Bike Review: Pinarello Marvel - L'impero strikes back!

This week, let us take a look at the Pinarello Marvel, a moderately upscale endurance bike in the same category as the Roubaix SL4 Expert. Both the bikes sport Shimano's Ultegra groupset and retail at the 3700-3900 range (depending on upgrades etc.). In a way, this would be a more objective comparison than the SLR01 as both the bikes belong to the budget-endurance market. 

Pinarello debuted the Marvel in 2014 to attract a more budget-conscious audience who wanted the riding experience of its higher end models, but with much less cost to their wallets. This by itself is a tricky task to pull off, and Pinarello has had mixed success with this approach (see my previous post regarding Pinarello Razha.) Having ridden the Razha earlier, I was truly skeptical about this ride. The Marvel sports the same curved frame geometry from Dogma and Paris, specifically borrowing the ride quality and proportions from Paris, Pinarello's weapon of choice for the cobbled classics. The distinctive curved fork and stays are a topic of heated debates in the biking community, and I for one am in the camp of those who love the wavy lines in lieu of the standard boxy shapes for the frames. The frame is certainly eye catching in a very Italian fashion, with form and function melding perfectly to give the bike exceptional riding qualities.

On to the actual ride, and a few quite pleasant surprises!

I rode the 53 cm frame as the bike shop did not have a 54 in stock. I took this opportunity to learn how the riders (like Cav, for instance) felt when deliberately choosing a smaller frame geometry to ride :) I expected the handling to be a bit twitchy due to the reduced wheelbase, but not something that I could not survive on a 28-mile ride! With a few minor adjustments to the seat height, I was on my way on the standard lake-loop + lakemont hill course - with a BIG catch. The Marvel came equipped with an Ultegra 6800 11-25T cassette. Compared to my 12-30T cassette on the Roubaix, this was a significant step into the pain-cave going up the Lakemont Hill!  I had a few "take-a-deep-breath" moments before the climb, but I am jumping ahead :)

The ride started with expected road furniture in the parking lot to the trail, and that is where the Marvel kicked its first surprise! This bike was as good as, if not better, at eating up road chatter compared to the Roubaix! The first impressions went a long way in allaying my fears post-Razha, and the rest of the afternoon looked set for a comfortable ride. Or so I thought!

I was riding with my (quite literally) better-half this time, and most of the first half of the ride was spent in playing catch-up with the more faster rider in our household! Surprisingly, the Marvel proved to be up to the task, even bettering some PRs that I had set on the course using the SLR01. This I was totally not prepared for. A post ride analysis (see figure below) showed quite a few PRs set on the SLR01 upended by the endurance bike.

The Marvel proves to be up to the challenge Vs pure racing bikes like the SLR01, even upending the table in quite a few cases.

The ride quality of the bike was smoother and also stiffer than the Roubaix. There were very few times in the ride when I thought something other than - "How in the world did Pinarello manage to make this happen?" Pinarello bikes are known for their precise handling, and the Marvel did not disappoint in this category. The handling was perfect, but where this bike was leaps and bounds beyond other bikes I have ridden was in its ability to corner at higher-than-usual speeds for me. There were two instances when I was leaning so far out that I was sure I would topple over, only for the bike to trace the curve without changing the line. I was blown-away! 

The smaller frame size had its pros and cons - The shorter wheelbase made the bike more nimble, and allowed me to be in the drops for longer than expected. On the other hand, there was this constant feeling of not going far enough, which made me "want" to push harder on the pedals. Fortunately, the bike was stiff enough to transfer my enthusiasm to the wheels. About an hour into the ride, this frame almost felt a natural size for me, and the second half of the course saw me pulling into the headwind at an average of 17mph! I would say that in terms of evaluating a mis-sized endurance bike, this is the best compliment that I can possibly give.

Rounding up with the most important question: Lakemont Hill? The absence of 5 teeth on the cassette had made me apprehensive about pointing the bike uphill, but suffice it to say that the bike proved to be on-par with my best effort. The harder gearing meant standing up on the pedals earlier (and longer) than I expected, and going steady for the first two-thirds of the ride. So it was more 'Contador' than 'Voeckler' this time around. On the last bend to the flatter section (4-5%) however, I was able to rev up to 10mph and ultimately equal my PR on this hill. It was a very satisfying feeling as I unclipped into the Starbucks parking lot!

I will dispense off with the tabular comparison this time around because, as you can see, there was little that went the way of the Roubaix! Although the Marvel was not in my budget range for my first upgrade, it is now a certainty that unless Pinarello messes up the Dogma/Paris geometry or ride quality completely, I know where my next bike is coming from!

Slideshow below: