Im not sure Marco Pantani deserves to have his name on a bike his career was soiled with the disgrace of drugs and many of his heroic battles were false. Yes i know his not alone and his life met with such a tragic end so sad, but would i ride one of his bikes NO.

yes , yes we all know he took drugs so what ? on his day he was truly amazing to watch . sounds a bit sour grapes to me .

Terminator I think you'll find nobody really gives a shit wether you will ride a Pantani bike, nor your two bit opinions on the great man. Because you are a nobody and Pantani was one of the greatest climbers of all time.

I agree with terminator, he took drugs therefire he is not a hero. Otherwise why would we be having all of these Lance Armstrong debates, because surely (according to you)it wouldn't matter if he took drugs or not because he was amazing to watch.

for it to carry his name, I reckon he needs to have some significant influence in developing the frame or the brand. So either a brand evolves cos of some master builder/technologist, designer or rider who gives his input. Pantani has had no influence. Some marketeer out there has decided cos of his legendary climbing, his name is a good one to stick on his frame, and no doubt his loved ones are raking in royalty fees. For this reason alone I wouldnt buy one.

cheat or not the guy brought a style and flair to cycling that few others do.

Think snooker!...... Steve Davis or Hurricane Higgins?!, guess you either admire people based on there supposed whiter than white life, or you realise some people are just human and have flaws which makes more everyday just like the rest of us!!

Each to there own, wow there's an idea :-)

Pantani was an addict, it's an illness, something he had a genetic predisposition to my he rest in peace.

Pantani was a legend of the sport and I agree with mrforgetful below.

I as much as anybody else was sickened, disappointed and angry to hear how he achieved some of his amazing results but leave the man out of it and question the decision of Davide Boifava to exploit Pantani's family name and JE James Cycles to cash in by importing the frames.

If they're any good they'll sell and if you don't like the name on the down tube give 'em a wide birth.

Personally I think it's a bit of a cheap stunt by the Carrera Podium bike company and JE James.

Pantani wasn't addicted to EPO was he? He was just a cheat and a career long one at that. Venerating proven cheats like Pantani only adds to cycling's consuming problem.

I'm ambivalent about how his PED use sits with this, but I agree with Pigman. For me a rider's name on the frame only has positive connotations if they actually have some involvement, however superficial it might be- otherwise it's just some cynical marketing.

Fully agree that he should have had input for it to carry his name,& seeing as it has an intigrated seatpost,thats rather unlikely!

The 2011 Pantani range features a stem with a flattened, polished top surface apparently...

TBH as these are effectively re-branded Carreras (not from Halfords) I think I'd rather have a Carrerra than a Pantani..

marco gave everything to the sport he loved and he paid the ultimate price, and you lot wanna argue about weather he took this or that. its sick, let the man rest in peace.

First,

Basso bikes,

Now,

Pantani bikes,

Next,

Landis Bikes.

If you bothered to do your research, you'd find that Basso bikes was founded many years ago by somebody who happens to share a surname with Ivan Basso. It is not affiliated to him in any way. Fool.

And hey, "terminator", ever heard of punctuation marks?

I'm all for this brand and find it a fitting tribute to the little man. It's so easy for us to judge - we don't have the same pressure to win and be great. We all do things that are wrong and none here - I repeat NONE here are saints.

Pantani, despite the doping, was a wonderful guy to watch on a bike and he brought so much pleasure to fans - I loved to watch the little guy battling it out in the mountains.

He died a tragic way and far too young. It's time to show a great human trait -

FORGIVENESS

Lets judge these frames on how they ride and not the name.

Rich

top comment lawman amazing how people allways seem to remember his dark side and forget what an amazing climber he was , when the roll call of great mountain men gets put together he will be there . marco r.i.p.

I love this thread !

I hope you don't all slag off the new frames I will be bring out shortly on to the market ?

My new bike frames pay homage to the new heros of the cycling world.

THE EPO FRAME

The EPO frame is a new carbon designed frame made to give you outstanding performance over your rivals.

We are also bringing out a time trial frame called the STEM CELL.

This time trial frame is scientifically proven to increase your speed helping you break all your past time trail performances by miles.

The new bike frames will be released very shortly under cover of darkness.

We look forward to your orders.