Pinarello have unveiled their second WorldTour-level time trial bike in as many months, with the new Sibilo to be ridden by the Movistar squad at the Tour de France.
The launch comes after the unveiling of the Pinarello Bolide ahead of the Giro d’Italia. That machine was ridden briefly by Bradley Wiggins during the stage eight time trial before a mechanical forced the Brit to switch to his existing Pinarello Graal, while we spotted Chris Froome on the Bolide at the Criterium du Dauphine. Was the Bolide developed specifically for Team Sky?
The Sibilo, approved for racing by the UCI only on June 6, shares some of the Bolide’s features, including the concave seattube, which allows the rear wheel to sit closer to the seattube, thereby smoothing airflow, as well as the BB86 bottom bracket, the removable front derailleur hanger, the track-inspired horizontal rear dropouts and the integrated handlebar.
Like the Bolide, the frame also uses airfoil tube profiles which Pinarello claim will, in certain conditions, work to generate a forward thrust.The frame is also made from the same Torayca 65HM1K carbon fibre, also used by Pinarello for the Dogma 65.1 Think 2.
The Sibilo’s brakes are also integrated, but not in the same way as the Bolide’s. While the Bolide’s front brake is positioned in front of the headtube and fork, the Sibilo’s is integrated into the fork itself.
As for the back brake, the Bolide’s sits in its conventional position on the seatstays but is covered by an aerodynamic fairing, while the Sibilo’s is hidden behind the bottom bracket, as is more conventional on modern time trial frames. Pinarello say the Sibilo’s design has allowed the profile of the seatstays to be reduced to improve aerodynamics.
The Sibilo also uses a straight 1-1/8″ headtube (the Bolide’s headtube tapers from 1-1/8″ to 1-1/4″) to minimise the frontal area of the bike exposed to the wind.
The Sibilo will be given its debut competitive ride by Alejandro Valverde at today’s Spanish national time trial championships before the rest of the team get a machine of their own for the Tour de France.
