Category Archives: Bike

The Romin EVO Pro with Mirror, hands down the most comfy saddle I’ve ever owned.

Buying speed. I’ve been riding the Dogma F a fair bit lately. Last Wednesday I was at the park with Eugene and we ran into Max Mann and Jen Kay (both MAAP ambassadors). Happy to say that we kept up with them for 5 laps, but by the end of it my legs were ripped off, and I couldn’t help but wish I was on my SL8 instead.

So in an attempt to buy more speed I dropped in to CCACHE to pick up the #1 tyre on Bicycle Rolling Resistance; the Vittoria Corsa PRO Speed. I went with 26C because I truly don’t need the extra comfort (or weight) of 28C tyres, and the heavy Aero 111 is wasted on the super stable Roval CLX II front wheel.

Of-course I put the new tyres on the scales and whilst one of them came in at 236g the other way WAY heavier. I was thinking to myself that there’s no way in hell the discrepancy between 2 of the same tyres would be so much, it turns out one of them was a Corsa PRO Speed and the other was a Corsa PRO. Same exact graphics, same packaging. DOH!

I dropped in to CCACHE (LBS) again today to exchange the wrong tyre for the right one (thank F there was one in stock) and have now got the tyres on and I’m ready to roll!

UPDATED SPECS:

2025 S-Works Tarmac SL8
Gloss Dove Grey / Silver Dust Blurred Impasto / Black Pearl
Size 52

Brake Rotors: Galfer E1 160mm/140mm (97g/79g)
Brake Pads: Absolute Black Graphen (40g)
Brake Adapter: Chaser (7g)
Shift Levers: SRAM RED E1
Derailleurs: SRAM RED E1
Cassette: SRAM RED 10-33t (207g)
Chain: SRAM RED E1
Crankset: SRAM RED E1 with Power Meter 165mm
Chainrings: SRAM Red E1 48/35
Pedals: Xpedo Thrust SL Titanium (165g)
Bottom Bracket: SRAM DUB BSA 68
Front Wheel: Roval Rapide CLX II 51mm
Rear Wheel: Roval Rapide CLX II 60mm
Tyres: Vittoria Corsa PRO Speed TLR 26C (236g/236g)
Inner Tubes: Tubolito 60mm Front, 80mm Rear (23g/24g)
Lockrings: Absolute Black (10g)
Stem: Roval Rapide Cockpit 380mm/90mm (299g)
Top Cap: Hopp + bolt (4g)
Bar Ends: Lucendi UL (2g)
Bar Tape: Burgh CCACHE
Saddle: S-Works Romin EVO with Mirror 143mm (189g)
Seatpost: Darimo 0mm offset (104g)
Computer Mount: MagCAD (18g)
Bottle Cage: S-Works Carbon Rib Cage III (23g)
Bolts: Better Bolts Ti bolt kit

WEIGHT: 6.49kg

The standard seatpost was 198g.

Took a long time to arrive just like the other 2 Hylix seatposts I have (SL6 and Allez Sprint), but as expected, it’s a lot lighter than stock and also fits perfectly. Also like the other 2 Hylix seatposts I have, the head can be flipped from negative offset to positive, though due to this particular design the seatpost still looks like a setback seatpost.

It’s not as good looking as the official Pinarello 0 offset seatpost (failed to find one) but it is half the weight and it has done the job. I’ve moved the saddle forwards another 10mm (with a little more room to move forwards if I have to) and from sit point of the saddle to centre of the bars I’m now only 10mm longer on the Dogma F vs. the SL8 (SL8 has a 90mm stem, Dogma has a 120).

I rode some hard (for me) laps at the park yesterday with MAAP Ambassadors Max Mann and Jennifer Kay and feel like the fit is now dialled in. That said, the Dogma F feels really sluggish in comparisson to the SL8. I have no doubt that I’m working harder to maintain a 30km/hr average. Yes, it does feel planted, but to me that translates to heavier and less lively.

I am enjoying the Dura-Ace shifting though, and have it set up like SRAM now so I no longer have to use my brain to shift up and down the rear cassette from the right lever.

As much as I’d love to see what the bike would feel like if it was 1kg lighter I’m not sure I’m going to bother. I like the SMP saddle a lot, and it’s DAMN heavy, so reducing weight here or there to negate the extra saddle weight just seems unrewarding.

That said I have ordered a new front wheel (the Princeton wheel is packed and ready to go to the US for warranty), it’s a bit… different. More of an experiment. Will post updates as soon as it arrives.

ENVE 65 front wheel on as the PCW front wheel is packed up and ready to go back to the states for warranty.

Selle SMP. Love to hate it.

Wahoo Bolt V2 for the Hinloopen Rocket Mount. Perfect fit, this mount is unreal.

Lucendi bar end plugs on everything!

Ugly dog needed an ugly saddle.

Wobbly start, but we got there! 4 laps of CP!

Maiden ride was a little muddy, so BoB the Dog got his first wash.

A look that only a mother could love.

This Hinloopen.bike mount is so good I’m going to go out and buy a Wahoo computer just for it.

Ti hardware on the OEM seatpost is a nice touch.

Tactic hubs sound unique, but not as loud as I was expecting.

Much thanks to Sam at CCACHE for putting in some overtime in last night to get BoB the Dog ready for me to ride today.

Of-course no build is without issues:

1) The bearings in the front wheel are shot. With the bike in the stand you can hear the bearings when the wheel is spinning, hand on the bars and you can feel the vibration through the bars. We took the wheel off, and spinning the hub with your fingers you can really feel how gritty they are.

I messaged the seller, he was as shocked as I was as he had hardly ridden on this wheelset. Either way I have to replace the front bearings. The Tactic web shop has some ceramic bearings for the TR01, but I’m not sure they fit in the TR02. I’ve shot them an email in any case for confirmation. I might also reach out to the local shop that the seller bought the wheels from (I do have the receipt).

2) The frame and groupset came with 2 x 140mm brake rotors, and when putting on the front rotor the brake caliper hits the spokes. Putting on a 160 fixed this, but when out of the saddle the caliper juuuust brushes the spokes. It’s tight in there but there is more space between the rotor and the fork than the caliper and the spokes so I’ve ordered some centrelock specific shims and hope that will do the trick.

Initial impressions: It’s a fast bike! I expected it to “feel” faster than my S-Works SL8, but I actually think my SL8 not only is faster, it feels faster too. Yes, the Dogma is stiffer and it feels really planted but the SL8 feels lighter and more playful. The SL8 is 1kg lighter though so I’m assuming the weight difference might be the difference here.

Dura-Ace shifting lives up to the hype. It’s definitely faster and feels more direct than SRAM Red E1 and the front mech shifting is light years ahead of SRAM Red E1. I absolutely hate that the right shifter is for both going up and down the rear gears though. Apparently I can program it to work like SRAM? I’ll look into it as I’m only ever in the big ring so having buttons on the left shifter that don’t do anything feels odd and unbalanced to me.

I really love the Red E1 hood ergonomics, but the Dura-Ace hoods are also great. The Dura-Ace brakes though feel nowhere near as powerful and sensitive as SRAM Red E1.

I went for the 4mm longer axles on a set of Dura-Ace pedals and really like them. What I like most about the pedals though is that now I can swap bikes with my mates! Today I let 2 of my mates try the Dogma out and both of them were super impressed with how fast the bike is (though one of the guys who’s ridden my SL8 says the SL8 felt faster and had more of a WOW factor).

The 120mm stem on the cockpit is perfect for the aero tuck position but too long for me when I’m in the hoods. It’s passable though and I’m hesitant to pay up the insane asking price for a shorter Most Talon cockpit, for now.

All in all it was a good maiden ride. I’ll sort out the brake caliper and front wheel bearing issues ASAP and I’m still waiting for my saddle, 0 offset seatpost and direct derailleur mount to arrive.

Finally found a Dura-Ace front derailleur with the right diameter clamp (just happens to be NOS too).

Perfect fit, and the clamp bolt no longer gets dangerously close to the rear tyre anymore.

Found a titanium seatpost clamp bolt on eBay (steel one was 12g).

Way cooler when it was 6.66kg’s.

Officially UCI Illegal!

Working on Nick’s new VeloBuild VB-R-268.