# 2008 Prince on order



## Guest (Feb 28, 2008)

I did the deed and ordered a 2008 Prince decked out with Bora Ultras, Record and the works. Should be arriving in about a week. I will post pics and a writeup on the experience with my vendor of choice. Stay tuned......

Cheers!

JJ


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## Lt. (Jun 2, 2005)

jjspike said:


> I did the deed and ordered a 2008 Prince decked out with Bora Ultras, Record and the works. Should be arriving in about a week. I will post pics and a writeup on the experience with my vendor of choice. Stay tuned......
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> JJ


Who cares? Oh, look at me, I have a Pinarello Prince with all the works. Woohoo. :Yawn: 
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Just kidding... I'm just jealous and bitter! Congrats and please post a few pics of the awesome ride!


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2008)

Actually you are quite right. It will be no different than the standard Prince (team) with Bora setup that you can already find in this forum. I'll post the pics anyways. It may make me feel better about the $11K that I dropped on the thing. More important, you will know about the vendor experience that I had. So far, these guys have been very impressive to say the least.

Cheers!

JJ




Lt. said:


> Who cares? Oh, look at me, I have a Pinarello Prince with all the works. Woohoo. :Yawn:
> .
> .
> .
> ...


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## Frankie13 (Feb 11, 2007)

Where did you order or buy it from and what size?


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

> Where did you order or buy it from and what size?



Hold your horses. He said he'd give the lowdown soon.


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

jjspike said:


> I did the deed and ordered a 2008 Prince decked out with Bora Ultras, Record and the works. Should be arriving in about a week. I will post pics and a writeup on the experience with my vendor of choice. Stay tuned......
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> JJ


Happy to be corrected but doesnt the Prince come out of Taiwan now??..why drop all that dough, get a Giant save the money  
Or actually buy a frame where Italian sweat, blood and a little vino has been sweated over as each carbon fibre strand is painstakingy laid sided by said with only hand eye cordination to guide the "artisan" in building the frame with the sounds of 3 tenors bellowoing in the back ground. then you know you got your moneys worth!!


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2008)

All of the high-end carbon frames are out of Taiwan these days. These frames are built to Pinarello's specifications and are tested by Pinarello at the factory and in Italy. They are painted and finished in Italy as well. 

What is not made in Taiwan these days??





TiDreaming said:


> Happy to be corrected but doesnt the Prince come out of Taiwan now??..why drop all that dough, get a Giant save the money
> Or actually buy a frame where Italian sweat, blood and a little vino has been sweated over as each carbon fibre strand is painstakingy laid sided by said with only hand eye cordination to guide the "artisan" in building the frame with the sounds of 3 tenors bellowoing in the back ground. then you know you got your moneys worth!!


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

jjspike said:


> All of the high-end carbon frames are out of Taiwan these days. These frames are built to Pinarello's specifications and are tested by Pinarello at the factory and in Italy. They are painted and finished in Italy as well.
> 
> What is not made in Taiwan these days??


Lots

Some examples here. If you are talking about Carbon well lets see...Colnago Ext P &C, C50,Cristallo, Bianchi 928 SL, Look 595,585, ALL Time frames, Parlee to name a few.

Dont get me wrong Taiwan quality not bad..just... if you spending that kinda of dough..well your choice


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

Those are 3 of the ugliest bikes I've seen. I'll take the Taiwanese.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2008)

The 3 bikes shown in your pics are not carbon. No big deal, they are all classics.

I would not pump bikes like the Look. I ALMOST purchased a 595 Ultra however I found MANY complaints about seat tube crack. Further investigation turned up CF/BB issues which were also present in lower-end models. I did my reasearch and I was scared away. Some folks had their frames replaced up to 4 times.

Correct me if I am wrong but Colnago CF frames are made in Taiwan as well. Perhaps not all models but a good number. Further to this, the top CF plants in the orient are known to be the worlds best at producing the highest quality CF products. 

As long as I am happy, the world will be happy.

JJ



TiDreaming said:


> Lots
> 
> Some examples here. If you are talking about Carbon well lets see...Colnago Ext P &C, C50,Cristallo, Bianchi 928 SL, Look 595,585, ALL Time frames, Parlee to name a few.
> 
> Dont get me wrong Taiwan quality not bad..just... if you spending that kinda of dough..well your choice


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

brentster said:


> Those are 3 of the ugliest bikes I've seen. I'll take the Taiwanese.
> 
> lol.. each to their own... No need to get nasty. But I am sure you would like to show us your Taiwanese gems.


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

jjspike said:


> The 3 bikes shown in your pics are not carbon. No big deal, they are all classics.
> 
> I would not pump bikes like the Look. I ALMOST purchased a 595 Ultra however I found MANY complaints about seat tube crack. Further investigation turned up CF/BB issues which were also present in lower-end models. I did my reasearch and I was scared away. Some folks had their frames replaced up to 4 times.
> 
> ...


Yeah their mass produced frames ie the CLX are made in Taiwan but the ones I mentioned are made in Italy.

All CF have a set life so if you mistreat them they all gonna crack. Never seen any problems with Looks, 5 year warrantys shouldnt be a problem I would of thought.

Like I said never had a problem with Taiwanese products, I am sure when your stamping out hundreds of frames a day you would want good QA.


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

> But I am sure you would like to show us your Taiwanese gems


I bought this gem in July and love it. Quality is top notch and the sucker is wicked fast!


http://feltracing.com/08/image.asp?pid=8659


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2008)

I currently have a Cervelo Soloist Carbon and it is the best bike I have ridden to date. Far better than the Colnagos that I had in the past. The frame provides an excellent ride and is bullet proof. I was at my LBS today to trade my Soloist framset for a 595 Ultra. These guys provide excellent service so I should not have to worry. Since I will also have the Prince, I will have a backup bike available in any event.

JJ


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## gerard (Apr 8, 2006)

Pinarello's are overated and over priced I've gone to SWorks Tarmac SL much better value and way better


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

brentster said:


> I bought this gem in July and love it. Quality is top notch and the sucker is wicked fast!
> 
> 
> http://feltracing.com/08/image.asp?pid=8659



wow you actually ride that...sell it, melt it but for for god sake dont go around bragging about the Felt, you just be laughed at. The ugly Colnagos will get more Kudos any day.


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

jjspike said:


> I currently have a Cervelo Soloist Carbon and it is the best bike I have ridden to date. Far better than the Colnagos that I had in the past. The frame provides an excellent ride and is bullet proof. I was at my LBS today to trade my Soloist framset for a 595 Ultra. These guys provide excellent service so I should not have to worry. Since I will also have the Prince, I will have a backup bike available in any event.
> 
> JJ



Dude werent you just bagging the Look out, why trade it for the Soloist if its the _best bike to date,_ for that matter why you getting the Prince if the Cervelos the bee's knees.


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## airastro (Jun 30, 2006)

Gerard-

I just got rid of a 2007 S-Works Specialized. I thought it was an great bike, and I still do. However I now have a 2008 Prince and the comparison is not even close. The Prince blows the S-Works away. Way stiffer, handles better and just a better overall ride. Look at the prices on S-Works- there is not that much price difference


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2008)

Sorry, I should have stated that I will ride it before deciding. They will provide the bike for a week and if I like, I pay. Based on what Soloist riders say about the 595 Ultra, it is slightly stiffer and eats the road noise better. I will test in April.





TiDreaming said:


> Dude werent you just bagging the Look out, why trade it for the Soloist if its the _best bike to date,_ for that matter why you getting the Prince if the Cervelos the bee's knees.


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

*+1*

IMHO, the way my Prince performs, I couldn't care less where its built. It is state-of-the-art. All else is next loser.

A good buddy of mine just bought an S-Works D/A for $10K
He could have bought a Prince for that, like mine, with Record!...:idea:
There is no comparison between these two bikes.
There are only two things made of 50HM1K carbon. The new Boeing Dreamliner and the Pinarello Prince.
Pinarello partnered with Torray to achieve state-of-the-art monocoque carbon technology.
There facility is managed and employed by real live Italians imported from Treviso.
Btw, your Mercedes was probobly made in Tennessee...



airastro said:


> Gerard-
> 
> I just got rid of a 2007 S-Works Specialized. I thought it was an great bike, and I still do. However I now have a 2008 Prince and the comparison is not even close. The Prince blows the S-Works away. Way stiffer, handles better and just a better overall ride. Look at the prices on S-Works- there is not that much price difference


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## Richieg (Sep 16, 2006)

TiDreaming said:


> Yeah their mass produced frames ie the CLX are made in Taiwan but the ones I mentioned are made in Italy.
> 
> All CF have a set life so if you mistreat them they all gonna crack. Never seen any problems with Looks, 5 year warrantys shouldnt be a problem I would of thought.
> 
> Like I said never had a problem with Taiwanese products, I am sure when your stamping out hundreds of frames a day you would want good QA.


From what I understand, Colnago builds about 15,000 frames a year. If I'm not mistaken, most of those are made in Italy. All but two models are made in Asia. The CLX is made from the same ATR carbon used on more expensive Italian models, it's just made in Asia, then painted back in Italy.


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## hppy4u (Sep 15, 2002)

Not trying to belittle the Prince but wasn't there an article in Ride or some Euro mag that did a review on some of the elite European marques? The reason I bring this up is that as nice as the Prince is people should stop commenting on the stiffness of the frame because in the article they measured BB, headtube and vertical deflection and it was the most flexible frame available. This came as a suprise to the reviewers as well since subjectively they felt it to be comparable to the others but very compliant. The compliant ride was then much more understandable after the numbers came out. 

Being in the market for a high end frame the Prince was my number one choice (second being a Colnago Extreme Power and a close third was the Look 595 Ultra) and fortunately all of my choices were included in the test so it was nice to see how they all stacked up. So if you are a heavier rider (185+) that prefers stiffness over comfort the Look 595 Ultra was the way to go. For centuries or any long hours spent in the saddle coupled with killer aesthetics the Prince was the one that walked away with the most accolades.


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

Link please...
Sounds like they got a bad frame. By any measure, my prince is no noodle.
My last 3 race bikes were Orbea Orcas (04,06,07), reknowned for its stiffness.
*The Prince is noticeably stiffer than the Orca*, especially in the BB.
Btw, I am 6'0" and range between 170 to 180 lb.
One turn of the pedals is worth 1K words.


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## hppy4u (Sep 15, 2002)

rhauft said:


> Link please...
> Sounds like they got a bad frame. By any measure, my prince is no noodle.
> My last 3 race bikes were Orbea Orcas (04,06,07), reknowned for its stiffness.
> *The Prince is noticeably stiffer than the Orca*, especially in the BB.
> ...



Rhauft,
I am not sure they got a bad frame because the article was discovered last year at Barnes and Nobles when the frame had only limited accesibility (ie. highly dubious of a factory reject being sent to a magazine for a high dollar frame shootout). Nonetheless, I don't have a link because I read the hard copy at said store but I am trying to see if someone on the web has referenced it on Google. 

By the way, I have to disagree with your comparison somewhat. Having ridden an Orbea orca ('04 and the '06) I believe these particular iterations weren't really praised for their stiffness. I thought the Opal was actually a stiffer bike subjectively and according to their literature. I am not sure about the current frame ('07+) but it was my understanding this particular frame scores well in terms of stiffness to weight ratio (ie. for a light weight frame it's pretty stiff-not in absolute terms). 

By the way, please don't misinterpret my comments on the Prince. I just don't want someone to part with $5000+ on a frame that they were led to believe to be stiff when it really isn't. As a track sprinter, I am looking for a truly stiff frame to perform my on road workouts...and since we are sharing stats I am 5'10" and 212 lbs thus the necessity for a stiff/strong frame. Most of the frames I have test ridden will shift when I perform standing starts so my anectodal experiences can be kind of revealing for most frames. 

Truth be told, I really like the Pinarello Prince but for someone who is 185+ may find it a little less stiff than what the market offers especially at $5000. At this price range, I don't think anybody should have to compromise in any area of frame performance. What you also have to remember is that most of the top dollar frames are designed for skinny road riders (ie. most pros are 5'6"-6' and ONLY 125-150 lbs). Most of us lowly weekend warriors can generate much more torque than the pros...endurance is an entirely different game .


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## Frankie13 (Feb 11, 2007)

I'm not a pro, but 5.8 and weigh in at 144lbs and can't wait to get my Prince on the road.The frame suppose to be delievered this week,so I can start building it up on Saturday and taking it out on Sunday and park my Trek Madone for a while.


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

Sorry but I have to disagree.
1) There's nothing dubious about a defective frame. My 1st 08 Prince delivered to me last August was a defect and had to be replaced. Go figure, an italian hand made bike Always check the contents. As to your power/weight, well you are a ++size for a cyclist and I agree that pro framesets are not designed for you. Still, I've got a training partner who happens to ride an 08 Prince. He is 5'11" 200+ lb. He is a raging bull of a rider and makes monster wattage. He mashes a 55/44 chainring and uses 180mm cranks. His opinion of the Prince is the same as mine - *BRICK STIFF*:thumbsup: 

2) I am a Cat 1 Masters road racer. I have been sponsored by Orbea for the last 5 seasons. Contrary to what you've heard/read, the Orca has always been stiffer than the Opal. Granted, the 07/08 is noticably stiffer than the previous model and is a stiff frame in any classification. My team is issued Opals and I have always opted to pay the additional expense to upgrade to the stiffer Orca.
Btw, I've got a 09 Orca in the mail as we speak. Should have it by nxt week. It is reported to be still stiffer than the 07/08. Works for me. 
Cheers 




hppy4u said:


> Rhauft,
> I am not sure they got a bad frame because the article was discovered last year at Barnes and Nobles when the frame had only limited accesibility (ie. highly dubious of a factory reject being sent to a magazine for a high dollar frame shootout). Nonetheless, I don't have a link because I read the hard copy at said store but I am trying to see if someone on the web has referenced it on Google.
> 
> By the way, I have to disagree with your comparison somewhat. Having ridden an Orbea orca ('04 and the '06) I believe these particular iterations weren't really praised for their stiffness. I thought the Opal was actually a stiffer bike subjectively and according to their literature. I am not sure about the current frame ('07+) but it was my understanding this particular frame scores well in terms of stiffness to weight ratio (ie. for a light weight frame it's pretty stiff-not in absolute terms).
> ...


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## hppy4u (Sep 15, 2002)

Rhauft,
If what you say is true then you have renewed my interest in the Pinarello. I was originally sold on the aesthetics but when reading the review (originally quoted above) I decided to write the Pinarello off. Looks like I will go through and try the demo option offered by Competitive Cyclist to see if Pinarello "modified" their production run. My guess is that is what happened and I would be very curious to see if their current frames are "heavier" than the original ones offered to the pros/early 2007. 

" As to your power/weight, well you are a ++size for a cyclist"

Aww, now why'd you have to go and get all personal ;-). I prefer healthy. Truth be told it's taken me a while to get up to this weight (originally 170 lbs 5 years ago) since my forte is sprints and adding some mass really helps with developping a competitive "snap." Thanks for your friend's reference as well, since it really puts additional credibility into the potential for a Pinarello Prince Carbon to join my stable of bikes . 





rhauft said:


> Sorry but I have to disagree.
> 1) There's nothing dubious about a defective frame. My 1st 08 Prince delivered to me last August was a defect and had to be replaced. Go figure, an italian hand made bike Always check the contents. As to your power/weight, well you are a ++size for a cyclist and I agree that pro framesets are not designed for you. Still, I've got a training partner who happens to ride an 08 Prince. He is 5'11" 200+ lb. He is a raging bull of a rider and makes monster wattage. He mashes a 55/44 chainring and uses 180mm cranks. His opinion of the Prince is the same as mine - *BRICK STIFF*:thumbsup:
> 
> 2) I am a Cat 1 Masters road racer. I have been sponsored by Orbea for the last 5 seasons. Contrary to what you've heard/read, the Orca has always been stiffer than the Opal. Granted, the 07/08 is noticably stiffer than the previous model and is a stiff frame in any classification. My team is issued Opals and I have always opted to pay the additional expense to upgrade to the stiffer Orca.
> ...


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## airastro (Jun 30, 2006)

Hppy-

For reference I am 6'1 1/2- 195-200 lbs. My short list incuded the Prince, Look 595 and Colnago. Originally the 595 was the front runner because of Look USA's excellent reputation, especially on this forum. I rode the 595 and was not overly impressed. There was nothing wrong with the bike, it was just kinda bland- the vanilla ice cream of bikes, nothing wrong with it, just no flavor. It took less that a half mile to figure out the Prince was in a different league. Every ounce of effort translated into forward progress. This thing is both stiff and compliant. I will never be confused for a climber but it does give me great satisfaction to hang with the "fly weights" on all but the biggest climbs. I attribute alot of this to the Prince's excellent stiffnes and ability to get the power to the ground.


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

Definitely worth a 2nd look. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the performance and ride qualities of the Pinarello. One turn of the pedals is worth 1K words.



hppy4u said:


> Rhauft,
> If what you say is true then you have renewed my interest in the Pinarello. I was originally sold on the aesthetics but when reading the review (originally quoted above) I decided to write the Pinarello off. Looks like I will go through and try the demo option offered by Competitive Cyclist to see if Pinarello "modified" their production run. My guess is that is what happened and I would be very curious to see if their current frames are "heavier" than the original ones offered to the pros/early 2007.
> 
> " As to your power/weight, well you are a ++size for a cyclist"
> ...


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2008)

*Bike in hand!!*

I arrived in Florida last night and found my new Prince waiting for me. The first order of business was to unpack my new ride to see what I have been waiting for during the past two weeks. I unpacked the box, mounted the front brake, handle bars and front Bora and there she was - absolutely stunning.

Wrench Science really did a superb job from start to finish in regards to this order. The bike was setup 100% and fit like a glove. A quick 25 mile ride demmonstrated that this bike is absolutely the best bike that I have owned. All effort put into the crank was sent to the rear wheel and SEEMED to require less effort than my current Cervelo. 

I initially though the Prince was twitchy in terms of handling. After getting use to the difference over my Cervelo, I figured out that the Prince was actually more quicker in terms of steering response and that the bike could easily out-handle my Soloist. The thing seems to be riding on rails. The Cervelo seems to be more of a straight-line bike while the Prince can handle any situation. I tested both straight-line and more technical scenarios on the Prince and it handled like a champ. I was able to ride a line and maneuver with ease.

In the drops (which was quite comfortable) during during extended efforts, the thing lauched like a rocket. It did not feel like I was even riding a bike - or at least one that I was use to. I cannot accurately describe the feeling however it was like I was riding on air.

As stated by others, the Prince EATS road noise and does not make noise in return. My Cervelo gets quite lond at time as all of the cables are routed internally. Only the rear brake cable is routed internally on the Prince. The bike is absolutely rock solid on rough roads and is very forgiving. I did not think that you could obtain both stiffness and absolute confort on any bike. The bike is simply amazing!

I will post pics tomorrow however you have already seen the Prince/Bora/Record setup many times over. 

Cheers!


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

Congratulations!!!! Thanks for the write up. 

Does anyone here ever get tired of seeing the Prince/Bora/Record setup many times over?

Heck no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Lt. (Jun 2, 2005)

brentster said:


> Congratulations!!!! Thanks for the write up.
> 
> Does anyone here ever get tired of seeing the Prince/Bora/Record setup many times over?
> 
> Heck no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


+1

What color Prince?


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2008)

Here are the pics. I went for the standard Team color. I know, I gotta cut the stem down. I wanted to start with more just in case.

View attachment 118988


View attachment 118989


View attachment 118990


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So well executed. Have you weighed it on your bathroom scale?


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2008)

Not yet. I am staying with my in-laws in Florida on holidays over the next 10 days. I am already sleeping with my bike and they will think I am a total freak if I place it onto their scale. Feels like 14lbs with cages. I will let you know.

Cheers!

JJ




brentster said:


> WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So well executed. Have you weighed it on your bathroom scale?


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## 2002 (Nov 19, 2007)

Beautiful bike. I think one of your bottle cage is inverted.


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## Richieg (Sep 16, 2006)

jjspike said:


> Not yet. I am staying with my in-laws in Florida on holidays over the next 10 days. I am already sleeping with my bike and they will think I am a total freak if I place it onto their scale. Feels like 14lbs with cages. I will let you know.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> JJ


With all due respect, if my son in law came to my house and slept with a bike, I would definitely raise an eyebrow I realize it's a Price with Bora's, etc. but I wouldn't think it would make a good bed mate


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2008)

2002 said:


> Beautiful bike. I think one of your bottle cage is inverted.


Yes it was. I noticed this right after taking the pictures. My bottle did not slip in very well.

Cheers!


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2008)

Never mind the in-laws, my wife was totally pissed when I instructed her to sleep on the floor......

;-)





Richieg said:


> With all due respect, if my son in law came to my house and slept with a bike, I would definitely raise an eyebrow I realize it's a Price with Bora's, etc. but I wouldn't think it would make a good bed mate


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## the Inbred (Feb 28, 2004)

jjspike said:


> Yes it was. I noticed this right after taking the pictures. My bottle did not slip in very well.
> 
> Cheers!


i realize those pictures are now almost 3 months old, but i noticed a couple other things...

rear shifter housing would work better on the inside of the front brake housing.

is that a Campy cable guide? looks like it would function better than the Pinarello one...that one is a monster. the Pin guide creates a bit of an S-curve in the FD cable... does the Campy one allow the cable to shoot straight up into the frame?

your frame have a replaceable hanger? that's one thing that seems hit or miss on the Prince frame now...i guess it's a bit of a running chance. why Pin would even consider putting a non-replaceable on a $$$ frame is kind of lost on me. i was happy to see the new frames come with replaceable hangers. even happier when i found out they were only about $30.


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