Bicyclism

When you buy into a pro tour bike you are buying a pedigree that enhances your riding experience with history, mythical hills, pave, the Italian Dolomites and the parched lands of South Eastern Spain. When you buy one of these bikes, you also buy into the associated histories. Yeah, OK, it's all in the mind, and your machine is just a machine, but this aesthetic-romantic packaging weighs nothing and can often push you out the door when mist, cold and wind might keep us otherwise on the couch.

So when Mark Bullen at Armidale Bicycle Centre suggested I take a Time VXR out for a 3 day spin, I conjoured up images of bunch sprints, victory salutes and 100km breakaways all during the few seconds it took to say OK. What are the chances of finding a top end pro tour review bike at your local bike shop set up exactly for your size, pointed towards the door on a Friday afternoon? Three days with a perfectly set up $11,000 bike is way too much to refuse. Apart from the spectacle, watching any pro tour race is a great way to see what's hot in the top end road bike scene. Bikes tend to become associated with the exploits of their riders. Lance Armstrong and the Trek Madone is one example. Alejandro Valverde and the Pinarello Paris Carbon is another. And yes, Floyd and BMC and Jan and Giant...Then we have bikes that climbers use to conquor and sprinters use to escape the tsunami of the bunch. Think of big hills and I at least think of Rasmussen and Colnago. Basso and Cervelo. Think of sprinting and you might connect McEwan and Ridley, Tom Boonen and Time. The image of Caisse d'Epagne Illes Baleares and Pinarello sets up a nice fantasy backdrop to all my own rides...These links between bike and team help connect those of us who own one of these machines into the adventure and romance of the grand tour.

For this season, Bouygues Telecom, Cofidis and AG2R are using the two top end Time machines: the VXRS and the VXR. Both these team issue bikes are light. The VXRS frame weighs in at 915 grams and the VXR is slightly more at 985 grams (for the M sized frame). The VXRS has an integrated seat post. The VXR is more conventional. It is still very light. The VXR is designed to be slightly more 'robust' than the VXRS, which means that it is more than likely far more suited to our horrendous local roads than the top of the line offering. Time sells these bikes as 'modules'. Which means that Time supplies the frame, stem, bottom bracket and seat post and you can specify the rest. Campagnolo, Shimano or SRAM. The choice is yours. My review bike came dressed in Dura Ace drive train and wheels. FSA K Force bars and a Serfas seat completed the picture. Fully dressed, my review size L (57cm) Time VXR weighed in at 7.5kg. Exactly the same weight as my 57.5cm Pinarello Paris Carbon.

Time is one of the few makers who make their top end bikes entirely in-house. Which means that not only do they construct their bikes in France, but they also spin the tubes in their own factory as well (and I do mean spin; Time spins the fibre into the fabric that is then made up into tubes). There is much to mention about the technology embedded in these tubes. The design brief is for a frame without flex while also being compliant. Stiff and forgiving at the same time. The tubes are moulded via a process Time calls Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) Technology. This process involves pressure injecting resin into the mould for each tube. The result is, they say, a stronger, lighter frame and an enhanced capacity to shape tubes however the builder wants. And these tubes are shaped in fairly dramatic ways (as discussed later). This design brief for a stiff but road absorbant ride is a pretty big ambition; and that was a claim I was very keen to test. The last thing to mention here is that the frames are lugged (with carbon lugs), which is a bit of a contrast to the plethora of monoque mouldings of other manufacturers (my Pinarello Paris is monoque; no lugs in sight).


With a ready to go price of AUD$11,000 this Time VXR is not exactly cheap. But it is less expensive than my Pinarello Paris and is actually quite competitively priced at this top end pro tour bike level. If one were to swap the Dura Ace for Carbon Record, the price would rise above $12,000 pretty fast. It's not as good value as a Cervelo, or as sensibly priced as a Specialised Tarmac or other Taiwanese made competitor, but it is one of a small handfull of bikes still made by the people whose name is on the frame (as opposed to being contract built in Asia). Top end Pinarellos and Colnagos, top end Look's, BMC's, Orbea's and these Time machines (and some smaller boutique makes) are still made in Europe. And that's the way it should be in my view. Call me a reactionary conservative, but if I am going to be paying over $10,000 for a racing bike, I want it to be built by hands that have a long and illustrious attachment to the pro racing scene; and not be put together in production lines by people who do not know or appreciate what it is that they are making. I don't care if someone claims that 'strict quality control in accordance with the designers specificatons' is applied. Bikes built under contract in Asia are not the same thng. And yes, I do realise that Ridley, Specialized, Giant bikes et al are efficiently and well put together. But they. are clinincally manufactured under the supervision of accountants, not crafted by hands tanned by cycling history. I want the passion of historical connection built into my bikes. I want my bike to be put together by the sons of the sons of the great names in cycling; by builders who speak and live cycling. That's Pinarello. And that, it would seem, is Time.


My test Time machine was dressed in full Dura Ace. I always think this choice is an unhappy fit for European bikes. To make a proper European statement, Campagnolo is needed. Plus, I make no secret of my general dislike for Dura Ace when compared with the more ergonomic, organic-like perfection of Carbon Record. I don't like the way Dura Ace changes gears (too wussy; I like the Campagnolo clunk...) I much prefer Campag's brakes (much more secure in my books). I totally loathe the cramped, hard and uncomfortable hand position of Dura Ace brake hoods. Record hoods fit my hands much better. Plus, and not the least, I think Dura Ace is downright ugly. The way those brake hoods stick up in the air like mile posts, the old fashioned cranks, and all around lack of carbon... Adding Record to my test Time would have added another $1,000 to the price; would have saved a few more grams, and would have made the bike look and function a whole lot better. That's what I would put on my own Time VXR. But these choices are available for every purchaser. Like I said before, Time supplies its bikes as 'modules'. You decide what bits to add.

This was my first time on Dura Ace's wheels. These hoops certainly seem to be nicely built and I like the subtly bladed spokes. But I noticed quite a bit of wheel flex when out of the saddle, in comparison with the Mavic Ksyrium ES rims on my Pinarello. I checked wheel truing and there was no problem, but the flex caused the rims to scrape against the brake blocks on an annoyingly regular basis, despite the fact that the blocks were adjusted quite a way out. I think I would specify Ksyrium SL or ES's on this bike if I were putting one together (carbon rims are not exactly practical on our rough sealed goat track local roads).


With regards to the bike's aesthetics, I have to question the choice to plaster so many logo's and sometimes highly mysterious words all over the bike. Like the no doubt deeply meaningful word 'Safe' printed on the top of the straight aero bladed forks. Further down the forks is 'Multi 0 Quick Set', whatever that is supposed to mean. On the inside of the blades is 'Fluid Ride' in huge print (curious given that the ride they give is not exactly fluid). On the Chain stays we have the word 'Stiff'. Then we have 'Racing Fiber Matrix' in big bold print down the seat tube. If that last logo was not definitive enough, we have the model designator VXR in huge raised lettering. Plastered all over the bike is the Time logo. In white lettering within large blocked out areas of red and blue pinstriping. If you ever get stuck beside the road, you can always read your bike to relieve the bordom...All this kind of reminds me of a Colnago design I saw once: the entire bike was finished in newsprint...

There does not seem to be any single tube on this bike that is symmetrical or of uniform dimension. It's a wonderful splurge of flattened tubes with ridges, flutes, tapers and the very occasional round bits. It's all a veritable Picasso palette of tube shape possibilities all thrown together. All set off by its lugged construction. I like lugs; they take me back 25 years to the era of the steel bike artisans. They give a very honest impression of frame strength. And these lugs are beautifully done! All precisely asymmetrical like the rest of the bike; all so very intentional looking. They just add to the overall high technology statement that this bike was designed to make.

Actually, I think this Time machine is a combination of retro looks unhappily merged with way too many garish logos. It's a purposeful looking bike. If you squint or try not to read all the logos, the colour sceme is attractive, reflecting the French tricolour! I think Time shoud look to rival Look to see how the white bike aesthtic can become a statement of refinement. To do this, you need to loose all the text decals and discover the meaning of 'subtle'. From first glance, this bike screams an aesthetic of purposeful dedication to racing. But it is not beautiful like any Pinarello, top end Look's, or even a Ridely or Wilier. But all this is, of couse, highly subjective on my part. I tend to like the naked carbon look; I love the look of bikes by Fondriest and Isaac.

It's time now to give a few ride impressions. I took the bike out on three separate rides over three days. The first a fast, hilly 100km blast over as many local roads as I could fit in before lunch. The second a shorter and even faster 50k on my favourite hill climbing circuit and the third ride was my work commute route.

The first point to note is that I adpated to this bike within 100 metres. It fitted me perfectly and I felt totally at home; more so than when I swap my Pinarelo Paris for my Specialized Roubaix. The jump between my Pinarello and this Time machine was kind of small. Instant reactions were that the Time bike is around 20% harsher than my Pinarello. You quickly get used to this, but it is harder on the teeth when running over our rough local aggregates. By the end of my three days on the bike, I had adapted to the slight increment in ride harshness. Next instant reaction is that the Time is even stiffer than the Pinarello. And the Pinarello is noted as being a stiff bike. The Time machine feels 'compact' (it is a semi compact frame, after all) and somehow smaller despite being the same size as my usual mount. It feels more 'connected' with the body than the Pinarello. By that I mean the bike really does become a part of you; it tends to 'disappear' when you ride; especially uphill. And speaking of uphill, the Time machine is one brilliant climber! I did not expect this, thinking only that the machine would be extra good in sprints. But this Time VXR is a climbing sensation. Absolutely every bit of energy put into the pedals hits the tar. And the semi compact frame seems to become more and more compact as the grade increases. It is at least as good a climber as the Pinarello Paris.

Once over the crest, though, another instant impression hits home. This bike is more nervous in descent than the Pinarello I am used to. The steering is less precise and it all feels slighly less secure. This is probably due in no small part to the harsher ride. But descending is not the on-rails experience of the Pinarello Paris Carbon. But you quickly adapt. After three days, descending felt right at home; it's only subtly less precse than the Pinarello and memory of better things fades pretty quickly when a bike is this good.

And yes, I did feel compelled to try a bit of out of the saddle lactate threshold hammering to try to understand why this bike is so successful in the sprints. Not that my sprinting would even vaguely resemble the real thing of any self-respecting pro, of course. But, nevertheless, even I was able to appreciate just why this bike is so good at the sprint. It's as stiff as a steel girder. There is absolutely no flex. It all gets onto the road. Wonderful!

Which leads me to another pretty obvious ride impression: this bike is quick. It is quick up hills, in the spint, on the flat and even on the descent if you are brave. Every design feature of this machine is aimed at speed and speed is what it does best. This is a race winning bike; there are no pretensions to anything else. I totally loved the purposefullness of all this. It is a very aggressive bike.


More gradually acquired impressions include a total lack of rattles, squeaks, vibrations (other than from the dumb Time carbon water bottle cage which is simply incapable of holding any water bottle tightly) or any other kinds of distractions. The bike is tight and solid. I like that. Another rather curious observation is that despite the relatively harsh ride, this machine is good for long distances. I can't recall a more comfortable, long distance, fast riding bike than this one. It does not induce fatigue. At first I thought this might just be from the novelty value of a new unfamiliar bike; but this fatigue fighting aspect of the bike was sustained over all my rides on it. I liked this aspect too.

So, this is a bike that I would like to keep. But all things come to pass and pass it on I must. Would I replace my Pinarello for a Time VXR? No. While the Time is an engineering marvel, it lacks the full compliment of refinement of my Paris Carbon. I would miss the perfection of my Pinarello down fast steep hills. I would miss the even greater degree of 'body integration' that the Paris offers. I would miss the stunning looks of my Paris. But I would be more than happy to put the Time machine beside my Paris; and take it out on those days when I feel in a real need for speed with the hammer down. But, I would be dressing my own VXR with Carbon Record.

Technical Facts


Model: Tme VXR ProTeam module, frame size tested - L (57cm)
Frame Design: semi compact
Frame Materials: Time Racing Fibre Matrix Carbon tubes - high performance carbon fibre plus 'Fluid Ride' technology. Carbon lugs
Fork: Time 'Safe Plus' Multidiameter
Headset: Time 'Quickset'
Stem: 'Monolink' carbon (120mm as tested)

Wheels: Dura Ace
Tyres: Continental GP4000 clinchers
Groupset: Dura Ace
Handlebars: FSA K Force carbon
Bike weight: 7.5kg (L size frame tested)

Bike supplied by: Armidale Bicycle Centre, 2/244 Beardy Street, Armidale, NSW, Australia; phone 02 6772 3718

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