LIEGE (Belgium) – It was love at first sight. Getting on this bike was like love at first sight. Because it's responsive, it follows you. This is how the interview with Elisa Longo Borghini who tells us about his new Colnago V5Rs.
Vi we had already said of this new gem from the Lombardy brand. We've done so from a strictly technical standpoint, regarding the structure, the construction... Now let's move on to the athlete. The feedback from a professional is always something moreThe athlete who works on the bike, competes with it, and wins. This is a sensitivity that only those who race at a certain level can possess, especially since they have followed the evolution of the bike, moving from the Colnago V4Rs to the V5.
Elisa, we started with responsiveness, as you said. Did you immediately notice the difference compared to the previous model?
Yes, when I got on the V5Rs I said: "Okay, this is my bike. Not that I didn't like the V4, on the contrary. It was a bike with which I immediately had a good feeling, but The V5 was love at first sight for me.
It's nice when it's like this…
It's really a light bike because it is still mounted with wheels Enve 4.5And thanks also to my frame size, which is quite small, it's right at the weight limit imposed by the UCI (6,8 kilos, ed.). It's fast and, as I said, it's responsive on climbs. When I relaunch after the curves it's a bike that follows me, who comes with me. That's why I feel she's mine and that's why I like her so much.
This is also important for the feeling when descending. We imagine you're more relaxed...
Clearly, having a bike that you control and that doesn't take you wherever it wants makes a big difference. On the way down I feel like I can put it where I want, I can take it where I want. Then maybe I'll tip over at the first corner! But it's truly one of the best bikes I've ever ridden.
What's your favorite setup?
My setup includes Enve 4.5 wheels with a 45mm profile and 11-34 gear ratios at the rear and 54-36 at the front.
The 54-36 solution is quite a leap: 15 teeth…
Yes, but with Shimano it's something that can be done. Plus Our mechanics have worked quite a bit on this aspect. I've also done a lot of testing at home. It's a solution that works, obviously you need to have a certain sensitivity when shifting, but, I repeat, with adjustments by the mechanics and the right sensitivity on the part of the athlete it can be done.
What are these adjustments besides the “dog tooth”?
The electronic adjustment and the correct installation of the entire gearbox itself.
Let's stay on the subject of gears, Elisa. You switched from SRAM to Shimano: different gears, different metrics. How did you find it?
Overall I found Shimano much better, not because Sram wasn't a good groupset, on the contrary... In the six years I've used it, it's always been good. However Shimano gives you the opportunity to play around with your choices a little more, to always have the perfect scales for every race. As I was saying about the chainrings, I can now fit a 54 and a 36, which wasn't possible with SRAM. I was stuck with a 41 if I wanted a 54 chainring. SRAM actually makes 50-37, 52-39, and 54-41.
Very clear…
The thing I perhaps miss a little about SRAM is the 10 teeth, which Shimano doesn't make. But in the end, with the 54 teeth up front, I found a great compromise. Before, I almost always used the 52 teeth up front, but now I have the 54 teeth: two more teeth, so we're close. The 52×10 was useful for fast descents. The current advantage is that with the 54, in general, not just downhill, I can keep the chain straighter.
What about the ergonomics of the levers and gear changes?
Eh – Elisa sighs and smiles – this wasn't easy at the beginning. In fact, I'd say it was a bit of a trauma! Even in the last one Amstel Gold Race I happened to make a shift as if I still had Sram, thinking I had put in the 36. Moral: I realized at the top of the Cauberg that I had done it, and twice, with the 54. I said, “Wow, at least my legs are okay!”
If it can console you, Davide Formolo made the Giau with the large crown for more or less the same reason!
Yes, but I don't have the same strength as Formolo! It was a mistake on my part, but it can happen after so many years... Especially when you're a bit foggy.
Let's move on to your measurements, Elisa. When you switched from the Colnago V4Rs to the V5Rs, did you make any adjustments?
Very little has changed because the two frames have the same geometry. The V5 is 2-3 millimeters longer in the larger sizes, and I was lucky in that regard. There was a 1-2 millimeter difference so everything remained the same as on the V4, so close to nothing was touched.
So the specs too?
Yes, everything is the same: 170mm cranks and 125mm stem. Same spacers under the handlebars. Same saddle setback. The saddle is new after changing the frame: I chose the Physics Antares and is placed at a height, as always, of 70 centimetres.
Tire chapter…
The tire I use the most is tubeless Shelf 28mm Gran Prix 5000 TT, which is already quite large (the 28 Continental corresponds to a 29 of other brands, ed.) and on the Enve, with a wide internal channel, it seems even plumper. In fact, also observing the tires of the other brands, I also noticed that it seems larger than a 28 mm. Until last year I used the 28 Pirelli and I notice the difference. Not only that, but staying at home with Jacopo (Moscow, the husband in force at Lidl Trek, ed.) I notice that the Continental 28 seems bigger.
Switching from Pirelli to Continental: have your reference pressures changed?
Clearly, the pressure is dictated by the weather and the race, i.e. cobblestones or no cobblestones, dirt road… But compared to before, I use much lower pressures. I travel at 3,8 in the front and 4 in the rear. Sometimes even 3,6 and 3,8. And I have to say I'm doing very well.
