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Pressure drop – Cinelli launches Pressure aero road bike for 2021

New model comes with disc brakes and fully internal cables, and it looks pretty tidy!

Italy’s Cinelli is introducing a new Pressure aero road bike for 2021, with disc brakes and fully internal cables/hoses.

2021 Cinelli Pressure full bike - 1.jpeg

The Pressure’s T700 carbon-fibre frame is said to be designed with the reduction of drag in mind, and you get well-established aero bike features such as dropped seatstays, a seat tube that curves around the leading edge of the rear tyre, and a short head tube with an integrated fork crown (complete with a little smiley face that’s revealed when you corner!). The seatpost is aero profiled too.

2021 Cinelli Pressure fork crown - 1.jpeg

The Pressure, which is UCI approved, takes a Press Fit 86.5 x 41mm bottom bracket while the fork turns on 1 1/8in (upper) and 1 1/2in (lower) bearings. The thru axles are common 12x100mm and 12x142mm sizes.

2021 Cinelli Pressure BB - 1.jpeg

There’s enough space for tyres up to 700C x 30mm.

2021 Cinelli Pressure top tube - 1.jpeg

Cinelli claims a weight of 990g for the frame (in a medium size) and 390g for the fork.

For comparison, Giant's Propel Advanced SL Disc aero road bike has a claimed weight of 982g and a fork weight of 378g, and Bianchi claims a frame weight of 990g (+/-5%, 55cm version) and a fork weight of 420g for its Oltre XR4 Disc. Both of those bikes have been around for a while now. Several bikes launched in 2020, including the Specialized Tarmac SL7, have combined aero features with lower weights; the FACT 10r version (the more affordable model) has a claimed frame weight of 920g.

2021 Cinelli Pressure handlebar - 1.jpeg

Cinelli uses FSA’s ACR (Aerodynamic Cable Routing) system to plumb all cables (mechanical or electronic) and hoses internally through the handlebar/stem and into the frame and fork. It’s a really neat design.

2021 Cinelli Pressure seat tube seatpost - 1.jpeg

The Pressure will be available in the UK in a Shimano Ultegra spec (so not the same as the bike shown in these pictures) with hydraulic disc brakes, an FSA Gossamer 50/34-tooth chainset, and Vision Team 30 TLR Disc wheels. It’ll be priced £3,799. 

2021 Cinelli Pressure frameset - 1.jpeg

If that build doesn’t float your boat, the Cinelli Pressure will also be available as a frameset for £2,399. This includes a seatpost that’s specific to the frame. Stock is expected in the UK at the beginning of February 2021.

Get more info from Cinelli's website or UK distributor Chicken CycleKit

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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19 comments

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EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
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nice looking bike but a lot of money to pay for an aero bike with no wind tunnel test data?  (For what it's worth)

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EddyBerckx replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
1 like

EddyBerckx wrote:

nice looking bike but a lot of money to pay for an aero bike with no wind tunnel test data?  (For what it's worth)

cycling weekly are now suggesting it's an open mould - making it seem even more expensive tbh

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
1 like

Is it really a lot of money though? Ultegra disc groupset with 30mm carbon wheels for £3,800 seems about market rate to me.

It's definitely an open mould though, you can recognise different elements of the frame from other designs... 

However, using open moulds is not necessarily a bad thing, its something done by many know manufaturers, especially when starting out. Cinelli have used standard framesets for years.

Also, just because the mould is open, it doesn't stop Cinelli controlling other elements of the frame, for instance the choice of using T700 carbon. 

I'd be interested to know if the bars come as part of the frameset, if so, then we are talking about a totally different kettle of fish value wise, as those are £600 bars. 

My favourite ever bike was a CInelli, which also used an open mould frame... don't diss it until you've tried it. 

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slappop replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
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EddyBerckx wrote:

cycling weekly are now suggesting it's an open mould - making it seem even more expensive tbh

Indeed. Quite a strong family resemblance to the Yoeleo R9 (and quite a few other frames).

https://www.yoeleobike.com/products/road-bike-frame-carbon-disc-brake-r9

 

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joules1975 replied to slappop | 3 years ago
1 like

slappop wrote:

EddyBerckx wrote:

cycling weekly are now suggesting it's an open mould - making it seem even more expensive tbh

Indeed. Quite a strong family resemblance to the Yoeleo R9 (and quite a few other frames).

https://www.yoeleobike.com/products/road-bike-frame-carbon-disc-brake-r9

 

 

Erm, no. That R9 is clearly from a completely different mould. Just a few differences I noticed very quickly - seat clamp, chain stays, rear dropout area, material behind head tube is at different angle.

I can understand why you think they are the same though, as the key design features are the same, as with the majority of aero bikes (dropped seat stays with a wide junction at seat tube, seat tube that partially wraps/follows radius of the rear tyre, deep headtube section, triangular join of seat tube and top tube), fork crown that's recessed a little into the down tube/head tube join.

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slappop replied to joules1975 | 3 years ago
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I don't think they're the same, I said "family resemblance". There are a lot of slight variations on that design floating around China. Here's another one:

https://assets.bigcartel.com/product_images/253971608/%EB%A7%88%ED%95%98...

I think it's a bit of a coincidence that the Cinelli boffins scratch their heads for a bit and come out with something barely different from an FM087...

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j_vora replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
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What does "Open Mound" mean ? Kindly explain.

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Mathemagician replied to j_vora | 3 years ago
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j_vora wrote:

What does "Open Mound" mean ? Kindly explain.

An open mould frame is one that's built using moulds that are available on the open market. The mould essentially is what shape your frame is. Using an open-mould frame is essentially a cost saving exercise, as you don't have to do the R&D required to develop a new frame. An analogy would be baking a cake that you're going to sell- if you're a reknowned chef working in a bakery that sells expensive cakes, you might develop your own unique recipe. But this takes time and experience, and you need to test different ingredients to make sure it doesn't taste shit. Alternatively, if you don't have the time or experience or resource to do that, you could download a recipe and follow that. You might be a good baker, and so the finished product might be of high quality (analogous to the comment above about specifying carbon layups, etc. Cinelli will also have control over the QC process), but it won't be as unique as the cake the chef developed theirself. 

You can see an example of a frame mould here.

The Cinelli Pressure is identical in shape to other bikes out on the market, for example the Atom6 Strada. But it's not clear as to whether Cinelli essentially buy the frames, put them through a QC check, and paint them, or whether they have purchased moulds and are building the frames using their own plant / equipment. 

Hope that makes sense.

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Prosper0 | 3 years ago
2 likes

Looks funky, well done Cinelli. Interesting to see lots of Italian brands starting to use ACR, standardisation on the sly, only a good thing. 

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Bigfoz | 3 years ago
2 likes

Lovely looking frame from a great name. But they lost me at press fit bb. 

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
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Thanks Cinelli - Im now going to spend the rest of the day getting earwormed by Queens Under Pressure.

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Bob F replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
1 like

Phony Queen and Beatlemania have bitten the dust: Grab a copy of the Clash's London Calling. Then [come out of the cupboard you boys and girls!] do a search for photos of a somewhat battered Fender belonging to Bassman Paul Simonon.
I, I live by the river....

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pockstone replied to Bob F | 3 years ago
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Follow rule 5 and grab a copy of the soundtrack to 'The harder they come'

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Bob F replied to pockstone | 3 years ago
1 like

pockstone wrote:

Follow rule 5 and grab a copy of the soundtrack to 'The harder they come'

Good idea. But: The BB "PRESSURE " sticker and the "PRESSURE" sticker  on the guitar.... London calling to the imitation zone ?

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pockstone replied to Bob F | 3 years ago
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Well spotted...

I hope that fork stands up to abuse better than the neck of PS's bass did!

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sparrowlegs | 3 years ago
1 like

You wouldn't know it's called the "Pressure" though would you. 

I mean, it's only mentioned on the frame 7 frikkin times.

And once on the bars, just in case you missed it.

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David9694 replied to sparrowlegs | 3 years ago
2 likes

And not a word about it on the tyres. Typical, huh.

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quiff replied to sparrowlegs | 3 years ago
2 likes

That's tame. My bike says 'Canyon' on it 17 times. 

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PRSboy replied to sparrowlegs | 3 years ago
3 likes

Amateurs... my bike tells me it's a Wilier no less than 27 times, along with other exciting sounding things like a Monocoque System and a Pro Race. 

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