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Six Day Pro Bikes, November 30, 2007
Bradley Wiggins' and Mark Cavendish's Dolan track bikes
UK stars' patriotic track machines
As members of the Cofidis and T-Mobile teams, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish ordinarily ride Time and Giant bikes respectively on the road (we featured Wiggins' Time VXRS Ulteam back in the summer, and we currently have an actual one of Cavendish's Giant TCRs on our test bench). On the track though, they ride altogether different machines, and Cyclingnews' Ben Atkins squeezed into their Rennerszone at the recent Gent Six-Days to check them out. A rich history Terry Dolan has been building frames at his facility in Merseyside, England since the 1970s, having been taught the craft by celebrated Liverpool framebuilder Harry Quinn. Although most of his production is now made up of carbon monocoques and off-the-peg frames made overseas, the company still produces around four custom bespoke frames a week which is where Dolan's passion really lies. Over the years, his bikes have won over 300 national championships (mostly on the track), and Dolan has developed long-term relationships with world champions like Chris Boardman and Yvonne MacGregor. He has also worked with the Great Britain national track squad since 1988, and the team - including ProTour riders Wiggins and Cavendish - now rides his frames in events where they don't have the use of their UK Sport carbon fibre ones. Both frames are very different - apart from the obvious size - and are designed by Terry Dolan to suit each rider individually. Wiggins' frame is made from Dedacciai's Force tubing - a 7003 aluminium - and has been designed to be as stiff as possible. In fact, to this end, Dolan has used two 57mm down tubes: one in the usual place, and the other as a top tube! A common feature of frames built for taller riders has also been utilised here, where the top tube has been dropped a few centimetres to make the front triangle smaller and stiffer. The head tube has been left at the appropriate length to avoid the need for spacers and make the front as rigid as can be. Speaking of front-end rigidity, Dolan has eschewed carbon in favour of a pair of new old stock Dedacciai steel forks with a 1" steerer. Cavendish's bike, according to Terry Dolan, "was not so complicated because he is a much more compact rider than Bradley". The frame itself is similar in design to Dolan's standard off the peg Carbon Pista, but made to measure for Cavendish, using custom z108 carbon tubes from Dedacciai. These have a much squarer profile than those used on stock frames, which, Dolan says, "increases stiffness in key areas." The carbon theme is continued with an integrated Alpina carbon track fork equipped with an alloy steerer. Dressing them up Naturally, both frames also feature custom paint jobs. Cavendish's is a stylishly sober black and white, which seems to be done to almost mirror the scheme on his road going Giant TCR Advanced, but Wiggins' has been seriously pimped. The mostly white tubes have the 'Dolan' decals decorated with the world champion's rainbows, reflecting the titles that he holds in both individual and team pursuit, while the top tube is draped in a huge British flag. There's no mistaking whose bike this is, but his name's on it just in case… The geometry of both bikes is also fairly comparable to their corresponding road machines, but with the exception of longer top tubes. Wiggins' track bike is just 5mm longer from the saddle nose to the centre of the handlebars, while Cavendish's is a massive 23mm longer, partly accounted for by the 570mm top tube compared to 555mm on his Giant. Wiggins' saddle height was set to just 2mm higher than his road machine at the time that we measured it, but the mechanic informs us that this level fluctuates throughout the event, depending on how he's feeling. Cavendish's saddle, on the other hand, is 8mm lower than his road bike, and both of these differences can be at least partly attributed to their different crank lengths. Both riders are using Dura-Ace track chainsets - Cavendish on 165mm cranks, and the considerably taller Wiggins on 170mm. Apart from obvious reasons of height, this difference in crank lengths can be attributed to their different riding styles: The lightning fast leg speed of sprinter Cavendish contrasts with the languid smooth cadence of pursuiter Wiggins. These cranks differ considerably from their road bikes where both use 175mm-long arms, partly because of the increased volume of high cadence riding needed on the track, but also for the obvious need to avoid the potentially calamitous issue of catching a pedal on the track's steep banking. Both riders are using Australian full carbon X-Treme Aeromax Elite tri-spoke wheels on the front and the rear, although both substitute Mavic Comete rear discs for Derny and time trial events. X-Treme describes its Aeromax Elites as "part tri-spoke, part disc" and it's easy to see why with their massive 90mm rim sections and huge aero-profiled 'spokes'. Despite this huge amount of material, though, the wheels boast a claimed weight of 749g and 890g for front and rear respectively. Wiggins' wheels are similarly dressed up with the same one-off paintjob as his custom frame, while Cavendish's have been left in the standard carbon finish. Both riders are using track-specific 23mm Continental Sonderklasse 165 tubulars. The tradition of trackies keeping their gearing a secret from each other seems to be no more - well, they didn't mind telling us anyway! Considering their different styles, it's almost surprising that they both use a 52 tooth chainring with a 16 tooth cog. This produces a gear of 85.4in (6.81m development), for those who understand these things. In Derny paced events both riders switch to a massive 54x14T gear, which works out to 101.4in (8.08m). The finishing kits of both bikes are markedly different. Cavedish's carbon frame also features a lot of carbon parts - mostly from Bontrager's XXX Lite range - whereas Wiggins' is entirely aluminium and a mixture of Deda Elementi and Shimano Dura-Ace. Both riders have opted for aluminium bars though, with Cavendish sticking with Bontrager Race bars, and Wiggins with a set that the mechanic is no longer able to identify. Both pairs have an anatomical bend and are covered in white bar tape, but the brand depends largely on what the mechanic can find at the time. The other contact points again show a contrast between the riders. Cavendish is happy to stick with the Selle Italia Signo Team Edition saddle and Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-SL pedals that are provided by T-Mobile's technical sponsors for his Giant road bike. Wiggins, however, goes for a complete change and the comfort of a well-worn Selle San Marco Rolls saddle and Look Keo pedals in contrast with his Cofidis team issue offerings from Selle Italia and Time. In an environment where reliability and stiffness are king, and the only gradient to climb is when riders swing up the banking (and they're doing that to slow down anyway), weight is not high on the list of priorities. Nevertheless, Cavendish's carbon bike comes in only slightly higher than the UCI's minimum 6.8kg (which applies to all bikes regardless of type and discipline). Wiggins' aluminium bike, on the other hand, comes in almost a full kilo higher - hardly surprising, as it's considerably bigger than Cavendish's and built for stiffness and strength. Wiggins and Cavendish are both focusing their 2008 season on gold in Beijing and recently made headlines when it was announced that they would be missing next year's Tour de France in order to prepare specifically for their chosen track events. They may well compete together in the Olympic Madison race, where Wiggins won a hard-fought bronze in Athens, and Cavendish was world champion in 2005 (both of them riding with Rob Hayles). The Six-Day races should prove to be an ideal opportunity to test their compatibility.
PhotosFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
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Full specification - WigginsFrame: Dolan custom track frame, Dedacciai Force 7003 aluminium
Critical measurements Bottom bracket: Shimano Ultegra BB-6500 |
Wheelset: X-Treme Aeromax Elite, custom painted Bars: Aluminium, unspecified make and model, 42cm (c-c) Pedals: Look Keo Total bike weight: 7.71kg (17.00lb) |
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Full specification - CavendishFrame: Dolan custom track frame, Dedacciai z108 carbon fiber
tubing, tube-to-tube wrapped construction Critical measurements Bottom bracket: Shimano Ultegra BB-6500 |
Wheelset: X-Treme Aeromax Elite Bars: Bontrager Race, 42cm (c-c) Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-SL PD-7800 Total bike weight: 6.89kg (15.19lb) |
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