# Opera Bikes



## Ray Schneider

Who can tell me about Opera bikes?


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## rsosborn

Ray Schneider said:


> Who can tell me about Opera bikes?


They have a great slogan. ("Fatta in Italia").


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## Ray Schneider

Interesting but since I'm a typical American who does not know very much in other languages.......can you translate for me?


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## rsosborn

Ray Schneider said:


> Interesting but since I'm a typical American who does not know very much in other languages.......can you translate for me?



<Inner city Slang>
Fat in Italy
</Inner City Slang>


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## Ray Schneider

That's a bit strange, do you think? I guess "fat" means cool or something.


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## Rubber Lizard

Opera was Pinarello's budget brand that Pinarello openly admitted were built in Taiwan as opposed to regular Pinarellos that were secretly built in Taiwan. 

All the Opera frames shared a common frame from the regular Pinarello lineup. They were typically a bit heavier as less zoot zoot bling materials were often used in the construction. Basically modified Pinarello frames, which is good becuase Pinarello frames have a superb reputation. 

The brand was discontinued in 2006.


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## Ray Schneider

*Fp6*

Thanks for the information. I'm also looking at the new FP6 frame. I hear that it is a "new generation" Paris. Do you know anything more?


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## Rubber Lizard

Ray Schneider said:


> Thanks for the information. I'm also looking at the new FP6 frame. I hear that it is a "new generation" Paris. Do you know anything more?


The FP6 and the Paris come out of the same mold but use a different carbon fiber layup. The FP6 layup is heavier but more cost effective. There are probably a few other little differences in the engineering of the frame. 
Think of the FP6 as a slightly heavier Paris. And by slightly heavier maybe 75-100 grams. The ride quality, stiffness and all that other marketing mumbo jumbo of the FP6 is probably indistinguishable from the Paris.


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## Ray Schneider

That's good information and it agrees with other stuff I've heard. And I assume that since they come out of the same mold that the geometry is virtually identical between them as well. Do you know what the combined frame and fork weight is for either one of them? I have seen numbers like 1000 gm for the Paris but I can never tell if that includes fork weight or not.


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## Rubber Lizard

Ray Schneider said:


> That's good information and it agrees with other stuff I've heard. And I assume that since they come out of the same mold that the geometry is virtually identical between them as well. Do you know what the combined frame and fork weight is for either one of them? I have seen numbers like 1000 gm for the Paris but I can never tell if that includes fork weight or not.


The weight will be for the frame only. The Paris and the FP6 will share the same fork. The fork should weigh in the neighborhood of 400 grams. The Prince is somewhere in the range of 900 grams so somewhere around 1300 grams. The FP6 frame is 1000ish grams plus another 400 grams for 1400ish grams or a bit over three pounds if you like Imperial units.
Frame weights are never accurate. A +/- 5% variation is common in carbon fiber parts due slight material and manufacturing variation.


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## jsevil

*Opera a "Budget" Brand?*

Not sure about this. My understanding is that the sister company Opera was established so that Pinarello could use frame-building materials outside of their exclusive relationship with Dedacciai, especially carbon and titanium which Dedacciai did not manufacture. In fact, the Opera Leonardo was the Pinarello family's first answer to other all carbon competitors of the time such as the Colnago C40 FP. It was ridden professionally by Alejandro Valverde on the Iles Balears team to victory over Lance Armstrong on a mountaintop finish in the Tour de France in Courchevel. Regarding the bikes being made in Taiwan, most of the world's best carbon frames today are made in Taiwan today and the Leonardo tubes may have been sourced from Taiwan, but were assembled in Pinarello's factory in Treviso. It's unlikely that their Ti and aluminum models were sourced from Taiwan. Regarding being heavier and cheaper, I'm also not sure of this given the comparable price points and weights. Finally, Operas are still being manufatured, but I believe they are no longer distributed in the US. In fact, there are a couple of European Continental teams being sponsored by Operas. Oh, and "Fatta in Italia" means "Made in Italy". They are great bikes with amazing finishes.


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