Here’s a ‘first look’ at a member of our May test fleet, which, in-keeping with our Giro-inspired theme for the month, bears the name of the former Italian world road race champion, Maurizio Fondriest, twice a Giro stage winner.
This is the TF3 1.2 Ultegra model. At its heart is an aggressively styled carbon monocoque frame with internally routed cables. The fork is a similarly sculpted affair, swept back sat the top of the leg below the steerer.
A full Ultegra groupset includes chainset, shifters, derailleurs, and calipers, while the wheelset comprises Fondriest-branded deep section rims laced to Shimano 580 hubs, shod with Vredestein Fortezza TriComp clinchers.
The finishing kit includes a Selle Italia Nekkar flow saddle mounted to semi integrated seat post, and Richey Logic Comp bars and stem.
First impressions?
The frame design is very a la mode in its tapered head tube and oversized down tube, but we were slightly surprised to find the similarly oversized (and ‘on trend’) bottom bracket shell housing an external, rather than press fit bottom bracket.
The flow saddle and compact handlebar suggest a concern for comfort alongside the more obvious performance intentions signaled by the Ultegra components and aero profiled frame.
How the Fondriest delivers on either count will be a matter to discern in the weeks ahead when we’ll be putting it through its paces. What we can say with confidence at this stage is that the TF3 1.2 is a head turner, with sleek and sculpted lines shown to obvious advantage by the brilliant white, black, and deep red colorway.
