The bikes of the peloton

Living Legend

Writer: Marcel Wüst Photographer: Kai Dudenhöfer

egendThis is the team issue bike that you’ve seen in many races, ridden by top pros, but you just never knew it. Marcel Wüst tests the Legend HT 9.5, the peloton’s best kept secret…

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114 Procycling october 2012

Look closely at enough bikes in the pro peloton and you may recognise an HT 9.5 in disguise A ll of the bikes that i test are

the work tools of pro riders. Usually i get an off-the-shelf bike of the model that the

team uses and which anyone could buy. Many of these bikes have won classics, grand tours or World championship titles and in doing so they provide the publicity that makes it worthwhile for the bike manufacturer to invest so much in team sponsorship. However, with my latest test bike it is all different and the story behind it is very interesting…

legend is a highly exclusive italian brand that specialises in custom frames made in carbon fibre, titanium and steel. Most interesting of all are their bikes that you see without realising it. For years now, when a top pro, or even a whole team, is unsatisfied with their sponsored bikes or needs special geometry, they go to legend to get custom frames made to their spec but painted to look like their sponsor’s bikes. there were some legend frames in this year’s tour de France but

you didn’t notice them. it’s a prestigious but glory-free role. legend are like barack obama’s speech writers.

For the first stage of testing the legend Ht 9.5, i f lew to Pisa to meet guiseppe giannecchini, who is a biomechanical specialist for cyclists. He analysed my position on a sophisticated, adjustable rig to find the ideal balance between biomechanics, aerodynamics and comfort. Having noted my preferences for handling, he then produced a blueprint for the frame geometry.

From Pisa, i went to bergamo and met with Marco bertoletti, the man behind legend. We went for a ride so i could test some of his bikes and i decided that my personal dream would be his top carbon

model, the legend Ht 9.5. i opted for a black/red/white paintjob to match my Procycling kit (and my own casa ciclista jersey), with co-ordinating components.

before i left, i spent some time looking around the factory. it was interesting to see all the processes that a frame goes through during construction. by the time i headed for the airport to catch a plane home, i was really excited about what i’d be riding in a few weeks’ time.

Around eight weeks later, i finally got the news that the bike was on its way to Majorca. Despite my impatience to get a taste of it, for the first two days i sat it in my living room so i could look at it…Man, this bike is beautiful!

Knowing that Marco had built this bike to fit me perfectly and fulfil my every wish for handling and stiffness, i had really high hopes that the first day out would be a blast.

i went riding for the first time on a sunny afternoon with perfect sunlight and mild temperatures. being pretty fit

MArco HAS creAteD A FrAMe WHicH iS tHe PerFect cHoice For A PUre rAce MAcHine WitH All tHe PoSitiVe AttribUteS i WAnteD

ProRides

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Procycling october 2012 115

Frame: Legend HT 9.5, custom built Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record Crankset: Miche Supertype Brakes: Miche Supertype ChainrinGs: 52/36 Cassette: 11-23 Wheels: Miche Supertype carbon tubular tyres: Deda Tre Olimpico tubular headset: Deda stem: Legend alloy handleBar: Deda Phaser seatpost: Legend carbon saddle: Fizik Antares, carbon rails Fork: Legend full carbon WeiGht: 6.7kg (without pedals) priCe: £8,999 (as tested), £4,999 (frameset) ContaCt: UK: 020 8133 8477 WeB: www.legend-bikes.com

Specifications

A BSA bottom bracket allows cleaner cable routing than BB30 and the lay-up ensures it’s as rigid

The semi-compact Miche Supertype crankset looks great and offers a good spread of ratios

Miche’s top-of-the-range Supertype wheels are light and beautifully finished although it’s odd to see round spokes

The Deda Phaser bars are a personal preference of Marcel’s that he was keen to include

at the time, i decided to do my usual 63km, two-hour route in 1:45, which is possible but pretty hard.

it’s funny that after suffering so much as a professional rider, a bit of pain in the legs and lungs is still something i like. At least these days i know that if i get fed up with it, i can slow down any time i like without any consequences.

i zoomed out of cala Murada on the big ring which was a bit easier than usual because of the semi-compact (52/36) chainrings. the riding position on my legend immediately felt just right. of course, you’d be disappointed if it felt anything but perfect. More importantly, though, the bike feels really ‘alive’. thanks to the extra stiffness i requested in the bb and headtube, it gave me great feedback and when cornering it seemed to find the right line all by itself.

Marco has created a frame which is the perfect choice for a pure race machine with all the positive attributes i wanted. it is light, reliable when manoeuvring

Skinny seatstays and beefy chainstays give lots of comfort and excellent power transfer respectively

Legend HT 9.5

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how great is the need for custom built frames among ‘normal’ height riders? mB: There are two levels. The first is a custom frame size built to the particular

morphology of the rider – for around 60 per cent of clients this is essential. The second level is custom frame design to have the frame geometry built to the performance requirements of each rider. For example, a sprinter’s frame built for riding a criterium would be different to that of a rider looking to ride a long-distance sportif.

how long does it usually take for a custom frame to be produced once the order is put in?mB: Including painting, 40 to 50 days.

you handmake all the bikes yourself – how much experience do you have in building custom carbon bikes? mB: I have been building custom carbon frames since 2003.

When you build a ‘camouflage’ bike for pros who want a specific geometry, do the teams’ bike sponsors know about it or is it top secret? mB: Normally, the rider’s technical sponsor will always know as it often them who will contact us to make the frame. In the past we have made frames for whole teams, up to 400 frames a year per team.

What are the most common requests from pros who do not find what they want in their sponsor’s bike?mB: In recent times, most riders who require a custom frame will already have their own frame design. In the past, teams’ technical suppliers would contact us to build all the frames for their pro teams, all made to measure (either from the riders’ existing frame designs or we would measure them).

Two things have occurred in the past 10 years which have changed this:

Firstly, Far Eastern brands commercialised the concept of the compact road frame in stock sizes which would “fit all”. This has changed the mentality of many riders to accept this compromise.

Secondly, the cost of sponsoring professional teams has been driven up by the larger brands. Apart from the seven-figure cash sums required today, the cost of making over 400 made-to-measure carbon frames is too expensive, hence the need to make cheaper monocoque frames in the Far East. Our frames cost over eight times as much to manufacture.

Can you name some famous pros who have ridden your frames in the past or perhaps some of the races that they have won? mB: For contractual reasons we are not allowed to name the riders or the technical sponsors but the riders range from world champions to domestiques, riding brands which you can see today in the pro peloton.

The Inside TrackTalking with Marco Bertoletti, head engineer, Legend

Because it was built to Marcel’s spec, the Legend laps up aggressive efforts

it downhill fast on a winding road and really stiff when putting the hammer down for sprinting. the 72.9° head angle and the wheelbase of just over 980mm make it a fast handling bike but without the twitchiness you might expect when looking at the figures.

never forget, you get what you order so it’s good that Marco is glad to discuss every detail over and over. He’s happy to give advice and point out things that the customer might not have considered. you can make any changes you like but i was happy that i signed the order form the way the drawing was made because a custom fit bike is the best that anyone can do for himself. When riding on the drops of the Deda Phaser bars – a choice Marco tried to talk me out of but that i insisted on – the reach, seat height and toptube length feel perfect.

As i pushed on in pursuit of my 1:45 goal, i wondered why Miche doesn’t use flat spokes with their italian-made aero rims. A reason might be that trueing the wheels is easier that way for the team mechanics but when riding fast, f lat spokes will definitely reduce the drag.

the rest of the bike’s spec is a mixture of premium italian brands with 11-speed campagnolo Super record and Miche Supertype cranks and brakes. overall, it’s a really satisfying combination but it did take a while for me to get a feel for the brakes. they don’t bite as hard as the regular SrAM, Shimano or campys but once i knew what to expect, i liked their very progressive reactions and there’s certainly more than enough braking power for any situation.

i tackled the only climb of the day, the Monti Sion, about halfway into my ride. it’s only a 2.5km climb but it has some steep sections and the tight switchbacks are a great testing ground when riding back down at speed – but first i had to make it to the top.

the 36t chainring proved to be a great choice – a smoother transition from

MArco iS glAD to DiScUSS eVery DetAil, to giVe ADVice AnD Point oUt tHingS tHAt tHe cUStoMer MigHt not HAVe conSiDereD

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118 Procycling october 2012

the big ring than a real compact 34t and with a better chainline throughout the whole climb. the titanium cassette felt a bit rough at times so a few weeks later i changed it for a steel unit and the shifting became much smoother.

the rate of acceleration and climbing is always more down to the rider than the bike but a very stiff bottom bracket and light wheelset certainly help to get the best result from whatever power you have to give, and that is certainly the case here. the Miche Supertype wheels make climbing real fun.

When out of the saddle, i felt perfectly balanced on the bike and i reached the top of the climb faster than i have ever done since i retired. i stopped at the top to recover for a moment, enjoy the view and have another good look at the bike. We had decided not to use a bb30 but a ‘classic’ bottom bracket because this way the internal cable routing, which is all laminated into the inside of the tubes, is easier and cleaner to achieve.

Born: Cologne, Germany6/8/1967residence: Frechen, Germany; Majorca, Spainpro Career: 1989 — 2001 First team: RMOCareer highlights: 14 grand tour stage wins (1 Tour, 1 Giro, 12 Vuelta)

During his career as a top sprinter Marcel won stages in all three major tours. A bad crash in 2000 forced early retirement. He now works as a journalist and television pundit, as well as running cycling camps from his base in Majorca, Casa Ciclista. He stays enviably fit and pushes every test bike to its limits.

Ridden by…Grand tour multi-stage winnerMarcel Wüst

Comic book superheroes have neither legs like Marcel nor bikes as cool as the Legend

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limit by a minute and a half. Sure, i might also have done this with any other top bike but it definitely would not have been so much fun! A fully custom bike gives you that bit extra which feels so good.

While the aesthetic options are near infinite, Marco is convinced that there is only one right bike geometry for every individual. this decides the handling, the comfort and everything else that’s important for a race bike… now i know this is true – i’ve ridden one!

the slender seatstays help to deliver a comfortable ride by damping out road vibration. the curved, box-section chainstays are much more substantial to provide the impressive power transfer.

How much the handmade seatpost contributes to the smoothness of theride is hard to say but i believe that its vertical compliance plays an important role. it almost goes without saying that it’s airbrush painted to match the rest of the set-up.

When i had recovered for a while with my stopwatch paused, i started it again and rode down and towards home. the Deda tubulars are solid companions but their fishbone pattern seems outdated and always shows how hard it is to get a tubular tire 100 per cent straight on the rim. they are grippy enough but it isn’t easy to tell when they get close to their limits. there are plenty of other tyres that i enjoy riding more. luckily, nothing is as easy to change as a tyre.

the most important thing on this ride was the fact that i never felt that i was just riding a bike; rather, i felt as if i was riding together with the bike. that ‘connected’ feeling comes from having great handling and feedback from a bike.

getting home exhausted but happy, i managed to stay under my 1:45 time

i Felt AS iF i WAS riDing togetHer WitH tHe biKe. tHAt ‘connecteD’ Feeling coMeS FroM HAVing greAt HAnDling AnD FeeDbAcK

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