2012 Pinarello Catena

Pinarello released the Catena a few years ago as a kind of cool, maybe hipster, single speed bike, but it was a bit of a flop.

Great looking frame, great heritage, great concept – Bianchi killed it with the alloy track bike! But, just a bunch of junk parts on the Catena out of the box.

But through all that I could see something that had great lines, a classic steel frame, classic geometry, and I thought to myself, I’ll grab one of those as they’re being thrown out and make it into what it should have been from the start.

Honestly, I felt obliged to breathe some real life into it.

So, I stripped it down to the bare frame as I usually do and started again from scratch. While I kept the original Pinarello branded saddle, I added a vintage Campagnolo fluted seatpost.

There was nothing I liked about the wheels, they were heavy and uninspiring. I had some new Ambrosio track hub that I laced into Velocity A23 polished rims. I like the Velocity A23s because they are so shiny they almost glow. They’re not super light, but DT Swiss double butted Competition spokes keep weight down. I bombed the wheels up with Pirelli P-Zero tyres. I’m a big fan of Pirelli tyres, they’re quick and they look great.

Then a new bottom bracket and some new Campagnolo Record Pista cranks. I added the MKS Sylvan NEXT pedals with chrome plated toeclips and leather toe straps. The Sylvan pedals are nice pedal to ride, have a great finish and readily take toeclips, which I think are a very stylish touch.

Then I thought we needed something super cool and a bit retro for the cockpit. Something that would look really good while you’re riding as well as leaning against the wall at the local cafe or bar. Digging in the collection of loveliness, I came up with a NOS Cinelli Groove stem and Altera ergo bars and I didn’t have to look any further. After hitting up a few contacts, the Campagnolo Record carbon brake levers (brake only) anchored to a pair of silver Campagnolo Veloce Skeleton brake calipers seemed just right. And all wrapped up with some white Supacaz Super Sticky Kush bar tape.

I reckon it came up pretty well!

Size 54cm.

This Bike is for sale at The Bicycle Emporium.

Pinarello History & Links

Pinarello is a manufacturer of high end road bikes based in Treviso, Italy. Founded in 1953, the brand has been associated with many of the biggest names and teams in professional cycling, including the great Miguel Indurain.

There is a comprehensive history of Pinarello on Wikipedia as well as on the Pinarello homepage.