# Kwiatkowski can't possibly be fast enough to be World Champion....



## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

let alone a World Tour pro as he doesn't ride a stupid small frame with a 140mm stem and 250mm saddle to bar drop.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

That's not the bike he rode to become the world champion. His WC bike likely had more drop and a longer stem because, as we all know, this is what determines the best/fastest rider.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

Live and in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4BrTm2KhAs

I truly don't understand why Specialized doesn't produce color schemes like this for retail. Why is their entire line-up mostly black? This bike looks so much better with color IMO.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

Rashadabd said:


> I truly don't understand why Specialized doesn't produce color schemes like this for retail. Why is their entire line-up mostly black? This bike looks so much better with color IMO.


My thoughts exactly. The splashes of color are just enough to say real thought went into the scheme rather than what we usually see on the big brand names. I'm not a lover of carbon bikes the finish on Mike K's Tarmac is enough to make me a Specialized fan.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

i really like it, and, say what you will about it being just one race, but the rainbow jersey is truly special. plus, no white shorts.:thumbsup:


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

that bike is so rad.... I love it.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

cool video, fun to see his pure joy and goofing with his teammates.


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## BikeLayne (Apr 4, 2014)

Since I boycott Specialized products I would not want the bike. It does look like a good bike for a Pro.


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

White bikes are the heaviest (they require the thickest paint)... While I typed that as a joke (the joke being the added weight matters to pros, not that white bikes are heavier as this is indeed the case) as they all need to add weights to be UCI legal, I'm sure some weight weenie consumers might cry it's a crime against humanity to have 100gr of paint on a frameset.

And if all their bikes would look that good, nobody would spend the extra to buy one of the 100 that they will sell. You can't sell a special edition if it looks worst than the stock models right?

Add the two paragraphs and you end up with a more expensive bike that's heavier than a stock one! I can hear the crying...


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## masont (Feb 6, 2010)

BikeLayne said:


> Since I boycott Specialized products I would not want the bike. It does look like a good bike for a Pro.


Thanks for letting us know


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## SirVelo' (Aug 16, 2012)

Great video


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

looks like they borrowed from Dario on the paint 

nice seeing a 'normal' sized bike


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

White bikes require more painting, meaning more grams. And the more numerous and complicate the decals and color schemes, the more paint is require. It can add 200g or more to a frame. But marketing research data shows that Weekend Racer Joe prefers a matte black for lightweight and stealthy look (even though he still wants people to notice that he is riding a stealthy bike, it's true).

Joking aside, my opinion is that white bikes with complicated paint scheme just cost too much to make and the bean counters deem them to be not as profitable nor marketable.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

BikeLayne said:


> Since I boycott Specialized products I would not want the bike. It does look like a good bike for a Pro.


It's a good looking bike if compared to all the other Specialized cookie cutter. But compared to a boutique bike, it's very very ordinary. Nothing worth breaking a vow of boycott to jump ship!


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

atpjunkie said:


> looks like they borrowed from Dario on the paint
> 
> nice seeing a 'normal' sized bike


I don't think Specialized painted the graphics like Dario. I'm betting Specialized used decals. Just a hunch.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

aclinjury said:


> I don't think Specialized painted the graphics like Dario. I'm betting Specialized used decals. Just a hunch.


Awe man, you just ruined it for me :wink:
--------------------------------------------

Thanks Rashadabd for that great vid!


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

dnice said:


> i really like it, and, say what you will about it being just one race, but the rainbow jersey is truly special. plus, no white shorts.:thumbsup:


I agree with this completely. The white/white is terrible. He seems happy to be wearing the jersey and I like that too. To some it seems like a stepping stone to more money, he seems to be happy to be the World Champion for the right reasons.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

aclinjury said:


> White bikes require more painting, meaning more grams. And the more numerous and complicate the decals and color schemes, the more paint is require. It can add 200g or more to a frame.


White bikes can still be close to the UCI weight limit.
That's all that matter to Kwiatowski.
Agree about the decals. Easier to play with the design in a graphics program and print out some decals than mess around with paint.
I miss the old "sliding art" paintjobs on Italian frames. They used a sprayer like a six colour inkjet printer and could paint pictures right onto your frame.
Some clever designer should bring that back.


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