Dedacciai Temerario 2010 Parlee Z-Zero custom 2013
The Temarario is a bike that looks so crazy that I couldn’t help but fall head over heels for it. The angular boxy carbon tubing up front with the aero bladed fork is like an imaginative child’s drawing of a road-racing superbike, all combined with titanium seatstays (apparently to add some comfort). I love the weird juxtaposition between futuristic and classic styling here. As mad as the Temarario looks, it also has something special in its ride. It’s classic Italian road-bike character with an aggressive head angle and short fork o set, meaning laser-fast handling. The mish-mash of tubes between square, aero, round and sculpted all blend together to produce a ride quality that's hard but not harsh. It’s a bike so far out there, so o the wall, that it deserves to be remembered for its brilliant oddness. Bikes like this are a perfect reminder that we all ride for fun. It also runs Shimano’s first-generation Ultegra Di2 with its boxy little batteries and cabling that incorporates a lot of tape and zip ties – something that today’s all-hidden, fully integrated fashionistas would baulk at.
It’s a bike so far out there, so o the wall, that it deserves to be remembered for its brilliant oddness
A few years ago, a few of the Cycling Plus team went to custom builders to create a bike. Parlee had a reputation at the time as the go-to guys for the top professionals.
If the bike they rode in the peloton didn’t quite meet expectations, Bob and his team could create an ultralight bike that would do the business. I visited Bespoke bikes in Farringdon for Rëtul fit sessions – a process that involves 3D motion capture technology – so this bike fits me like a glove. Handlingwise, it was based on the Storck and I even went for a metallic green paint finish in homage to it. The result is a bike that goes beyond my wildest expectations. The chassis has had a few rebuilds in its time and it's been ridden for more than 8000 miles. Nonetheless, it still feels gloriously rapid, light and lively. I’ve now settled on SRAM Red eTap (the old 11-speed setup), but with the long cage wifi rear mech and an 11-32 cassette paired with Zipp 404 NSWs. It’s another sub-7kg bike and, now that everything has gone aero and disc, acts as a good reminder of everything that was good about classic road bikes with rim brakes.
It's been ridden for more than 8000 miles, but the Parlee still feels gloriously rapid, light and lively
When I first saw the Slate at the launch of Cannondale’s SuperSix EVO Disc, I was awestruck. It had taken the bubbling-under trend for gravel bikes and mated it with the sort of aluminium mountain bike hardtails I rode in the 1990s. I knew I needed to get one in to test and I absolutely loved it. At the time, I described it as a bike nobody needed but, by God, did I want one! In hindsight, an aluminium bike with a huge single-sided carbon suspension fork didn’t make commercial sense: about half the price of the bike is in the fork, after all. But on the road, track and trail, it’s bags of fun. Compared to modern gravel bikes, it’s a little o as it has 650b wheels, not a huge amount of tyre clearance (42mm at most) and road gearing that’s fast roadbike territory (none of the mega-range 1x or adventure compact here: 52/36 with an 11-28). However, the Slate marks a moment in time before the development of gravel bikes and I’m sure it’ll be a future classic, which is why I’m holding onto this wonderfully odd diversion from the drop-bar norms.
The Slate marks a moment in time before the development of gravel bikes. I'm sure it will be a future classic