Fondriest's parent company, Cicli Esperia SpA, launched the latest models of its TF road bikes at the historic Monti Velodrome, with Italian road legend Maurizio Fondriest in attendance.
TFD
The biggest news came with the unveiling of the new TFD, complete with hydraulic disc brakes. The bike takes design cues from the TF range and is designed to be compatible with both electronic and mechanical drivetrains.
The TFD is built with a mechanical Ultegra drivetrain and hydraulic Shimano brakes and is running on the latest Vision Metron 55 disc carbon wheels. The new frame’s back-end combines kicked-up chainstays, bridgeless seatstays and a brake mount that sits within the rear stays. The carbon monocoque frame has a tapered head tube and internal cabling.
The new Fondriest TFD, complete with hydraulic disc brakes
It will be available as a frameset for about £2,200 and as a complete bike with Ultegra 6800 and Vision Team 30DM wheels for about £4,400 (final prices, including those for the US and other countries, are TBA). The raw frame weight for a size medium is listed as 990g.
TF1
The TF1, and the evolution of its 1.4 bonded carbon UD frame, also piqued our interest. The TF1 also has a tapered head tube, uses internal cable routing and is ready to accept either mechanical or electronic drivetrains.
It has a direct mount front mech, which is said to improve rigidity while reducing overall weight. The raw (unpainted) medium frame is listed at 795g.
The TF1 comes in various Shimano-based builds, with a range of wheel options
It will be available as a frameset for about £2,800 (final prices TBA) and can be made to a custom size for an additional £400. It’s already available in a wide range of colour finishes, but it is worth noting that most Fondriest bikess can be painted in custom colours at additional cost.
The TF1 is available in various builds with electronic or mechanical Dura-Ace or Ultegra and a choice of wheels, including Fulcrum Racing 3, Vision T42, Fulcrum racing Quattro and Ambrosio rims on Miche hubs.
TF2
The previous TF2 was made up of tube sections that were bonded. The new TF2 1.5 does away with that, and instead uses Carbon Boomerang Technology UD, which means that Fondriest creates separate monocoque elements front and rear, and them moulds them together.
It’s called ‘Boomerang’ because the one-piece head tube, top tube and down tube resembles the Australian flinging device.
The TF2 frame bears a resemblance to a boomerang. Apparently.
The 1.5 features a tapered head tube and is internally routed for bothelectronic or mechanical groupsets. It also features a revised Reflex fork with a unique inverted bend on the blades and pentagonal-shaped crown.
Fondriest has reworked the internal cable routing at the bottom bracket for a smoother cable run, and increased the size of the removable inspection panel to make maintenance simpler.
The claimed raw weight for the medium frame is 950g. Fondriest exclusively uses Toray fibres, including a hi-mod 50ton in areas where stiffness is critical.
We're told the TF2 should be available from October, as a frameset for about £2,300, and in a variety of builds, using everything from Dura-Ace Di2 to 105, with Fulcrum Racing Quattro, Vision T42s or Ambrosio/Miche wheels, from about £3,100 upwards (again, final prices are TBA).
