords:
|
2005 Giorgione Hydro
|
|
|
|
 |
Senior Member
|
|
Posts: 329
Registered: January 2005
Location: location, location
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:52 PM.
|
|
;)
