TIFOSI CK5
On January 30, 2004 I unpacked the Tifosi CK5 in warm, sunny Cala Bona, Majorca, on the first day of the Ciclos Uno training camp. There's one thing that strikes everybody when they first see the Tifosi CK5. It looks almost identical to the Time bikes that Paolo Bettini and the Quick Step Team ride. The CK5's distinctive red, black and white paint job makes it the spiting image of the VX Special Pro. Even the first “Ti” of the Tifosi logo is near enough the same as the “Ti” in Time’'. So –, as we already know that the Time VX Special Pro looks good –, it follows that the Tifosi CK5 does, too. The CK5 is made of Italian CK Colombus Superlight 7005 tubing and has a carbon wishbone and curved carbon seat and chainstays –, and costs quite a lot less than the Time, of course. The mega oversized down tube is the dominant feature –, a massive gauge of tubing for maximum rigidity. The slightly sloping top tube has a horizontally flared diamond profile like an angular version of a Colnago Master tube.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
It looks good close up, as well. The welds are beautifully smooth and the paint –, laid on in Belgium –, is thick, lustrous and even. And when you see that red in the Balearic sunshine, it really is very red indeed. Next to it, the supposedly sophisticated maroon of the Pinarello Prince SL looked decidedly dingy. A unique selling point of the Tifosi bikes is that you spec out your frame in an easy-to-follow five steps on the website. You see exactly what your getting for your money and because Chicken is a wholesaler, pricing is competitive. I started with the CK5 frame at £519, added the new 10-speed Chorus groupset and finishing kit for £897, chose Campag Zhonda wheels for £292 then treated myself to the Time Avant full carbon fork (same as Bettini's!) at £238. You get the excellent Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp tyres as standard. That makes just under two grand (£1,946). All this on the scales weighs just under 18lb. So, with all the bolts tightened, I rolled through the foyer and down the Hotel Bonaire's start ramp (OK, disabled access) to join my team-mates and others for the first spin of the camp. There's a lot of chat about bikes on training camps and, as I expected, there was plenty of ‘Time rip-off’' talk, but the CK5 was on the whole admired. “But it needs a carbon seatpost, “said my roomie Rob Moore. “Let's swap forks, man,” said Murat Ozdenya, who was riding a brand new Litespeed Classic. Ciclos Uno chief Trevor Maddern, who has a new CK5 in the shop at the moment, said without hesitation: “That's as good as a £1,000 frame. It could be the first model in the Time range. “Top local rider Raul Cardoso of Bicicletes Sancho gave it an appreciative once-over and the obligatory lift. “Eight kilo? With better wheels, less.” The new Chorus 10-speed groupset got lots of attention, too. It's the same as last year's Record –, including carbon cranks, brake levers and rear mech cage –, minus a titanium bolt here and there, and nearly £300 cheaper.

HEADING TO THE HILLS
After a couple of sensible days I decided to see what I could do on the climb to San Salvador monastery. The Monastery perches on top of a sudden hill above the small town of felanitx and to reach it you do a climb of about five kilometres, Alpine style with hairpin bends and sustained gradient. You pass the Stations of the Cross on the way –, there's a grim humour in this if you really are crucifying yourself on your bike –, but don't know how many more bends there are to go until you see the enormous statue of Jesus below the Monastery. The CK5 felt superb on the steep road. Until you sprint or climb out of the saddle, you don't fully feel the stiffening effect of the big tubes, 1/18in headset and oversized stem and bar clamp. The overall impression is simply of smoothness due to the carbon that the wheels clamp directly, but when you stand up, you feel that all your power goes down, none wasted. Spinning the 39x23 back in the saddle, I saw 191 on my heart rate monitor. Then I saw Jesus and I was onto the gravel where the climb officially finishes. But 16-year-old superstar winner of the Hillingdon winter series Lewis Atkins, who was just sitting in behind me with nothing to prove, later admitted that his heart rate had only been at 178, his max is 219. The Tifosi had felt superb, but it was still only obliged to remember.

A FAN OF THE TIFOSI
I'm not much of a sprinter, and usually don't bother, excusing myself as a time triallist not born with the necessary fast-twitch muscles, but the CK5 seemed to be tugging at my sleeve to have a go at the village signs on the daily run-in to Cala Bona from Manacor. So just before Son Negre, I stuck my thumb down on the ergo lever, clonked down a few sprockets, gripped the drops and stood hard on the pedals. Suddenly I had 20 yards on the group, but then found myself having to get around a sharp right- angle bend at speed. The CK5 really did go round on rails, leaving me having had that heart-in-mouth crash moment. The bike could have done it much faster. On corners it feels incredibly stable, thanks to in part to the excellent, stiff Time fork, which provides a perfect balance between sensitivity to the road surface and vibration damping. The shapely carbon rear end works with the rider through the corners –, as I had also discovered on the twisting descent from Liuc –, and Fortezza TriComps are the tyre of choice for many, of course. The CK5 is a top frame at a competitive price and could realistically be kitted out with the best components, though I went for one notch down (apart from the fork). It looks great, but the amount of people pointing out that it looks like a Time began to get on my nerves. The Tifosi is good enough not to look like something else. I've since ridden the Tifosi to a Surrey League handicap lone win. When everybody kept saying “ringer” afterwards, they must surely have been meaning that my bike was a dead ringer for a Time, mustn't they?

Chris Boardman's verdict on the CK5 :

" The Tifosi CK5 could be described as a top end bike that would not look out of place being ridden by a second division Pro team. Indeed, it is both lighter and more functional than the one I rode as a pro. Refreshingly, the Tifosi doesn’t try to over reach on price; at less than half of the cost of most other machines I have looked at, it offers excellent value for money"