Pinarello FP5 Road Bike Reviews

Price Paid:  $1900.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Century

Bike Setup:
FP5 frame, Dura-Ace drive train, Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels (upgrade), Fulcrum RS crank (upgrade)

Summary:
I've had this bike for a few months and love it. I upgraded a few components, but overall this is a great value.

Strengths:
Great frame although not the lightest available.

Weaknesses:
Needed to upgrade some components to get to the bike I really wanted.

Similar Products Used:
Litespeed, Specialized, GT

Price Paid:  $4000.00 at Concept cyclery

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
southside loop

Bike Setup:
The Pinarello stem that came with it. FSA carbon bars. Full carbon Campy chorus everywhere. Camo Eurus wheels. Continental tires.

Summary:
I've wanted a Pinarello since college, and that's a long time ago. When I turned 40 I decided to buy one. I rode this one all over the place from the bike shop and loved it.

Strengths:
Looks super cool!! The forks dampen out all that street chatter. The frame is super stiff and great for out of the saddle climbing.

Weaknesses:
The new versio of the Chorus 10 speed is this bullsh*t new "micron" version. I supposedly lets you fine tune your shifting. In reality it makes it so that you're ALWAYS making chain dragging noises. Trying to get the gears to stop dragging is like a chess game and the rider always loses.

My De Rosa has the old Chorus 10 speed and it kicks @$$.

Similar Products Used:
De Rosa Team (Aluminum)

Price Paid:  $3450.00 at Bicycle Rennaisance

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Central Park Loop

Bike Setup:
Added Speedplay X2's, changed seat to Specialized Gel. Other than that, no need to change things. Use 50mm carbon wheels many days, but the heavier slower shimano's are actually very good for training.

Summary:
This is a 2008 Pinarello PF5 in white. For the money it is one of the best rides out there for people who do mostly rolls, with some hills. The frame has some aero properties, climbs very well, and has a BB stiff enough that you can push hard on flats or hills. The stem is reversable, so you can have a pro height, or a more relaxed recreational height. Stiffness at the upper intersection (seat tube, top tube, seat stay, seat post, is extremely good. Carbon tubes are lined with Aluminum here for reinforcement.

To keep the price down, brakes are ultegra, as is the chain and cassette. The Crank, bars, stem, seatpost, are all Most [made in China by FSA and another brand]. Bar drop is shallow, good for small to medium hands. Larger hands may not like the curvature. Quality of the carbon wrapped products is fine, slight flexion in the crank for heavier riders, but surely fine for average and lightweights. Wheels are adequate for training, but most riders spending this kind of money will have another set anyway. Given the properties of the bike, a set of 35mm-50mm aero wheels is a nice complement.

Strengths:
Aerodynamics on flats, rolls, and light hills. D-A shifters and Derailleurs. The finish is sexy, great paint.

Weaknesses:
Wheels (fine for training, but nothing more). Rear Cassette is Ultegra, could have gone with something lighter. Seat Post is a proprietary diameter (31.0mm). Only 1 post available, 10mm offset. I wanted azero offset, and we weren't able to find a solution. Pinarello should offer other posts as an option.

Similar Products Used:
Orbea Orca, Pinarello FP 4:13, Trek Madone 5.5, Specialized Roubaix, Felt F3 & F2

Price Paid:  $3450.00 at Pedallers Bike Shop

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
any

Bike Setup:
Frame: Pinarello FP5 carbon
Fork: Pinarello Carbon Onda
Headset: Integrated
Bar: Pinarello MOST double butted, oversized aluminum.
Stem: Pinarello MOST oversized carbon wrapped.
Seat Post: Pinarello MOST carbon wrapped.
Seat: Fizik Aliente carbon
Shifters: Dura Ace
F. and R. Derailleur: Dura Ace
Crank: Sram Force 53/39
Cassette: Sram 11-23
Pedals: Speedplay X-2
Wheels: Kyserium Elite

Summary:
This bike is a 2008 Pinarello FP5. Let's start with the frame. The construction is beautiful, differing from the 4:13 in only the top weave of carbon. Mine is the "nude" color which exposes the top layer of carbon. The bike then has what I feel are tasteful splashes of Red as highlights. The ride is wonderful... This is my first carbon bike after coming off of a Ti bike. I've ridden the bikes side by side and am surprised at how "lively" feeling the pirarello actually is! It takes the edge off of the big bumps but the ride quality has been tuned so that you still have a significant amount of road feel. It doesn't have any deadness that is sometimes associated with carbon. Handling is spot on (in my opinion). The bike is stable but always willing to change lines. If you are looking for a bike with zero bottom bracket flex this may not be it. I get a small amount of flex in the bb area from this bike though it's hard to say if this is the frame or possibly some crank flex. Be sure to stop by a dealer that has a few in stock as you will want to try a few options for sizes. Though these bikes have a traditional frame they may size a little on the big size. Mine is a 51cm and has a 53.7 top tube!

Components are top notch, a mostly Dura Ace drivetrain. The stock crankset is a Pinarello house brand called MOST and is a carbon armed set. It is a compact crank with 50/34 rings. It spins on a FSA Italian threaded BB cup set. Brakes are Ultegra SL which work well. The seatpost is another MOST brand, a carbon wrapped 31.0 unit that is nicely finished. The stem and bars are MOST as well. The stem is carbon wrapped and oversized. The bar is a double butted aluminum bar topped with cork pinarello tape. It has a fairly shallow drop so if you have big hands you may not like it! You may not like the stock wheels on this bike, the shimano ws-10. I'd guess that they are 105 level but that's nothing more then a guess. They appear to be fairly well made and ride nicely. They are a bit heavy at 1800g. To me this is fine as the potential buyer of this bike most likely has a set of race wheels already so these will make fine trainers!

This bike is not the lightest bike out there. Supposedly, Pinarello designed it to ride well first (which is does) and be light second. My bike (with the components listed in bike set up + two bottle cages) weighs in in 17.5 lbs. The Stock bike at the shop without pedals or cages weights in at 18.0. Overall, I believe Pinarello put together a great bike here!

Strengths:
-Great handling. Geometry will prove to be nice for racing.

-A lot of bang for the buck. A mostly Dura Ace drive train at a $3400 price point is a steal.

-Comes ready to race except for the cassette (see weaknesses).

Weaknesses:
To me this bike has only one glaring weakness (that can easily be made into a strength). It comes with a compact crankset and a 12-27 Ultegra cassette. This may be great gearing for sport riding but doesn't fit the racing pedigree of this bike!

A small niggle that I do have is the odd seatpost size, 31.0. Though the post that comes with the bike is fine I worry a bit that down the road it may be hard to find a replacement for. That said, it looks like all carbon Pinarello's have the same size.

Similar Products Used:
I've owned numerous race bikes over the past 20 years.

Comments

skronglite (03/08/2011)

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Price Paid:  $3200.00 at LBS

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
any ride with a tailwind

Bike Setup:
Dura-Ace drive train, shifters, MOST compact carbon crank, stem, seatpost, Deda bars, Fisik Arione saddle, speedplay pedals, Easton EC90SL wheels, Pinarello branded Conti ultra-sport tires

Summary:
I was out on a ride down the NJ shore and stopped in my local LBS for a break and saw the FP5 on the stand and it was love at first sight. Head turner and rides great. Very stiff and responsive while muting the chatter of the Jersey roads. Not dead just much better ride than aluminum and feels as stiff. The only complaints is Dura-Ace drive train but Ultegra SL brakes (?) and the Shimano wheels are not up to the level of the bike. Replaced wheels with Easton EC90SL

Strengths:
finish, ride quality, Onda stays and fork, Dura-Ace drive train and I like the 12K open weave of the top layer some may prefer the 4:13's

Weaknesses:
not as light as Prince or Paris and skimping on the brakes

Similar Products Used:
Orbea Onix, Cervelo Solist Team, Fuji Robaix, Cannondale CAAD7