Chris Froome’s 2012 Pinarello Dogma team bike is up for sale on eBay. The bike was won in a competition but is being auctioned on eBay because it is too big for the woman who won it. All the proceeds will go to a children’s charity.
It’s the fourth time we know of that someone who has won a bike used by Froome or Team Sky colleague Sir Bradley Wiggins has decided to sell it.
As of Friday lunchtime, the bidding stood at £5,300, with another nine days to go until the auction closes on the evening of 22 June.
In the description to the item, the Edinburgh-based seller says: “Fancy turning up to the summer club run on Chris Froome’s number two bike or perhaps you want to have a proper piece of modern art on the wall?
“Whichever it is here is your chance to buy Chris Froome’s bike from 2012, the year he assisted Sir Bradley Wiggins to be the first British winner of the Tour de France.
“This isn’t just some look-a-likey, this is the real deal! Scratches, wear marks, name badges, Team Sky mechanic modifications and all. As you’d expect for an official bike that’s come straight out of the team's service.
“Of course, the bike has been tidied up so the bartape, chain rings, chain and brake pads have all been replaced.”
She adds: “We won this bike in a Cycling Weekly competition, but it is too big for us to ride so we have decided to sell it and donate all of the proceeds to the following charities - St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Carer UK, Cerebra and Action for Children (who will allocate the proceeds across the 4 charities)."
In a comment to this article, the woman who won the bike, road.cc site user jacx, said: "I know how it's a bad thing... I won the bike, it's a beauty, far too good for the likes of me.
"Thing is, looking at it for the last few months made me want a better bike, so I bought one, then I felt guilty, so I bought a bike for my husband.. it's wound up costing me a fortune.
"Also, I'm so freaked out about the bike getting damaged in transit, I'm paying my LBS to help me pack it up before it gets dispatched, just to make sure....
"Overall though, what the hell, I got 2 more nice bikes out of bike envy."
It’s by no means the first time someone has won a Pinarello used by one of the two Sky riders to have won the Tour de France and then decided to sell it on.
Last November, a Sky customer who won one of Wiggins’ bikes decided it made financial sense to sell it, but only after taking it for a spin instead of his usual bicycle, describing the experience as “like going from an Escort to a Ferrari.”
Days later, a second Team Sky Pinarello – this one ridden by Froome – turned up on London Cycle Exchange with an £8,000 price tag, put up for sale by the winner of a competition in The Times.
In 2011, road.cc site user Bill Webb put another of Wiggins’ bikes up for sale on our forum after winning it in a competition – one of the rider’s spare bikes from the 2011 Tour de France, it came in Rainforest green livery.
Here’s the specification of Froome’s bike on eBay:
• Pinarello Dogma 2 full carbon fibre frame set (56cm – Chris Froome is 6' 1”)
• Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group set (programmable electronic gears) Chainset 52/36, cranks 175
• Battery built into the frame, comes with charger.
• New chain
• Shimano Dura-Ace calipers
• Shimano Dura-Ace C50 carbon fibre wheels
• Veloflex tyres
• Pro Vibe carbon fibre handlebars and headset (125mm stem)
• Fi’zi:k Antares carbon fibre saddle
• 2 x Elite Custom Cages
• Weight : 7kg
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20 comments
'I don't think you can criticise someone for selling their own legitimately obtained possession to someone for a price they are prepared to pay? That's hardly a question of "decency".'
This. Very much so. It's yours - you do with it what you want. Ride it, burn it, drive your car over it, sell it. It's not up to anyone else, sour grapes or not.
There's possibly some confusion over how frames are measured and sizes are published. I'm relating to the traditional horizontal top-tube "standard" and centre-to-centre) bottom bracket to top tube) distance.
Frames with sloped top tubes are often given variably "virtual" sizes (to relate to that old "standard") or sometimes just some mysterious made-up measure that only relates to that manufacturer (or perhaps only that particular model).
I certainly understand that people can have height apportioned differently - long legs, short legs, equal, etc, - but in my experience, small frames have both shorter seat tubes *and* shorter top tubes. So if (as reported) some people are over 6' tall and riding 56 cm frames, I can only imagine they have one heck of a seatpost extension (to accommodate long legs) or a stem extended way out - or arms like a Tyrannosaurus.
I'm only 6'2", but if I rode a "stock" 56cm (in traditional measure) my knees would hit the bars on turns.
Congratulations to Jaxf for giving it all to charity. If you can afford to it's a lovely gesture.
I wouldn't dream of criticising those that have circumstances that meant they couldn't afford to do the same. It may be need not greed.
Just to clarify. If it's Froome's 2012 bike surely it can't be classed as a 'team' bike? You'll find it just leaps forward on climbs of it's own accord leaving your team mates in the dust.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of pro riders body measurements (legs/torso/arms) and the frames and fittings they ride.
Oo - oo - my bottle cages are made by the same people who made the ones on this bike........
......and that sadly, dear readers, is where the comparison ends.
ps i am 6ft and ride a 54 (i have long body and short stumpy legs) so 56 sounds exactly right. In my opinion.
pps chapeau to jaxf - you are a wonderful human being
6'1" on a 56cm? I guess that's either a long torso or the Tom Cruise method of height measurement
Most pros ride a smaller frame with a long stem, it's nothing new, I'd say a 56 for Froome is on point.
All the teams need to run competitions like Sky do.
Good on jaxf for donating the winnings to charity, great gesture.
Erm I ride a 56cm, and I'm 6' 2", no problems, it just what fits best, and I don't look like "an Octopus on a pogo stick"... mind you I've never won the TdF.
best first post ever
Finally, someone who has won a Sky bike, that doesn't fit or they didn't want with an ounce of decency about them and not focused on greed.
All the others that have come up, you have seen my reaction to that, competition prizes being sold for LOTS of money for the winner, who wasn't interested in the bike in the first place.
This one is different, it is going to charity, good on you.
I don't think you can criticise someone for selling their own legitimately obtained possession to someone for a price they are prepared to pay? That's hardly a question of "decency".
It's not like a bike is a religious totem or something. Do you get upset when people sell their cars too?
Well done for making it a charity donation, I wouldn't keep it either, other than the tyres, only because I don't fancy it, I'm not very generous.
Finally, if this is Mr Froome's 'number 2' bike.....he wasn't squatting in a field in Yorkshire last week perchance?
Good on you jaxf and shame on RoadCC for referring to you as "He"
Funny that. I originally wrote the article in a gender-neutral way, then changed to "he" etc, taking my lead from Cycling Weekly, whose competition it was, so I assumed they'd get sex of the winner correct
Oh well, i think that says something about Cycling Weakly!
Good on him. That's a big charity donation when he has no obligation to.
I can understand people selling a competition prize on it's difficult to justify having a bike worth that much when other aspects are financially tight (however, I wouldn't. Maybe there should be some kind of clause about not selling it for a profit for a few years?). For me it'd be amazing to have a bike there's no way i'd ever be able to afford!
If my numbers come up tonight, I might have a cheeky bid on that.
I've not figured it out how yet, but someone will find a way of making this seem like "a bad thing".
I know how it's a bad thing ..... I won the bike, it's a beauty, far too good for the likes of me. Thing is, looking at it for the last few months made me want a better bike, so I bought one, then I felt guilty, so I bought a bike for my husband ...... it's wound up costing me a fortune
Also, I'm so freaked out about the bike getting damaged in transit, I'm paying my LBS to help me pack it up before it gets dispatched, just to make sure.
will that do?
overall though, what the hell, I got 2 more nice bikes out of bike envy
Awesome.
Well done for auctioning it for charity too, much kudos.