Strengths: Looks the absolute danglies. More than one person has said that the frame - when built up with Ksyriums and Dura Ace bits - was the best looking machine they had ever seen. It has to be said that there is some truth in this, with its smooth, smooth lines and unbelievabely glossy bare carbon finish, enhanced with stricking white decals, it is a beauty. The bike is stiff. Actually solid as a rock, transferring the energy of every pedal stroke directly to the rear wheel in a dead but super efficient way only carbon frames can manage. A bit of a surprise this, but the handling was also fantastic. First ride was in the Tour of the Peaks and on the first descent on unknown roads I found myself happily cornering the machine at 55mph without a care in the world. Finally comfort, it is a joy to ride, it seems to float along about 1cm above the ground leaving you free to just pedal the thing. Top performer all round.
Weaknesses: I could moan about the weight a bit. Just after everyones comments about the bikes beauty comes the customary weight test, followed by the 'its not the lightest in the world is it?' comment. This is a bit of an unfair judgement as the frame is about 1300grams in total and in line with many other similar frames, it is just that with its fine looks people expect it to be a featherweight which it isn't. Alas I didn't care about this as I knew it was super fast. No, my only problem was that 16 days after taking ownership of the beast, its real weakness showed itself to me. After a very hard ride the day before I took the machine down to the shops for some milk, and on my return could not fail to notice the 3cm crack that had opened up on the downtube at the seemless lug with the headtube. Not sure whether the crack was just the rich lacquer or actually where the carbon fibre had failed, but eitherway back to the shop Mr Fondriest went. I suppose that would have to be classed as a weakness!
Overall: The finest 16 days bike ownership of my life. I have ridden some nice bikes in my time, but the combination of comfort, top handling, and super fast acceleration was hard to beat. Add to this the fact that my mate - who has been in the bike retail industry for far too long - told me that seeing my Fondriest rekindled his interest in bikes, and I quickly developed strong feelings of attachment to this machine. Its subsequant failure came as a shock and I feel justifies the title 'floored perfection'.
Strengths: They are light, I think the same as Heliums, and tey are pretty to look at.
Weaknesses: Not the stiffest wheel out there. I also buckled my front, and it has proven impossible to straighten 100%. Also the cartridge bearings have gone on one side. I must get a replacement so I can then comment how easy they are to service.
Overall: Not bad at all. I would say that I do not feel 100% able to chuck them around on descents etc, but that is mainly due to having buckled them once. Not impressed with the bearings going but beyond that they are a good training/race wheel.
Strengths: Looks good and is easy to maintain. Reasonable weight and a reasonable price.
Weaknesses: Not very stiff, I actually put a turn on the spokes shortly after purchasing them. This has improved performance, but I have had to straighten them on a couple of occasions though. I am notoriously hard on rear wheels however so i can't really complain. Oh the locknut came undone for no reason once as well. Easy to put riht and gave me the opportunity to have a look at how the hub was put together.
Overall: I can't really moan, I have used them racing, but I think there home really is on the training bike. So far the rear bearings have held up to 6 months of abuse without problems, and the braking surface on the mavic CD Rims is excellent in the dry but initially scary in the wet as brake pad rubber that builds up in the dry needs to be scrubbed off. I like them.
Strengths: Mighty well shaped and very comfortable. Has the added bonus that over the years it slowly molds itself even closer to the individual shape of your back end, to the extent that two old rolls users would find eachothers saddles not as comfortable as there own. Classy
Weaknesses: My twisted and bent shap means that I rub heavily on the very low side pieces. Made me have to look elsewhere....shame really. Oh they weigh a ton
Overall: Good little sadle, looks rubbish but heh you are sitting on it most of the time. Was the choice of the pros for years until sponsors made the riders change brands.
Strengths: Very light saddle, has a very high quality of build, which you only really notice when you actually hold it. Funny to explain but try holding one. Looks very flashy as well. The San Marco saddle shape suits my back end, so I guess thats a strength.
Weaknesses: Well its very early days but I wanted to put in an initial review so I can look back in a few months and see how my opinion has changed. First time I sat on it I thought it was a harsh saddle. Second time I sat on it I thought it was quite harsh but better, alas 90mins in and my butt had had enough. I went out for the third time last night and I could not feel it for the opening hour and a quarter, which is as good as it gets, but then my bottom started to say enough. Either its going to give and be fantastic, or its always going to be this way, only time will tell.
Overall: Early days. Its light, it looks the business, its well made. I need a bit more time before I can decide whether I can find it comfortable.
Strengths: Fitted it two years ago and to say it is still going strong would be understatement, it is as good as the day I fitted it!
Weaknesses: I've got a polished alloy version, which has a couple of scratches on it now? Nothing....
Overall: For the money you get a fantastic headset. Proper sealed bearings (which if neccessary can be bought from any bearing shop, although I don't think I will ever have to), silky smooth performance, and easy to swap between forks. Will easily outlast my current frame.
Strengths: A cracking good stiffness to weight to price ratio. Good shifting when new, Easy to maintain, needing no special tools to remove.
Weaknesses: The wear rate on the rings is pretty scary, I managed a little under six months before the middle ring became a hooked tooth chain sucking paradise, and the big ring a fantastically effective Ninja star - and I regularly change my chains as well.
Overall: The performance stiffness wise compared to cost makes it hard to justify spending more, but the cost of replacement rings makes it more cost effective to replace the whole chainset. This is acceptable to me, but others may not think so, plus I am rapidly growing a collection of knackered XT cranks in my garage. Still, at least the crank arms never get the chance to get too scratched!
