A bit of a Weenie build this time around…
- Frame: 2011 Parlee z5 medium with custom paint
- Forks: Stock z5
- Wheels: Enve 1.45s on Extralite hubs custom decals
- Chainset: THM M3 with Praxis compact rings
- Levers: Super Record
- Bars: 3T ergonova LTDs
- Stem: Extralite road stem
- Seatpost: Berk combo
- Saddle: Berk combo
- Front Mech: Super Record
- Rear Mech: Super Record
- Tyres: Veloflex Extreme and Carbon Tubluars
- Brakes: Zero Gravity Neg-G GSLs
- Pedals: Speedplay (tuned to 142g)
- Bottle Cages: Emporelli Dolomiti cages with Extralite bottle cage bolts
Any other components worth a mention?:
Mcfk seatpost clamp, rear mech has been tuned with alloy pinch bolts and extralite jockeys, I-link Cables with a DLC cable set, Tune DC14 skewers, no steel bolts and a tuned deda dog fang.
Tell me a bit about it:
Have a round 5500kms on this bike since I brought it last winter, it’s been getting lighter and lighter the whole time.
It’s presently 5.28kgs and acutally used every day rain or shine. I’m very happy with the component choice as I’ve only broken one spoke in the last year which is pretty good given I’m 85kgs. It’s a better climber than I am, descends like a demon and comfortable enough to tackle 180km rides on.
Also switched to tubulars when I built this as daily ride tyres. Riding mostly around eastern Sydney I haven’t had much drama with them and sold all my clincher wheels.
The Jure Berk saddle combo is my favorite bit of kit, so comfortable and with the mixed twill an UD finish looks great
I love riding this thing. It’s the kinda bike you get up at 5am to ride In the cold and dark knowing your going to get rained on.
A tuned Deda dog fang eh?! I’d have thought the weenie-way would be to go without completely?! Right, what else have we got going on here?…
Of the usual suspects, firstly the saddle has no rails – how the hell do I score that?! At least the bar tape and saddle colour match though. Brake tracks are black, but there’s no matching collar and cuffs with that custom seatpost, erm, thing… (I’m kidding – I was actually just wondering how I could get one done and sent to Baum to be colour-matched to my new Ristretto!). Not bad going so far.
On the subject of the saddle and seatpost combo though, I straightened out the pic sent so that the wheels were level, and there’s a slope to the saddle – I hope that was how it was supposed to turn out?!
The rest of the spec list is good, but I have to say (and I’ve said it a few times before) I really prefer Campag builds to be all-Campag – nice though those new THM M3 cranks are I’d really rather see a set of the Carbon-Ti Super Record ones on here, and the red graphic on those would match the red stripe on the frame quite nicely. I can’t stand Neg-G brakes either, or any brakes Ciamillo produce for that matter – they’re all just too finicky to setup and too temperamental if you get it even slightly wrong.
Interesting that you say it’s got custom paint – I’ve seen at least two others with the same design. Not sure I’d personally be happy with any broken spokes in any given time frame either (and I weight about the same as you for what it’s worth)! Hats off to you for using it in all conditions though – that’s what bikes are for so I applaud that with gusto.
I like it but I’m not blown away – it’s a 7.5/10.
Tags:3T,Campagnolo,emporelli,Enve,ergonova,Extralite,m3,MCFK,Parlee,praxis,SR11,Super Record,THM,Veloflex,Z5
13 thoughts on “Bike Crit-ique: Zak’s Z5”
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Rough score! I’d say at least an 8/10… swap the Parlee logo for Baum and its worth at least 1 point
Nah – an 8/10 needs to be more individual (i.e. Not a Z5, or at least a more interesting Z5), and the Campag group for me dictates a more Campag-centric build.
Harsh score. So much individualised – that seat pole and saddle alone – should get it a higher score.
If you knew how many of these saddle & seatpost combos I’ve seen in recent weeks… Ok so they’re not ‘mainstream’ and yes it is quite cool, but for me the bike as a whole doesn’t blow me away enough to nudge the score up.
Don’t get me wrong, it IS a lovely bike!
Saddle has a 1/2 degree drop as i requested. Its got over 2000kms on it and i totally rate it. I’ve had my Burk combo for quite a while, he’s made plenty of em lately. But i was in the early run of saddles and I’m still the only one too mix the saddle and post carbon finishes..
I get your point with the cranks except campags solution for bb30 frames is Farking rubbish.. The cups push out and creak, requirings frequent maintenance. The m3 cranks are… More versatile.. ( SRM, 110/130bcd with a spider change ) with much bigger bearings and 30mm axle instead of campags 24mm item.. That’s win, win and win… Did I also mention they are quite a bit lighter…. Oh and they look nice too
Camilo brakes aren’t for every one but You only have issues with them if the cable housing is the wrong length.
The custom paint isn’t much just the red panel accents and a few less decals. At the time I got this you could only get them stock in a white and orange scheme,
I got the wheels second hand and hand built wheels are never as over built as factory wheels. You can get sub 1kg wheels that will never break spokes but RZRs and lightweights are both nearly 3 times the price..
I can live with 1 broken spoke, it took all of 10 minutes to replace and I’ve done nearly 60km worth of climbing this year, 7kms this week alone. Given its a sub 5.3kg bike and I’m not 65kgs I can’t really complain.
Its a pretty Lo key Bike, it’s not until you see it up close and pick the thing up do you really get a sense of things…
With a garmin 800, joystick lights and 2 full water bottles, ready for a Saturday morning ride to Newcastle from Bondi beach it’s weighing in a 7kgs on the nose
It’s a fair score given the world is a very subjective place..
Me I just couldn’t ever live with a set of madfibers..
Bang for buck they score well but looks and real world every day use ( cross winds any one?) they don’t score well in my books..
As they say in my country
Chur cuz
All good Zak – glad to hear the saddle is meant to be like that! Get your point on the Campag BB30 adapters too.
Mad Fibers aren’t that bad in crosswinds – no worse than my Lightweights were, and they were 20mm shallower! But they’re not like Firecrests or Enve SES in crosswinds for sure.
When you’ve got 40mm plus wheels, you Gota hold on pretty tight when it’s gusty no matter what you got.
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I might have seen you at bourke st bakery once or twice on a thrusday morning I reckon..
I’ll say hello next time.
Bourke St bakery? No, that’s not me!
Hmm there is another baum owning dude getting around sydeny..
So where do you ride?
I’m not the only one, but I’d be surprised if the others have purple on them!
Mainly North Shore, Northern Beaches & Ku-Ring-Gai for me.
Ahh the lovely akuna bay.
I get out there with a friend quite regularly during the week. Very nice riding.
You'll be happy to know Rich I no longer have the GSL brakes, needed some brakes to suit wide rims so I got ee brakes. Pretty darn nice I must say. Got some 6.7 smart wheels.. My god they are fast! You can check it out in a few weeks Fairwheel are doing a blog post on it.
Yes, I saw pics on the Fairwheel site yesterday – looks good!