In the first instalment of a series on the bikes Irish riders at home and abroad will be riding in 2012, stickybottle profiles Felix English’s new mount.
Having recently joined UK Continental outfit Rapha Condor Sharp, Irish international Felix English is now a member of one of the most stylish squads in European racing.
Clothing manufacturer Rapha is renowned for its luxurious touch and even boasts a boutique media operation that includes the classic ‘Rouleur’ magazine.
Condor Cycles pumps out some pretty nice machines too and a close look at English’s team issue Condor Leggero – valued at £5,500 - does not disappoint.
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Condor Cycles brand manager Claire Beaumont told stickybottle that sixty years into the company’s existence, Condor’s frames are still hand crafted in a factory in Italy.
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“Instead of making the frame in a mould and injecting the carbon we prefer to get each tube and hand cut it and hand wrap it. The tubes are constructed using carbon nano technology.” “When the tube is wrapped we use a resin than has tiny pieces of carbon in it, the nano carbons pieces plug and fill little gaps. The benefit of this is that as stresses travel up the frame it is diffused creating better compliancy, suited for long races or stage races.”
“The frame has an oversized head tube and bottom bracket for increased stiffness. The oversized headtube provides a larger base and more stability for cornering, ideal for tight finishing circuits often found in European races.”
The details
- Shimano Dura 7900
- Carbon tubeset made using four layers of uni-directional and two directional high modulus carbon layers. Resin containing nano pieces of carbon. This is compressed and resin is forced out while the carbon pieces randomly fills gaps in the fibre, tubing can be made thinner and lighter whilst increasing strength.
- BB30 system
- Tapered headtube
- Internal cabling
- Deda Nero Supremacy full carbon monocoque fork
- Full Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 groupset
- Shimano Dura-Ace C35 and C50 wheelsets
- PRO Vibe 7S stem and handlebars, wrapped with Fizik custom pro tape
- Custom team edition Fizik Arione saddle with pink, white and black detailing
- Continental Grand Prix tyres, supplied by Continental
- PRO Vibe carbon seatpost
- Custom Science in Sport water bottles
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