The Cannondale SuperSix has always been a lightweight frame and the latest Evo Hi-Mod definitely continues the trend.

Lifting the bike up is a definite wow moment as the 6.5kg full bike feels so incredibly light. It makes you wonder if it can possibly be strong and stiff enough to be responsive, but from the first pedal strokes we realised there was no need to worry on that score.

The wireless SRAM Red eTap groupset means no gear cables and Cannondale’s gone as far as making a bespoke frame that will only work with the new Red eTap groupset, with no drilling for wires.

That shouldn’t be too much of a concern, though, as the groupset performs fantastically. Although the shifting is different to what most are used to, it’s surprising how quickly you adjust to its intuitive system – click the right lever to shift up, click the left lever to shift down.

Gear shifts are quick and smooth, and while the battery capacity isn’t as high as the Di2 system, the claimed 2,000km range should equate to several weeks or even months for most riders.

We also found the gear shifting very positive, with a clear ‘click’ providing solid feedback with every button press, while also remaining very light compared to mechanical systems – a difficult balancing act to perform.

Shifting aside, the SuperSix’s component list is impressive, with Cannondale’s own lightweight Hollowgram Si Carbon 35mm deep-section wheels being stars of the show, although we did find they flexed a little under higher power.

Braking is good, especially in dry weather, although in the wet performance suffers due to the carbon braking surface.

Geometry is on the racier side, as you’d expect, with a relatively low riding position possible, but the traditional straight top tube means that standover height is limited.

For such a race-inspired bike it is a confidence-inspiring and well-balanced ride, and is impeccable when going downhill.

It might not offer magic-carpet levels of comfort, but the narrow 25.4mm seatpost and slim fork help to make it a nice place to be for a long day in the saddle.

Ratings

Frame 9/10; Components 9/10; Wheels 9/10; The ride 9/10

Verdict: Impressed us from the ‘lift test’ onwards. It handles superbly and the SRAM eTap groupset is fantastic. The traditional geometry with less standover height means that some riders need to be careful when picking a size, and it’s not cheap, but there’s very little to fault in this fantastic bike.

Spec

First look: Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod

By Stu Bowers

Everyone likes to think that they do things differently to everyone else or, if everyone else is doing it, they like to think that they did it first. What I’m saying is that everyone likes to think that they’re the trendsetter rather than the bandwagon jumper.

In this constant battle to be the first, Cannondale thinks that other brands have become too narrow-minded; too focused on making the first super stiff bike, the first super light bike, the first disc brake carbon climbers’ bike etc.

With the new SuperSix Evo, Cannondale doesn't want to push any one area of the bike to an extreme but instead it wants to make a bike with a good overall balance.

Sure the new Evo is stiffer under power but it’s also smoother for more descending confidence. Cannondale has decreased the drag to give a more efficient and ultimately faster overall ride. Oh and it's made it lighter too.

So stiffer, lighter, faster and more comfortable then? Well yes, but it’s all in moderation.

Stiffer

The stiffness change comes from the construction rather than a massive change in design. Cannondale continues with its BallisTec carbon fibres, paired with high-impact resins so it can keep the durability but use less material.

Unlike with some other brands the SuperSx has size-specific construction so that the bigger frames should convey the same ride feel as the smaller frames.

Cannondale does this by adjusting the layup for each size but since the rear triangle is made in one piece it means a different mould for each size, which obviously comes at a price.

The BB stiffness, Cannondale claims, is up by 11%. Not a quantum leap, but Cannondale also reminds us of the law of diminishing returns: any stiffer and you risk losing feel and spoiling the ride.

One of the ways this additional stiffness has been achieved is by wrapping continuous carbon fibres around the shell that flow directly into the down tube and seat tube.

The shell is the new BB30A standard, 73mm wide rather than 68mm, which allows them to flare out the seat tube and give it a bigger footprint. Cannondale is keen to point out that this doesn’t change the Q factor of the frame or cause any issues with ankle clearance.

The head tube is a claimed 12% stiffer too – again seeking the sweetspot between handling and comfort.

Lighter

Weight has always been a core issue with the SuperSix Evo frame and that’s not changed. The Hi-Mod has dropped 67g of overall system weight with 30g of that coming from the new one-piece Speed Save fork.

Half of that comes from the moulded carbon crown race. That equates to a whole package that claims to be now 9g lighter than the equivalent Trek Emonda – a bike that staked its claim as the lightest production bike out there.

Part of their diet package is also the inclusion of Cannondale’s own Hollogram SiSL2 chainset. It’s an ultra light chainset at 579g whilst also measuring up 72% stiffer than a Shimano Dura Ace crank. The model we had on test weighed 6.38kg ready to ride.

Faster

Although the SuperSix Evo is clearly not an aero bike if you look closely you’ll see that there have been subtle changes to the tube shapes.

The tubes now have a TAP (Truncated Aero Profile). The waterbottles have been repositioned to reduce drag with the seat tube bottle now sitting in the shadow of the one on the downtube. This alone saved 15g of drag. A redesigned fork crown and headtube junction has also accounted for a 60g drag saving.

It’s not aero madness though with practicality and a fundamentally traditional looking design still winning through.

Wind tunnel and CFD testing has shown that as long as the cables are run close to the centre line of the down tube then there is almost no aero benefit of running them internally, so Cannondale has shunned this modern trend, probably much to the relief of its pro team mechanics too.

More comfortable

Cannondale has previously had criticism that the old Evo didn’t have a balanced feel front to back. The new frame claims to be 21% more compliant with 15% of that coming from the redesigned rear triangle.

Part of that comes from the use of the Synapse’s Delta seat tube but also the move over to a super skinny 25.4mm seatpost, something that has also been tried and tested on the Synapse.

The new SuperSix frame will accept 28mm tyres but they’ve not just crammed them in. The geometry has been tweaked with a 3.5mm drop in BB height to account for the increased ride height that larger tyres will bring.

There have been other minor changes in the geometry too for a more linear stack and reach across the eight different sizes.

The SuperSix Evo will be available in Europe from September. For 2016 there will be a lower price point option with Shimano Ultegra and Mavic Ksyirums that still comes close to the UCI weight limit at 6.9kg.

The BMC Teammachine SLR won the Tour de France on its first attempt in 2011. Yes, one Cadel Evans was of course the presiding factor, but as the man himself was only too keen to point out at the Teammachine’s launch in the French Alps recently, ‘the SLR ticked all the boxes for a GC bike: great at descending, good compliance and superb handling.’

Cadel Evans on the final stage of the 2011 Tour de France. Photo: Offside / L'Equipe

That is a recipe that BMC engineers say they have stuck to with this latest incarnation, the first new BMC Teammachine SLR in three years.

The last bike was designed by a super-computer that crunched data on around 34,000 virtual frames before settling on the Teammachine’s design, so you could be forgiven for wondering how BMC could improve upon it given the UCI hasn’t changed its diamond, 3-1 tube ratio frame construction rules.

However, you’d be forgetting two things: disc brakes, and that BMC engineers are rather clever people.

What’s new on the BMC Teammachine SLR?

The headline here is that Teammachine has got disc brakes (there is an updated rim brake bike too, but we’ll come to that later).

It’s a move virtually every company has adopted – disc-o-fy your flagship racer – yet it’s a move that hasn’t always been successful.

Often discs have meant compromises. Yet not, it seems, for the BMC Teammachine SLR.

First, the Teammachine SLR Disc frame only weighs a claimed 25g more than the previous generation rim-brake bike – 815g up from 790g (size 54cm).

The resultant 56cm size bike we tested was right on the 6.8kg money, built up with the latest Shimano Dura-Ace 9170 hydraulic disc Di2 groupset and as yet unreleased DT Swiss clincher wheels (watch this space). High-end spec but not outlandish.

Second, the geometry, which won plaudits across the board for providing sharp, stable handling, is virtually identical to the previous generation.

The introduction of disc brakes hasn’t suddenly meant an elongated wheelbase, lengthy stays or increased fork trail.

BMC engineer Tobias Habegger explained that the main triangle and fork geometry is unchanged, the only difference has been to ‘increase the chainstays by 8mm to 410mm, in order to correct the chainline for the wider hub-spacing’.

That spacing is now the 142x12mm thru-axle design at the rear, a 100x12mm at the front.

Integration

The other name of the game has been integration. BMC demonstrated an aptitude for clean lines with its Roadmachine, released earlier this year, and the Teammachine follows suit.

Top-spec models borrow the 3T carbon bar and BMC alloy stem that neatly handles routing duties thanks to a large underside recess that allows cables to disappear into the headtube from the bars, and travel down the sides of the fork steerer and into the frame (the fork steerer has squared-off sides to alloy the cables to run past it without fouling the steering).

There are some cables on show, however. The bar and stem are not one piece a la Trek or Canyon, so cables exit the bar just before the stem clamp before diving back into the stem and being covered over by a removable plate, but the rationale is the extra adjustability a round bar and traditional clamp affords is worth the partially exposed cables.

The seatpost is the same D-Shape post as before, albeit with a more compliant layup, but the clamping mechanism is new, and very neat.

A bolt comes up through a hole on the underside of the top tube and screws into a wedge-shaped piece of alloy that inserts between seatpost and frame from the top of the top tube.

The ensemble is therefore nicely recessed, but moreover, remove the post and the clamp won’t fall down the seat tube because the bolt holds it to the frame.

It’s rounded off with a polymer cap that sits satisfyingly flush to the frame.

As with the Roadmachine, the overall appearance is supremely clean. Oh, and BMC has also filled in its trademark gusset between seat tube and top tube, again giving the bike a cleaner appearance, and added integrated out-front mounting hardware for bike computers.

The BMC Teammachine is, at time of writing as far as we can make out, the only mass-production road bike that uses a direct mount mech hanger too, taking advantage of Shimano’s latest groupset innovations.

Other interchangeable hangers are available too.

It is also only the second frame we’ve seen, after the Pinarello Dogma F10, to integrate Shimano’s new Di2 junction box/charge port into the down tube.

Disc brakes

The Teammachine’s disc brakes come courtesy of the flat-mount standard, and BMC has pinned its colours firmly to the 160mm front rotor mast.

The fork cannot fit a 140mm because of the flat-mount position, a deliberate move say engineers to keep front braking powerful and safe.

The frame default is for a 140mm rotor, but this could be increased to 160mm with an adaptor mount.

To cope with the extra braking forces the fork has been shored up not with extra material (which would significantly increase weight) but by an overtly asymmetric design; the left leg is so much wider than the right that look from certain angles and the whole thing looks bent.

Again, it’s clever stuff, as the fork weighs just 18g more than the previous rim calliper version, where most manufacturers, says BMC, would tend to see 40-50g increases.

Torsional stiffness is quoted to be the same as before – apparently to preserve the Teammachine’s handling characteristics – but bottom bracket stiffness is up 10%.

This factor is largely down to lay-up shapes and schedules, with the carbon fibre sheets cut and orientated in different ways.

This also brings us back to the original question, how can BMC have improved a bike that was already the best of 34,000 computer generated iterations?

Well, by adding another 18,000 virtual iterations on top by introducing the parameter of disc brakes and by getting the super computer and algorithm to design the tube shape and the lay-up schedule concurrently.

BMC Teammachine SLR: UK Prices

BMC Teammachine SLR02 DISC TWO 18  -  £3,300 
BMC Teammachine SLR01 FRMS MOD 18  -  £3,300 
BMC Teammachine SLR01 DISC FRMS MOD 18  -  £3,450 
BMC Teammachine SLR02 DISC ONE 18  -  £4,300 
BMC Teammachine SLR01 DISC ONE 18  -  £6,400 
BMC Teammachine SLR01 ONE 18  -  £7,000 
BMC Teammachine SLR01 DISC TEAM 18  -  £10,000 

BMC Teammachine SLR: Euro Prices

So far we only have prices for the top and bottom tiers (below), but expect more to follow, with BMC offering a large range of specs for both disc and rim brake Teammachine's as well as a frameset

Teammachine SLR01 Team  -  €8499
Teammachine SLR 01 Team Disc  -  €11499
Teammachine SLR02  -  €2599
Teammachine SLR02 Disc  -  €3699

See bmc-switzerland.com and evanscycles.com for more information

Click through to page two to read about our first impressions of the BMC Teammachine SLR

BMC Teammachine SLR: First ride review

We tested the BMC Teammachine SLR over two pretty gruelling days in the Alps that saw ascents and descents of the Croix de Fer and Izoard among others. Total 170km and 4,500m climbing.

We’d still want more time aboard the bike before making any concrete pronouncements, so we’ll try keep this section brief.

However, it’s hard, as the bike made a seriously good initial impression.

The BMC Teammachine SLR rode like proper race bike. It was nimble, accelerated with ease, descended assuredly, took corners with acute precision and did a decent turn in the sprints. And it did it all with discs.

No slow handling, no ponderous extra weight, no languid feel. It was sharp and direct in almost all instances, only with a performance edge impossible to find without disc brakes.

There were drawbacks – the brakes weren’t always the quietest and the abilities of the front end in a sprint need some investigating (could it be a tad flexy or was that just the set up with the bars and spacers?) – but as first impressions go we’re not sure the BMC Teammachine SLR could have made a better one.

See the magazine, and back here later, for an upcoming full review.

BMC Teammachine SLR: Rim calliper build

Putting the bike to the test. Photo: BMC / Jeremie Reuiller

It’s a mark of what a good impression the BMC Teammachine SLR Disc created that the rim brake version is now almost a footnote.

That’s unfair of course, because that bike is a virtual clone and as good in pretty much every respect, and better in one.

It’s a clone in that the geometry is identical. Engineer Tobias Habegger told us the chainstays are also 410mm, even though they could have been shorter as the rear spacing is 130mm.

BMC, he says, wanted the bikes ‘to handle identically even if riders swapped between them,’ indicating the team doesn’t see across the board rider uptake for discs in every instance.

Indeed, a chance meeting with Richie Porte at the top of the Izoard, us journalists aboard our disc bikes, he on his rim calliper bike, elicited words to the effect of, ‘Who needs discs?’ (To the effect of because Richie does like a swear word.)

The fork isn’t asymmetric as it doesn’t need to be – the braking forces are less, and evenly spread – but the fork, and frame, gets direct mount brakes, with neat little recesses in the fork blades for the pads to sit.

The rear brake cable enters the headtube, but with another ingenuous touch the entry point has a little ball-and-socket bevel joint, which means the cable end cap can freely twist side to side with the bars at full lock.

The idea is to stop that annoying snapping of end caps associated with cables that enter the frame at perpendicular angles.

Gear cables enter the down tube using a different mounting plate in place of where the Di2 charge port would otherwise go.

An initial ride proved the bike no less adept, save for braking, which just wasn’t in the same league as discs.

The weight, however, was slightly less at a claimed 6.6kg.

Formed in 1993, German brand Cube has grown rapidly. It now exports to 32 countries, with a reputation for offering high-performance, good-value bikes.

This Litening C:62 Pro is at the racier end of the brand's stable, and is used at Pro-Continental level by Belgian Team Wanty-Groupe Gobert.

The matt/gloss black finish gives it look that some might say is a little safe and uninspiring. Fortunately, it’s a different story once we start riding it.

On the road, it proves comfortable from the off, especially at the rear, with a smooth, refined ride. Yet when power is pushed to the pedals, there is instant response with no noticeable flex through the frame.

This is largely due to the highly moulded frame, with an almost-square down tube that’s designed with stiffness in mind, with its svelte seatstays adding further comfort.

The componentry’s centrepiece is the Shimano Ultegra 6870 Di2 groupset. The most popular electronic gear-shifting system on the market, it offers proven durability and consistent performance.

However, the Di2 shift buttons can feel a little vague. There are two buttons crammed into each lever (one for up-shifts, another for down-shifts), and they’re small and close enough together to make pressing the wrong one a distinct possibility.

That said, Cube’s done a great job of building it into the frame, with very neat cable routing.

Finishing kit is a mix of own-label and branded components with no obvious corners cut, giving a very well-rounded build.

The Fulcrum Racing 55 wheels are a decent weight and offer reasonable stiffness, although if you’re keen to race or take things to the next level, a pair of deeper section race wheels would improve the bike’s speed.

The Litening’s climbing ability is impressive and while it's heavier than some of its immediate rivals, in the real world this isn't much of a penalty, even on the steepest of climbs.

With excellent response and feel, downhills are a breeze and we found ourselves getting close to personal-best times on some of the faster, sweeping descents around our test ride circuit.

Ratings

Frame 9/10; Components 9/10; Wheels 9/10; The ride 9/10

Verdict: It's hard to fault the Cube Litening C:62. It offers racing performance above most bikes on the market, providing excellent control and speed at a superb price. It's just a slight shame about the understated looks – when you're on a bike this good, you really want it to stand out from the crowd.

Spec

I was once told that Ernesto Colnago lives over the road from his facility in Cambiago so that if an idea comes to him at 3am he need only don a dressing gown and run a short way before he’s sitting at his draftsman’s desk.

True or not, I choose to believe it, as the idea of Ernie hot-footing it through the Italian night clutching his night-cap fits exactly with the maverick inventor I’ve always believed him to be.

There is very much the traditional framebuilder about Colnago: he’s Italian, he raced a bit and his most coveted creations are steel, but look closely and he and his company have done some cutting-edge things that border on revolutionary.

He invented straight blade forks when all around him were curved; he introduced non-round tube profiles with the crimped ‘Master’; he injected wild ‘Art Décor’ graphics into an age of the single pantone; he struck one of carbon fibre’s earliest blows when his C40 won the 1995 Paris-Roubaix; he developed some of the first disc brakes for road bikes with Formula, and he gave us the Concept.

No, not this one, the one from 1986. Yes, the one with the gearstick.

The original concept

That’s right. The 1986 Colnago Concept had a gearstick in the down tube, which controlled a seven-speed gearbox in the chainset.

It also had a press-fit bottom bracket, internal cable routing, hydraulic rim brakes and was made, with the help of Ferrari no less, out of carbon fibre.

It was therefore red, but unlike most red things it sadly wasn’t the fastest. It weighed 13kg (5.3kg for the gears), was flexy, cost a fortune and never made it to production.

‘It nearly bankrupted the company,’ says Colnago’s design engineer, Davide Fumagalli, ‘but it taught us a lot. It was the first bike we designed using computers, and we still use material technology from that bike now.’

While the original Concept had some aerodynamic traits, and there have been others since thanks to the V1-r, it’s this new Concept ‘2.0’ that is arguably Colnago’s first true aero-road bike in the modern sense.

That is, it conforms to UCI rulings on tube ratios and fairings (those wishing to see what Colnago did prior to these rules should search Colnago C42 for a truly outrageous looking machine), and it has been designed using CFD and wind-tunnels. 

‘Tests show the Concept saves 20 watts over our C60 and 4 watts over the V1-r with a medium rider pedalling at 50kmh,’ says Fumagalli, although he adds that Colnago has ‘decided not to share’ how it compares with the competition’s bikes.

Desert flights

I’ll reserve judgement on the distance between Colnago’s chest and its cards, except to say that I have definitely ridden faster bikes than the Concept – the Specialized Venge ViAS and the Trek Madone come immediately to mind.

Significantly faster. But those bikes are part of an über-group of aero bikes where no springy flap or hidden cable has been left unturned, and they do make concessions to ride quality.

The Concept, by contrast, is kind of normal. It has several cables on show, an absence of one-piece bar and stem, and – horror of horrors – regular brakes.

Direct mount, but in traditional positions, with Fumagalli diplomatically adding that the under-stay rear brake of the semi-aero Colnago V1-r ‘had a few downsides’. I had no reason to expect the Concept to be that fast, so the fact it possessed a palpable lick of speed was surprising.

Even on its first ride back from the Cyclist office it sprung into life with joyful abandon every time I gave it some welly from the traffic lights, the paddle-shifting interface of the Sram eTap groupset only adding to that race-car thrill.

However, while I was certain there was little I couldn’t find out about the Concept from a 10km commute across London, just to be doubly sure I thought I’d take it on a trip to the Israeli desert. And I’m so glad I did. 

For starters, I finally cracked a sub-three hour solo 100km. OK, it was 90km but I averaged nearly 37kmh and could have easily done another 10km had it not been for lack of time.

Moreover, when I got off the bike I felt fresh as a daisy, and so too after every other ride. The Concept was genuinely comfortable over distance and on some less than perfect roads to boot. 

Sibling rivalry

According to Colnago, the comfort factor derives in large part from the headset bearing cups.

These cups are made from a carbon-reinforced polymer (interestingly, the same material used on the carbon lugs of the original Concept) whose springy nature, together with special shape, allows the headset bearings to ‘float’. 

‘The inside of the cups have a saw-tooth profile so the bearings have liberty to move,’ says Fumagalli. ‘It’s not suspension like the Specialized Roubaix, nor damping like the Trek IsoSpeed, but it helps.’

I found there was indeed a distinct lack of road buzz at the front end of the Concept, yet happily this didn’t manifest in flex or wallow when putting in big efforts and hauling on the bars.

However, this isn’t the headline feature here. Yes, the Concept is fast, but not that fast. Nor is it that comfortable or that stiff. Rather, what the Concept does is blend three jack-of-all-trades attributes into a master of one: ride quality.

The C60 remains to this day the best-handling road bike I’ve ridden, and the Concept is within spitting distance – something that’s doubly amazing when you consider this is an aero bike.

It owes a lot to the borrowed geometry, which is nearly identikit to the C60, but also to whatever magic is going on in the carbon layup and tube shapes.

The result is almost like two bikes in one. On the flat or through lazy corners the Concept feels cruisy and planted, but turn the screws in a sprint and rag it through some twists and it roars into life.

It’s not quite on the snappy level of the Bianchi Specialissima, say, but it is readily more stable and feels incredibly robust without feeling slow or heavy.

Yet, for all its mastery, the Concept falls just short of being a masterpiece, and it’s down to its behaviour at the extremes.

It’s not quite punchy enough up steep ramps, and lacks a little stability when descending over 75kmh, where fore aft wobble through the frame is detectable. However, these things shouldn’t detract from what a highly capable bike this is for everything in between.

The Concept is a step closer to the Holy Grail of fast, stiff, responsive, stable and comfortable, all at once. We don’t ask for much. Oh wait, beautiful too – although I think we can add that one to the Concept’s list already.

Verdict: Colnago's first true road bike is a whisker away from sensational.

Spec

First look: Colnago Concept

James Spender, 19 January 2017

The original Concept project started in 1986. ‘It was incredibly clever, designed and engineered with Ferrari,’ says Colnago’s Davide Fumagalli.

‘It was carbon tubed, carbon lugged with carbon dropouts, press-fit bottom bracket, internal cable routing, hydraulic rim brakes, carbon wheels and an internal, sealed gearbox – way ahead of its time.

‘But it was too heavy for the market and it wasn’t stiff enough nor strong enough for the Colnago standard, and it was very expensive.’

Fumagalli, Colnago’s design engineer, cites the seven-speed gearbox – housed in the crankset spider and operable via a mini gearstick in the down tube – as contributing a whopping 5.3kg to the overall 13kg weight.

It also helped the bike cost three times the price of Colnago’s most expensive bike of the day and, in Fumagalli’s words, it ‘nearly bankrupted the company’.

Still, while subsequent bikes have borne little resemblance to the Concept, there’s no doubt Colnago’s first true foray into aero-road, the Concept ‘2.0’, has a lot to thank the proud yet flawed original for. Starting, of all places, with the headset.

Real race bikes

Fumagalli says he and his team have gone to great lengths to ensure the Concept fits the Colnago philosophy, which is to make ‘real race bikes’.

As such, ride quality was as much a part of the design brief as aerodynamics, which led Fumagalli to reimagine a crucial yet oft overlooked area of the bike.

‘The headset is the part that makes me most proud. The bearings have a degree of liberty to “float” inside the bearing cups, which have been designed with a toothed profile and moulded from a carbon-reinforced polymer first developed for the 1986 Concept.’

This system doesn’t operate like the suspension on the Specialized Roubaix or the damping on the Trek Domane, but Fumagalli says its design, together with a special lamination process in the fork steerer, helps smooth out road vibrations, thereby providing more accurate rider feedback as the distortion due to vibration is effectively filtered out.

Some 41

Yet this is still firstly an aero bike, and Colnago says it went through 41 iterations to fine-tune the aerodynamics.

Aero-philes will be pleased to know these models spent time in the Politecnico di Milano wind-tunnel, as well as on the computer screens at the hands of CFD technicians; Nago-philes might be interested to note that the gearbox on the 1986 Concept was the first time Colnago had ever used a computer to design a part. 

Fumagalli is coy about comparing aero data to other brands, simply saying Colnago ‘decided not to share it’, but he was forthcoming at the bike’s launch in saying the Concept saved 20 watts over the C60 with a medium rider aboard at 50kmh, and 4 watts over the V1-r.

Beyond the aerofoil-style tube profiles it employs three neat tricks to achieve these results.

First, the down tube thickens towards the bottom bracket to help push air up and around a water bottle; second, there’s a large recess behind the fork crown to better accommodate turbulent air from the front wheel; and third, Colnago changes the shape of the rear end based on frame size to maintain aero properties.

A size small, for example, will have seatstays that butt the seat tube higher up than on a medium, and large frames have a bigger gap around the top of the seatstays, which it’s said does a similar job as the recess behind the fork crown.

Simple yet sophisticated

Where many other aero bikes pursue integration at all costs, Colnago has kept things simple.

A regular stem and bar can be fitted (although a Concept-dedicated stem will be available), cable routing is internal but not completely hidden away, and the rear brake calliper is in the usual place, as opposed to beneath the chainstays as on the V1-r.

‘That brake was performing well when properly installed, but it had downsides,’ says Fumagalli. ‘Clearance for some power meters was a problem, as well as rear wheel changing.’

‘The Concept’s direct-mount brakes help it to accept tyres up to 28mm, a sign of the times for a brand whose flagship C60 can only accommodate 23mm tyres in most tyre/wheel combos.

In fact, for a brand almost as famous for its idiosyncrasies as its pedigree, the Concept appears to be a thoroughly well thought out bike with cross-company collaboration. This Art Décor paintjob was even designed by Ernesto himself.

Yet there is still one little foible: the indentation in the back of the seatpost.

‘It was intended to be an attachment point for a light system, but I was late with that feature in the end,’ laughs Fumagalli.

‘Now it’s just a “to-do” reminder!’

As a proportion of budget relative to income, Ridley supports more racing teams than any other brand. While flat outings are covered by the brand’s aerodynamic Noah-Fast, and days in the high mountains better tackled on the minimalist Helium, the Fenix (pronounced 'phoenix') serves the company’s sponsored riders during the cobbled races that constitute the Spring Classics.

Despite being touted as an endurance platform, given its manufacturer’s racing pedigree it's unsurprising that the longstanding Fenix model is no slouchy comfort bike. In truth its low and tight geometry would look aggressive stacked up against most other brands' conventional race bikes. 

The addition of disc brakes has done nothing to dampen this race-focused attitude, which has been carried over entirely to the bike’s latest iteration. 

The frame

Like its forebears the Fenix SLX's frame retains the distinctive Ridley bow shape and standard non-compact geometry.

However, its seatstays have been dropped to create a smaller rear triangle. This diminutive area is stiffer for the benefit of the rider when pushing, but is also designed to better support the new Campagnolo Potenza disc brake calliper, ensuring that the forces it generates don't cause the frame to distort.

The leading end of the bike has also been further braced. The wide section which extends diagonally behind the head tube stiffens the front, with the intention of improving cornering, while the whole bike is further shored up by the 12mm thru-axles that hold both front and back wheels in place.

The larger tubes employed across the bike feature the slightly truncated aero profile that has become increasingly popular in recent years.

These are also flattened above and below, so as to exhibit some degree of vertical flex in order to smooth the bike’s progress across rough terrain.

The new-flat mount brake callipers are integrated without troubling the bike’s good looks and the ultra-minimalist matt black paint job both looks tough and doesn't add unnecessary mass.

The result is a claimed frame weight of 840 grams, which is lighter than the previous calliper version, with the complete bike (size Medium) coming in at around 7.95kg.

Campagnolo Potenza Disc groupset

Ridley's tinkering with the frame aside, it’s the addition of disc brakes that has totally transformed the ride of the Fenix.

Ridley managed to secure the the first batch of Campagnolo's new Potenza disc groupset, so our outing on the Fenix SLX was both our first ride on the bike, as well as our first taste of the Italian component maker's new gruppo.

The main attraction here is the brakes. Using small, and very neatly formed 140mm rotors, the absolute braking power available from Campag's discs seems slightly less than on Shimano alternatives.

However the modulation – the degree to which you can vary the braking force before the wheel locks up – is truly excellent. The shifting, which is also very competent, will be familiar to existing Campy users.

Components

Like with the previous calliper brake-equipped Fenix, some concessions are made in the name of comfort and stability, such as the ability to accommodate tyres up to 30mm wide, though our test model was fitted with 25mm Vittorias.

They were good on conventional tarmac, while also being quick-rolling and grippy, but we would have appreciated a slightly broader contact patch to match the power of the brakes.

Along with the new Potenza groupset, Ridley also secured some of Campagnolo’s newly released Zonda wheels for the Fenix SLX.

They’re notable for their unobtrusiveness – with their shallow profile and silent freehub, it’s very easy to forget about them altogether.

Given proper contemplation they reveal themselves to be be both stiff and easy to propel forwards, thanks largely to their low rotating mass. Our one slight complaint would be that their internal rim profile is probably best suited to 25mm tyres such as was fitted, rather than anything much wider.

The finishing kit adds to the Fenix’s race-ready credentials: the Selle Italia Flite saddle is light on padding, while the Deda handlebar and stem combo is also pretty unyielding.

The bar’s tops are hugely chunky, providing quide a handful for riders who like to keep their mitts on the upper part of the bars.

The tops also sweep forward towards the levers, suggesting this is a bike best ridden from the hoods or the drops, which Ridley believes to be the most aerodynamically efficient positions. 

On the road

We spent some 260km riding the Fenix SLX around the Vosges region in France. While this hilly terrain might seem an odd choice for a bike designed with the Classics in mind, it actually proved a great match.

Despite the fact that disc brakes are often touted as a panacea for the muddy conditions of the Classics, they are also well suited to imparting additional braking conviction on long mountainous descents – anyway, we’d much rather get catapulted into a muddy ditch than be launched off the side of a mountain.

And although it might be bad form, knowing that we could drag the brakes without risking the tyres exploding definitely helped keep us calm as we barreled down the extended descents of our hilly test ride. 

While many companies attempt to have it both ways with their endurance bikes, creating machines they say are capable of winning races but featuring geometries not much removed from touring bikes, the Fenix’s stance is unapologetically racy.

Any concessions it gives with regard to comfort are done in the service of making it faster over its intended terrain, instead of being there to flatter the potential limitations of its rider. 

A shortish wheelbase and medium head angle mean it changes direction rapidly, certainly rapidly enough for anyone other than a crit racer. Yet at the same time, the cobbles-ready stiffness means there’s no hint whatsoever of juddering or woolliness in its handling.

The disc brakes feel like the missing piece of the puzzle for the Fenix SLX, adding the ability to get yourself out of trouble, whether in the mountains or on the pavé. It’s comfortable too. Just not comfort bike-comfy.

A world away from the cushioned ride of bikes like the Specialized Roubaix and Trek Domané, instead it just about takes off the rougher edges, while still leaving plenty of feel for the road. If you can sustain the required low and stretched position it’s a bike that won’t hold you back, regardless of the use you put it to.

On the other hand, because it's an endurance bike that wants to be pushed hard, it’s worth considering whether the Fenix SLX is the best choice for the sort of riding you’re into.

If you’re turning up purely to get around the course, you might be better served elsewhere – just because it’s a endurance bike doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the right choice for all day riding.

But if you’re prepared to dig in and want a disc bike that’s unrelenting across a range of terrain, the Fenix won’t sell you short. 

The Ridley Fenix SLX is available from October, provisional priced at €3,399. Shimano Di2 and mechanical models, as well as Sram-based alternatives, are also planned

Looking at it on paper alone, you would find it hard to believe that the Ribble R872 is the price it is (£2,626 as specified), as it has a fantastic list of parts that wouldn’t be out of place on a bike costing twice the price.

When purchasing from Ribble, every part can be changed and built to your own personal taste, giving you all the flexibility needed while still being incredible value for money, although they do also have a range of suggested builds on offer.

The R872 range starts from just over £1,000 (with 10-speed Tiagra), but we’ve pushed the boat out for our test bike, which features exactly the same frame but loaded with almost the highest possible specification from Ribble’s parts box.

Stand-out components are the Mavic Cosmic Carbon Pro wheels, with their hybrid carbon/alu construction, which gives the benefits of a deep-section carbon wheelset but also maintains the superior braking of alloy rims.

The wheels are a real highlight and have a very direct, responsive feel that has a knock-on effect for the rest of the bike.

The finishing kit is mainly supplied by Deda. The bars have a good comfortable shape while the seatpost, despite being carbon, feels a bit basic.

The full Ultegra 6870 Di2 groupset delivers fantastic performance, although we felt it could have been better integrated into the frame, as there was the occasional rattle from the internal cable routing. Still, this is a minor quibble and not something that really makes a major difference to the ride experience.

Talking of which, the R872 provides what might be called a reasonably neutral and safe ride. This makes it very easy to handle, although more confident, experienced riders may prefer something a little more nimble.

It’s by no means slow, though, even going uphill, and those superbly responsive wheels help give a really fast feel on any sprints or climbs, with very little flex.

And while at 7.8kg (size 51cm) the R872 is hardly a lightweight, in the real world it made no major difference to climbing speeds out on our test ride.

Ratings

Frame 8/10; Components 9/10; Wheels 10/10; The ride 8/10

Verdict: For a bike equipped with a full Di2 groupset and fantastic Mavic wheels which turn it into a great all-rounder, this bike offers incredible value. At the higher-priced build the frame may be near the limit of where it's competitive, but it's still a solid performer, ideal for sportives or long sociable rides.

Spec

Ribble R872 review

By Josh Cunningham, 22 April 2016

The R872 replaces the Stealth in the Ribble line-up, keeping the same black-on-black aesthetic but with a few tweaks that prioritise stiffness and move the R872 into the path of speed-hungry racers.

The entry level model comes in at £829.95 – not bad for a carbon road bike – but Ribble sent us a higher specced iteration, which provides serious bang for your buck.

However, while Ribble does offer a collection service, it is an online-only brand, which means buying without a firm knowledge about how it rides could be hazardous. Is it worth taking a punt? Let’s find out…

The frame

Ribble has employed the T800 fibres of widely used carbon fibre heavyweight Toray in the R872 layup, but it’s the design of the frame that matters, and here it’s been made with stiffness as top priority.

To do this, extra layers of carbon have been applied to flex-prone areas like the bottom bracket, which uses the BB30 standard, and the head tube, which is tapered. 

Being wider at the bottom than at the top gives the head tube more robustness and strength, while allowing for a standard-sized stem. The BB30 bottom bracket, meanwhile, optimises weight baring through the spindle and shell diameter, rather than a widened placement of the bearings, which means a narrow and yet stiff system.

The downside is that to use a regular crankset such as the Shimano Ultegra that comes with the R872, you need adaptors, and these metal-on-metal marriages are known to creak. 

The streamlined fork certainly helps from an aero perspective at the front end, while internal cable routing keeps the bike looking tidy, and at the rear we see super deep chainstays, which should help reduce energy loss throughout the pedal-to-drive motion. 

Groupset

Ribble has really made a bike out of the R872 with the standard of groupset fitted to our test model. Everything from the chainset and STI shifters to the brake callipers and cassette are Shimano Ultegra, which is very much the same as 105 on a technology level but lighter and with a slightly more solid feel behind the shifts, thanks to differences in materials. It’s an impressive addition at this price point.

Finishing kit

The complete Deda finishing kit is a complement of well chosen parts – nothing to get overly excited about, but then again there’s nothing here that will cause any harm or distrust in the bike.

The Selle Italia Flite saddle is fairly unpadded, and has a lot of give when you exert a force on it, so if it’s not for you then you’ll know about it, but Ribble offers the buyer the chance to swap out anything that won’t suit in its bike builder app.

But still, it’s nice to see Ribble employing the established expertise of brands like Deda and Selle Italia, which again is an impressive feat considering the total price. 

Wheels

The foldable Schwalbe One tyres are a nice finishing touch, and provide a supple, confident contact point with the ground below. We were unlucky enough to ride the R872 a few times in soaking wet conditions, but the Ones held their ground well throughout. 

The ride

Straight out of the blocks, it felt immediately apparent that the R872 is a real road rider’s bike, with its snappy accelerating capabilities and general will to be ridden quickly.

The compact, sloped top tube geometry is an easy way of making lots of body shapes compatible with the bike, but we don’t think it can do the bike’s racy, punchy feel any harm either, with the small triangles doing their bit to enhance stiffness. 

At the back end, that small triangle provides a solid base when making harder pedal efforts, but doesn’t feel too harsh over rough ground either, which is actually a little surprising given how chunky the seatstays and chainstays are, but perhaps this is in part thanks to the wheel and tyre choice on this particular test machine.

We were happy to let the bike get up to some fairly eye-watering speeds on some of our test rides in the hills, which is testament to the confidence that the bike was able to inspire, even only after a fairly brief acquaintance.

The front end feels reassuringly stable, and as confident gliding through sweeping downhill corners as it does nipping in and out of traffic through town. In the race environment that the bike was designed for, we reckon it would have no trouble navigating the delicate ebb and flow of a fast moving bunch.

The R872 is, in short, a fantastically enjoyable thing to ride; it behaves like the raceable road bike you buy it for, but retains more than enough comfort to make it worthy of long days in the saddle and sportives, too. 

Geometry

Spec

Trek has a bold aim with the Emonda ALR – to mimic the climbing ability of its big-bucks carbon Emonda range.

With a high-tech alloy frame and full Ultegra groupset, the US manufacturer reckons to have created a bike that packs balance and handling which surpasses the lightness and performance of the bike’s carbon competitors.

Bold claims, but do they stack up?

Frameset

Trek uses hydroformed aluminium tubing for the Emonda ALR6, which means each section of tubing can be formed into sizes specific to the frameset, for a good balance between stiffness and weight.

The junctions are the neatest we’ve ever seen on an alloy bike. This is thanks to Trek’s ‘invisible weld’ technology, which increases strength at the same time as using less material.

Some of the higher-end carbon Emonda range is available in either an H2 or H1 geometry (the latter being more aggressive).

The alloy range makes do with H2 – it’s largely similar to the H1 fit but with a noticeably higher head tube for a more ‘endurance’ fit.

A measured head angle of 72.7° contributes to a quick-steering package, while a very steep seat angle of 74.6° puts you right over the front of the bike for maximum leverage.

An oversized down tube speaks volumes about the stiffness of the bike, flaring even more widely as it reaches the bottom bracket.

A flatter, sloping top tube makes its (neat) junction with a rounded seat tube and seatstays, while the chainstays are slab-sided for stiffness.

The left-hand stay also incorporates Trek’s Duotrap cadence sensor, which speaks to your cycling computer.

Every one of the ALR’s four cables is routed externally, eliminating cable rattle, though this does mean gear cables will get grubby in foul weather.

Groupset

The Emonda ALR6 runs a totally Shimano Ultegra groupset; we do love a unified approach to equipment, and it’s especially welcome on a bike of this price. Even two years ago you’d gave struggled to get a bike with full Ultegra for less than £2,000.

A compact, 50/34 chainset is used in conjunction with a fairly wide ratio 11-28 Ultegra cassette, while the front and rear mechs are also Ultegra equipment as are the caliper brakes.

Unlike the higher reaches of the carbon Emonda range, they’re not direct-mount, though we found the braking performance perfectly adequate.

Finishing kit

Bontrager’s unfussy yet decidedly effective alloy finishing kit is used on the ALR6. 400mm diameter compact drop handlebars combine with a 100mm alloy stem to provide an ergo-friendly riding position.

That said, the drops of the bars are noticeably short, encouraging you over the front of the bike for more committed riding.

Bontrager’s Montrose saddle is particularly comfortable, and sitting atop a 27.2mm carbon seatpost helps eliminate any jarring vibrations that would otherwise make it to your behind.

Wheels

Trek has used trickle-down tubeless-ready Bontrager TLR wheels – a £230 alloy wheelset with off set spoke beads claimed to boost stiffness and stability.

They offer a versatile platform and the option to upgrade to tubeless for less rolling resistance.

Bontrager’s R1 tyres are a carefully chosen compromise – light enough and fast rolling 85% of the time, the puncture protection material beneath the surface promises a flat-free ride.

The ride

Everything about the ALR6 seems to be geared toward lithe performance and minimum time spent cresting rises.

This bike positively demands that you seek out local climbs. Thankfully (although we’re not thankful all the time) our test loop has its fair share of short, sharp climbs and a smattering of longer ascents.

The alloy Emonda destroys all of them. Thanks to its mega-stiff chainstays and wide bottom bracket shell, you really do feel like none of your effort is wasted as you hammer up a climb.

But all of this would be for nothing if that front end was mush. It’s not solid to the point of jarring – the carbon fork ensures that – but everything about this bike feels ‘planted.’

In normal use, even Shimano’s Ultegra kit is a delight to use, with up and down shifts slotting home with ease. The gearing is spot-on, too, the 11-28 cassette being the perfect partner for the Trek’s 50/34 chainset.

We didn’t need the 28-tooth cog at any point, regardless of the gradient, which tells you a lot about how lossless this alloy bike’s package is.

But climbing’s not its only forte – it’ll sprint with aplomb, or just roll along on a Sunday ride.

The Bontrager wheelset is easily good enough for any situation, with a flexless set-up sapping nothing from our efforts.

The brakes are easily and efficiently called into service on a few downhill occasions, and operate without squeal, grab or panic; scrubbing a little speed off is a two-fingered job, and the reach to the levers is near-perfect, even for our little hands, when riding on the drops.

It seems Trek has got the Emonda’s geometry bang-on, too. Whether cornering on sweeping descents or much tighter turns, the bike delivers so much more assured handling than we expected.

A fairly steep head angle is tempered by a moderately rangy head tube compared to many size 52 bikes, yet agility abounds.

So often, and especially on higher-end racers, this agility comes at the expense of confidence, but the ALR will tip into any kind of cornering without the slightest twitch, and tracks a line perfectly.

Bontrager’s 25c R1 rubber is grippy enough in the wet or dry, but the most important thing to note is that, of all the different bikes we’ve tested that wear these tyres, we’re yet to experience a single puncture.

It’s adequate in its performance but for quicker rides, or if you’re aiming to tackle some serious descents this summer, a switch to tackier rubber would yield even better results.

In all, however, the over-riding sensation this bike delivers is of a machine that punches well above its weight, is better than some carbon-road bikes with a similar purpose in life, and – above all – offers ridiculous value for money.

£1,600 for this alloy climber’s bike is a small price to pay for such a high level of performance.

Ratings

Frame: Trek's 'invisible weld' tech ensures a seamless finish. 9/10
Components: Shimano Ultegra throughout. We approve! 9/10 
Wheels: Offered reliability, stability and stiffness in spades. 9/10 
The Ride: Agile, power-efficient, versatile, and speedy. 9/10

VERDICT

With great components and an agile yet stiff frame, the Emonda ALR6 is every bit a future-proof climber's weapon. 

Geometry

Spec

Trek Emonda ALR first look

By Stu Bowers, 30/07/2015

Some would argue the bike industry is a bit like fashion – everything comes back around eventually. So it is that aluminium road frames are having a bit of a resurgence.

To be fair, aluminium never really went away – it was simply upstaged by carbon fibre. But now we’re seeing a new crop of aluminium frames that is proving the metal is more than just carbon’s poor relation.

Cannondale’s CAAD10 is highly regarded, and Specialized too has dabbled with an S-Works version of its acclaimed Allez frameset.

Now Trek claims boldly that its new Émonda ALR will set a new standard in aluminium frames and surpass the lightness, performance and ride quality of many carbon competitors in the process.  

Elegant and impressive

At first glance it’s certainly elegant, and the weight, at just over a kilo for a 56cm frame, is impressive too.

Just as Specialized reserves its S-Works moniker for only its most advanced, top-end products, so Trek keeps the Emonda family name for its very best performing road bike line. 

Much like its pricier carbon siblings, the ALR frame engineers have focused on trimming off every bit of unnecessary weight.

The frame is constructed from a premium grade aluminium – Trek calls it 300 Series Alpha Aluminium – which is hydroformed to create the sleek-looking tube shapes.

Those tubes are joined using what Trek terms ‘Invisible Weld Technology’, a process it claims cuts weight by requiring less material while simultaneously increasing the strength of the joint.

It’s also the reason the frame maintains such a smooth, seamless look compared with many aluminium designs. At a glance the Emonda ALR could easily be mistaken for a carbon frame, and Trek suggests the similarities run deeper than just aesthetics.

It says the ALR’s balance and stiffness characteristics should also be to similar to carbon.

Geometry-wise, Trek has opted for its slightly less aggressive H2 fit (its most popular) that offers a marginally taller front end. And a feature worthy of note is the integrated DuoTrap S speed/cadence sensor in the chainstay, which offers an extremely neat solution for Bluetooth and ANT+ data capture. 

If the ALR lives up to Trek’s claims, it promises to be a highly capable road bike. With the price, plus the better durability and impact resistance of aluminium, also likely to appeal to newcomers, Trek may well do itself out of a few carbon bike sales.

Helios is a grandiose name for a bike. Greek scholars will know that he was the Titan who would drive his sun chariot across the sky by day, returning under the ocean to the east by night.

You would expect any bike named after a sun god to be pretty flashy, but the Alchemy Helios is actually rather unassuming, and I was immediately taken by its modest charms. 

I find something captivating about a bike with simple, classic lines – no gimmicks or strange tube shapes – but that’s not to say the Helios is basic.

Its construction is a complex and intriguing process, and is the result of nine years of development at the company’s workshops in Denver, Colorado.

From the start

Alchemy, founded in 2008, forged its early reputation building custom steel and titanium bikes.

It was only in 2010, with new impetus brought to the company by composites expert Matt Maczuzak, that it began to venture into high-end carbon builds.

Now it prides itself on creating its carbon frames entirely in-house, not only crafting its own tubes but even CNC-machining its own moulds in which to fashion them. This enables total control over each and every part of the process. 

Alchemy uses tube-to-tube construction. Think of it like how bespoke metal frames are created, where each tube is made individually and placed on a jig to be mitred to butt up against adjoining tubes.

Alchemy claims the precision of its tube alignment practically eliminates the need for any joint filler, something it believes can deaden the feel of a frame.

Clearly carbon cannot be welded like metal, so instead the junction is made structurally sound by wrapping additional layers of carbon around the joint. 

For the consumer, what this intimate build process means is the ability to customise every aspect.

Tube lengths can be trimmed by a fraction of a millimetre and angles adjusted in similarly minute increments, but more than just a bespoke fit, it also allows the builder to dictate how a frame will ride by tweaking the layup and stiffness of the individual tubes. 

The final stage is the paint, and for that Alchemy’s own painters are on hand to add a touch of understated class, or indeed anything you can dream up.

For those who think it sacrilegious to cover up the intricacies of the frame construction, a simple coat of clear lacquer will let the beauty of the creation do the talking. 

Alchemy isn’t the only brand to offer this level of customisation, but it puts it in a very small and select group.

Should you not feel the need to go fully custom, Alchemy offers stock geometry and sizes, which is exactly what Cyclist was given for testing. 

Rare beast

Not long after heading out for my first ride I became aware that the Alchemy reminded me of an old friend.

Parlee’s Z5 (sadly now discontinued) still stands as one of my favourite road bikes of all time.

I’ve ridden and tested hundreds of bikes over the years, and only very occasionally does one come along that makes this kind of impression (if you find me in the pub one evening, I’ll happily run through my all-time top five over a beer).

There are similarities in the way both the Parlee and the Alchemy were created, which means it’s not entirely surprising to find this resemblance, but it’s certainly pleasant to get that feeling when I swing a leg over a bike. 

I immediately felt at home on the Helios. My hands, feet and backside weren’t constantly adjusting to try and settle in, and turning the cranks freely and smoothly felt almost effortless.

It’s a sensation of symbiosis with a bike that I rarely encounter, where I find I’m not really aware of any of my contact points at all, the bike becoming like an extension of my body.

That might all sound a bit whimsical, but it’s actually how I felt. 

One of the most satisfying elements of the Helios is that it achieves this high level of ride quality without any tricksy designs or additions of the kind that marketing executives love so much.

Take the comfort aspect – it manages to provide a smooth ride without wavy seatstays or rubber inserts or a super-skinny seatpost.

It actually has quite boxy seatstays, and they meld into a chunky wishbone that’s connected to a seat tube that houses a 31.6mm seatpost – fat by modern standards. 

For all that, however, it’s very adept at dealing with a shoddy surface. It’s a cliche, but Alchemy proves it’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it.

The company doesn’t have access to some space-aged level of carbon that no other brand is privy to – it just goes the extra mile to ensure the carbon is delivering exactly the ride characteristics that Maczuzak’s designs and layups decree. 

By virtue of the same approach being applied in every aspect of the build, and bolstered by Enve’s superb 2.0 fork and a full contingent of Enve finishing kit and wheels, the handling is every bit as impressive.

When pushed hard, the Helios had the surefootedness through the turns of a bike twice its mass, allowing me – encouraging me, even – to confidently push the limits of the tyres’ grip.

When it came to the hills, the planted feel was replaced by the sprightliness of a spring lamb, and the Helios practically danced its way up the slopes, the top half feeling light and flighty in my hands, but the lower half feeling sturdy with no suggestion of any power delivery being squandered by flex. 

Alchemy founder Ryan Cannizzaro describes the Helios as the ‘rouleur of the collection’ because it’s so capable in many ways. I’d agree with him.

The Helios is a superb all-round package, and even though this is a stock configuration there is little I would wish to alter, even given the chance for full custom.

Verdict: In the Helios, Alchemy has created a superb all-rounder that's well made and delivers on every level.

Spec

Have you ever been happily riding along when you've been struck by a sudden feeling of unexplained melancholy? You look around and wonder what it is that feels different about today's ride compared to normal. Then you realise, it's your bike. It's just not pink enough.

Well here's your chance to rectify that situation thanks to a competition from Giant. The WorldTour level bike brand is offering one lucky rider the chance to get their hands on a limited edition Giant TCR Advanced SLR frameset in Giro d'Italia pink to celebrate Tom Dumoulin's recent victory.

The competititon runs until this Sunday, 18th June, so now is the time to get clicking, get guessing and cross your fingers that the frame could be on its way to you.

Dumoulin won the Giro d'Italia thanks to his unirvalled time trialling, but it was also his performance when riding his TCR on the climbs and his persistence in the face of eager rivals - even after he had to stop at the side of the road for an unfortunately-timed natural break - that saw him crowned the winner at the end of the three weeks.

All you have to do to win the frame is answer a simple question and the winner will be announced by Giant on Monday 19th June.

Click here for your chance to win a limited edition pink Giant TCR Advanced SLR frameset

Terms and Conditions

The competition is run and hosted by Giant and so all data will be submitted to them by following the link above
Giant will be responsible for the prize and Cyclist/Dennis Publishing's involvement is simply to highlight the existence of the competition and ends when the link is followed
The competition is for just a frameset not a complete bike
Entries will only be accepted from the UK and Republic of Ireland

Specialized’s all-road endurance platform, the Diverge, was a surprise smash when it came out in 2014 and sold out in numerous countries.

That success has given Specialized carte blanche to push boundaries with this year’s redesign.

First glimpsed in a promo video with Peter Sagan driving doughnuts in a muscle car, the Diverge has been revealed in full at Specialized’s Summer Road Camp in New Jersey, United States.

In a significant vote of confidence, Specialized has for the first time created an top tier S-Works Diverge, with gravel racing in mind as much as touring and bikepacking.

It comes with a number of new technical developments that make it virtually unrecognisable from a normal road bike five years ago.

It has arguably gone beyond the 'gravel' category, and entered into the ‘GravelPlus’ category, a term coined by bike manufacturer Open to describe drop handlebar bikes that are capable of more demanding off-road riding, or what many call 'adventure riding'. It’s a category that includes the Cannondale Slate, the Open U.P and 3T Exploro.

Image 3 of 20

Image 3 of 20

The new Diverge's major features include a dropper seatpost, a Future Shock front suspension unit similar to that on the Specialized Roubaix, and extremely wide tyre clearance that has been further opened up by compatibility with smaller diameter 650b wheels. Despite all the extra bits, the full build as shown comes in at a surprisingly light 8.5kg.

The S-Works frame itself comes in at only 880g, and Specialized has built a unit with a few minor adjustments (including removing the dropper post) which hits exactly 8kg.

Image 2 of 20

Image 2 of 20

‘Gravel is the fastest emerging category in our entire line,’ explains John Cordoba, product manager for Specialized’s road category.

Specialized speculates that it will continuing to grow at a fast rate. ‘We believe that Diverge will be biggest category in two to three years.’

That’s a huge claim for a brand selling in the quantity that Specialized does.

Future Shock

Image 17 of 20

Image 17 of 20

The tech on show for the Diverge is a lot to take in. First and foremost is the carry-over of Specialized’s Future Shock front suspension system from the Roubaix platform – a spring that sits between the stem and head tube to provide damping at the handlebars.

The unit has been tweaked for the demands of serious off-road riding.

The new Future Shock uses a progressive spring, meaning the spring generates more resistance the more it is compressed, unlike the Roubaix Future Shock spring.

‘The Spring on the Roubaix is a linear spring, so throughout the whole travel it has the same amount of force,’ explains Cordoba. ‘The Diverge Future Shock unit is the same but the spring inside responds in a different way – it’s not exerting the same pressure.’

The aim is to make the Diverge more robust than the Roubaix but also reduce the chance of bottoming out when going off a significant drop.

‘As you get through the travel of the Diverge you get more and more stiff so you don’t bottom out so hard and also you can control the handlebars a lot better,’ Cordoba explains.

‘The progressive spring goes from 150lb [pounds per inch] to 230lb whereas the Roubaix is 100lb all the way through the travel,’ he adds.

BB drop

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Image 20 of 20

The control that the Future Shock offers has been matched by a rethink in the Diverge’s geometry, the most significant change being the bottom bracket drop, increased to 86mm from 74mm with the previous generation of the bike.

‘The BB drop has been increased, which is all about stability and confidence,’ Cordoba explains.

‘The Crux [Specialized’s cross bike] has a shallow 42mm BB drop, which works for cross racing. On loose gravel, though, the 86mm BB drop just plants you down on the gravel.

'While it increases the chance of a pedal strike in a corner, especially when switching to 650b wheels, the benefits in stability are significant for those doing more recreational off-road riding or gravel-specific endurance races.’

On the point of the lightweight frame’s resilience to damage when on rough terrain, Specialized is  confident that the Diverge will survive the chips and pings typical to rough gravel riding.

‘We’ve been testing it for a while – we test the whole variation of carbon frames – and we’re confident on safety,’ says Mark Cote, head of marketing and innovation at Specialized.

Re-inventing the wheel

Image 14 of 20

Image 14 of 20

The inclusion of 650b compatibility is a huge surprise from Specialized, who have never flirted with the smaller diameter wheel size on this scale.

This was an innovation first made prominent by Gerard Vroomen’s Open U.P, which comes as standard with 650b wheels on an otherwise normal road setup.

The brand has released a new Roval 650b CLX 32 disc wheel to coincide with the release of the Specialized Diverge, which will enable 47mm tyres to be run on the bike.

‘There’s a sweet spot in terms of tyre width for the 650b wheel, and the 700c which will give a similar ride quality,’ Cordoba says.

‘The sweet spot for 700c is 38mm, while on the 650b it is 45mm, but with all the new trend for wide rims it changes the shape of the tyre a lot. On some 650b rims the bike will accept 47mm tyres.’

The bike comes as standard with 700c wheels, and the CLX 650b will be available at the same price as the CLX 32 (currently £1,870).

The other startling development is the speccing of a dropper seatpost, which at the press of a button will drop down 35mm, and at another press rise back up.

The benefit is a lower seat height, which enables a lower centre of gravity and consequent stability over rough terrain.

The Specialized Diverge uses the Command Post XCP developed for the Specialized Epic mountain bike, and it is the first example of a dropper post specced as standard on a road bike from any major brand.

The dropper post weighs only 400g, but can be switched out for any regular 27.2mm seatpost for a minor weight saving.

Just as the Roubaix, the Diverge comes specced with Specialized’s SWAT box, which is an integrated storage unit above the BB containing spares and tools.

Specialized has stressed that the Diverge has been redeveloped as much for women as men.

‘There’s a gender equality to gravel,’ says Cordoba, pointing out that more of Specialized’s female staff than men race in gravel events.

There are women-specific models in the line, but there will be no separate platform for women.

Below the S-Works level sits the Diverge Comp, Diverge Sport, then the alloy Diverge E5 Comp, Diverge E5 Sport and basic Diverge E5.

The Diverge E5 Sport and Diverge E5 also come in women-specific sizing, going as small as a 44cm top tube.

UK prices are yet to be confirmed.

Head through to page two for our first ride review of the Specialized S-Works Diverge

Specialized S-Works Diverge 2018: First ride review

Verdict: The innovative Specialized Diverge makes a leap forward to encompass virtually all the terrain you could imagine while remaining a  road bike at heart.

I had the opportunity on my first ride of the Specialized Diverge to ride on fast roads, on technical gravel and even mountain bike trails in the hills of New Jersey.

It certainly has some unusual quirks when first sitting astride it, but even on a first ride I managed to ride with more confidence on more testing terrain than ever before.

That said, there is more to the Diverge than its all-road angle.

Making contact

Contact points were initially a little unsettling on the Diverge. The strange movement of the front end on account of the suspension coupled with a minute twisting movement in the saddle, as a consequence of the dropper post, made the bike feel strangely loose.

It felt like the head tube needed to be tightened along with the saddle rails. It was a passing sensation, and quickly the bike came into its own.

The Diverge feels immediately like a nicely finished and highly tuned bike. The sizing is much in line with the Roubaix, with the Future Shock creating a high front end, while the wide tyres and lay-up choices all contribute to a very smooth ride.

The surprising impression with the Diverge is the responsiveness of the bike even with wide tyres at low psi. It is a strikingly light bike for its class, while the stiffness of the rear end sees it leap up to speed with impulses of power.

This was a huge benefit off road when navigating through deep turrets of gravel or rock, or trying to start moving on a steep incline.

The numbing effect of the Future Shock at the front of the bike did create a slight imbalance, where at first the back of the bike felt a little robust as there was more feedback from the road.

I came to realise that in isolation the rear was actually fairly compliant and comfortable, but again it’s a slight quirk on account of the tech on offer.

For my part, the Future Shock makes a great deal more sense here than on the Roubaix. Coming off a rocky drop or entering into a patch of serious rock and stone at speed, the Future Shock offers different levels of stability and control to anything I’ve experienced before anywhere within the confines of a road category.

The traction and confidence offered by the Future Shock touches on the feeling of a fully fledged front suspension fork, but obviously falls a long way short of the same travel and strength.

It does transform scary jagged rocky routes into a much less intimidating prospect on a road bike. That opens up altogether new terrain and ride settings.

I’m no off-road rider, but I was happily shooting along rough and loose gravel tracks. I took the Diverge on low-difficulty mountain bike tracks and felt totally comfortable, even eager to push harder through technical corners and over obstacles.

The bike is not light by high-end lightweight road standards, but feels very low in weight compared to other bikes of this versatility, and is a significant weight saving on a full-blown MTB.

The drop

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Image 2 of 20

The dropper post helped a great deal with more technical rocky descents, and was a very neat feature I’ve never had the opportunity to use before.

Simply pressing the thumb lever drops the post when weighted, and it will spring up if the lever is pressed again when unweighted.

For very sharp and technical tracks, the lower centre of gravity and control made a huge difference to my confidence on the Diverge.

Riding in New Jersey we took on by far the most challenging terrain I’ve come across on a road bike, but I never felt out of my comfort zone.

In truth, I think I would look to switch this out quite quickly for a conventional 27.2 post for the majority of my riding – preferring the tamer side of gravel tracks.

It is an expensive addition to the spec, but it makes an important statement about where this bike is pitched.

The more conventional endurance all-road features all work well together. Shimano XTR rear derailleur has a clutch to avoid dropping the chain from chain slap when running a 1x front chainring setup.

Image 19 of 20

Image 19 of 20

I found the 1x setup to be extremely well suited to the demanding terrain this bike is destined for. The range of gearing is plentiful for even the harshest gravel inclines.

For more road riding, I would possibly prefer a conventional double chainring setup, and I think it’s a good move from Specialized to spec the lower end carbon Diverge frames with hydraulic Shimano 105 groupsets.

Back on the road

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Image 6 of 20

Moving over to the road, the Specailized S-Works Diverge is capable on the tarmac, even with the wide tyres at a low pressure. It cruises happily without any real sense of drag or sluggishness.

Much like the Open U.P, the Diverge offers a huge amount of fine tuning with regards to wheel and tyre choice. Trimming the tyres down to 32mm would make a big difference to the overall speed.

I would be eager to put the Diverge to the test on a narrower tyre width at higher pressure to see how it fares against serious endurance bikes.

Given the weight and the all around stiffness, I’m confident that it would be able to sit happily in amongst a decent paced group ride.

On the whole, Specialized's intelligent approach to handling for which the Tarmac is famed is put to use well here, and the bike is confident on descents on the road as much as the gravel.

Of course, Shimano’s hydraulic disc braking system offers another world to braking than conventional rim brakes.

There’s a lot of testing to be done with the Diverge to really determine its strengths across its different uses.

For many it will be tourer kitted out with mudguards and panniers, for others a high-end racer to fuse gravel, cross and tarmac rides.

The very fact that it spans so many categories is its main strength though.

I’m  encouraged by the Specailized S-Works Diverge, not only as a bike in itself but a direction of bikes in the future. Too often the opportunities afforded by disc brakes in terms of wheel and tyre compatibility aren’t exploited in new bikes.

Specialized has taken the possibilities to the extreme and introduced new features to the road-platform altogether.

At the same time, those features will offer benefits at the lower end of the range for normal commuters in terms of comfort and versatility.

Above all else, the Specailized S-Works Diverge offers an incredibly fun ride, unlocking adventurous new roads, paths and trails without sacrificing the fundamental pleasure of road riding.

The Specialized Allez is quite possibly the most ubiquitous road bike on the planet, with its gently sloping toptube almost an icon for affordable aluminum. While it may seem odd to alter a winning formula, Specialized has undertaken a significant redesign of the whole platform.

Taking cues from the Roubaix range of endurance bikes, Specialized has re-evaluated the geometry of the entire Allez range, now offering a more relaxed endurance fit. 

The Allez bikes now sits closer to the Roubaix than the Tarmac in geometry, adding 10mm to the headtube of a size 56, while adding 10mm to the wheelbase.

The chainstays have lengthened to 415mm and the fork rake angle has been relaxed.

It’s the detail of the frame where the really impressive changes have taken place on the Specialized Allez Elite 2018, which target both improved performance and broader functionality.

Fresh Fork

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Image 4 of 9

First and foremost on the performance front is Specialized’s FACT full carbon fork. While traditionally the Allez has used carbon fork blades bonded to an aluminium steerer fork, we now see a full carbon fork and steerer.

Across the size range this fork sits at a weight of between 340 and 370g, which will make for a saving of several hundred grams over the part-alloy predecessor.

Together with some tweaks to the frame, it’s seen Specialized pull around 500g off the total weight of the frameset.

The E5 frame uses Specialized’s E5 Premium Aluminium, which was common across the higher spec frames in the previous line of Allez bikes, but is now being used from the very bottom of the range.

Indeed, all the Allez framesets are now identical from lowest price to most expensive.

Despite the entry-level price point, Specialized claims the bike has seen wind tunnel development, which we don’t doubt given the brand’s privately owned wind tunnel at Morgan Hill.

That has influenced the design only minimally, but there are elements such as internal cabling and dropped seatstays that demonstrate aerodynamic considerations.

Easy rider

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Image 9 of 9

As well as tweaking the geometry, there are some clear signs that the Specialized Allez Elite 2018 is catering to less racey long distance riders and commuters in practical terms such as the accommodation for mudguards.

Both the front fork and rear stays have fully-fledged muguard eyelets, as well as an eyelet on the bridge between chainstays. It means that a permanent and effective mudguard can be mounted for the winter months. The Allez can also mount panniers on the front and rear.

The Specialized Allez Elite is equipped with Tekto Axis brake callipers with a long reach between the bolt and brake pads, meaning the brakes won’t impede wide tyres.

The bike comes specced with 25mm Espoir Sport tyres on DT Swiss R460 wheels, but could easily fit 28mm tyres.

With the current spec of tyres, an easy upgrade would be a bump to a Turbo Pro tyre which would significantly improve the racey feel of the bike, while the Espoir Sports will function well as a workhorse tyre.

The Elite comes specced with a Praxis Alba 2D crankset with compact gearing, while Specialized has specced a KMC chain. The remaining groupset is Shimano 105, but with the aftermarket brakes and cranks that does account solely for the shifting system and the cassette.

While there is a little compromise on the shifting specification, this is still an impressive package for £1000. Particularly, it will come in substantially lighter than similarly priced alloy competition – Specialized speculate it will come in around 400g lighter than similarly pitched alternatives in the next season.

A wide variety of sizing is available, stretching from 49mm to 61 in three different colour schemes.

We'll be hunting down a sample as soon as possible to get a full verdict of the performance on the road. On the surface, the Allez Elite looks like an excellent option for a winter bike, and for those new to the sport an excellent gateway into competitive riding and sportives.

If you’ve weathered the storms of winter like some kind of cycling viking, we salute you. Now’s the time to prepare for the better days soon to come.

But even if you wussed out and left your bike untouched over the bleak months it’ll still likely benefit from a spruce up.

We show you how to ditch the grime and treat your machine to not only get it looking good but also help it shed any further muck you encounter this spring.

You will need: Bike Wash • Polish • Brushes • Gloves
Time taken: 15 minutes.

1 Brush off loose dirt

If you’ve let your bike get properly mucky it’s easier to knock off lumps of dirt before you start hosing it down. When they’re wet they’ll smear over the paintwork.

So use the brushes to loosen them off, but don’t be too enthusiastic as you won’t want to scratch the bike’s lacquer

2 Wet down

If your bike has got into a truly atrocious state over the winter, you might want to wet it down first to soften up the bigger patches of grime.

However, if it’s not too mucky you can skip this stage and go straight onto the next as most cleaners can be sprayed straight onto dried-on dirt and grime.

3 Spray on

Give the entire bike a good coating of Finish Line Super Bike Wash. This includes all the frame tubes along with the drivetrain and brake callipers and any other grimey bits.

Don’t forget behind the chainrings, under the fork crow, behind the brakes and under the saddle, as dirt likes to accumulate in those spots.

4 Scrub sprockets and hard-to-reach bits

Go back and scrub the mucky patches. Use a thin and hard bristled brush to get in between each of the sprockets on the cassette.

While you’re there, give either side of the jockey wheels on the rear derailleur a scrub too. Assuming it isn’t too gunked up you can give your drivetrain a clean as well.

5 Rinse off

Give the whole bike a rinse down. If you’re using a hose, start at the top and work downwards so the dirt can run off, and avoid spraying directly into the headset, wheel hubs and bottom bracket bearings.

Check for any residual mucky spots and give them a final scrub.

6 Spray and polish

Once the bike has drip-dried you can apply a coating of Finish Line Showroom Polish to the frame and components. Simply spray it on, leave for a minute them buff with a soft cloth.

Doing so won’t just leave your bike looking shiny but will also help to prevent dirt sticking to it on future rides.

It started with disc brakes. A few years ago, one or two mainstream brands unveiled road bikes fitted with discs instead of calliper brakes, and the whole industry drew a sharp intake of breath. 

For some, it was a form of sacrilege. The clean, traditional lines of the road bike had been sullied by something that was a common feature of – whisper it – the mountain bike. But it didn’t stop there.

Next we were told that 23mm tyres were too skinny, and we should be riding 25mm. No wait, make that 28mm. Now road bike manufacturers are proudly declaring their frames have clearance for tyres up to 32mm and beyond.

Thanks to the addition of disc brakes, some road bikes such as the Open UP are even able to take 650b wheels, the size traditionally associated with – you guessed it – mountain bikes.

Suspension systems have crept in too. Trek broke new ground by placing a pivot in its Domane road frame to enable more vertical flex in the seat tube for enhanced comfort.

Shock tactics

Pinarello took things a step further by fitting an actual rear shock at the top of the seatstays on its Dogma K8-S, and the principal feature of Specialized’s new Roubaix is a coil sprung shock absorber beneath the stem. 

One-by (single chainring) groupsets are now entirely feasible on road bikes thanks to the availability of much wider cassette ratios.

Add in thru-axles, tubeless tyres, even dropper seatposts, and it seems the only thing separating some modern road bikes from their mountain bike cousins is a set of flat handlebars.

What’s going on? Is the industry engaged in a secret mission to turn road riders into mountain bikers? It’s time for a talk with those in the know.

It’s called progress

‘I don’t think anyone in the industry wants to turn roadies into mountain bikers, or road bikes into mountain bikes for that matter,’ says Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervélo in 1995 and more recently co-founder of Open Bicycles.

‘I also don’t think the big fight is over who came up with the technology or what comes from where in the industry. At the moment it’s more important to think about how to grow the business, and I think that’s positive because companies are starting to think about how they can make cycling better.’

David Ward, product manager at Giant Bicycles, says, ‘I’m not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg. Brands coming out with ideas and needing the Srams and Shimanos of this world to make the parts to make it feasible, or whether it’s the component manufacturers making new technology available and manufacturers wanting to use it.’ 

This could suggest that these developments are a result of brands looking to drive sales by simply finding something new to offer customers. Cyclist put it to Ron Ritzler, vice-president of components at groupset manufacturer Sram.

‘My view is that for the past 20 years as an industry we’ve just given people very little choice,’ Ritzler says. ‘We’ve basically given people a replica of a WorldTour bike and for most consumers that doesn’t fit with how they ride, where they ride and how they want to ride. It’s the wrong tool.’

Vroomen agrees. ‘Peter Sagan rides a road bike and I ride a road bike, but the way we ride is very, very different. I’m going half the speed and I’m not half as tough as Peter Sagan. I want a bit more comfort, bigger tyres, smaller gears, etc, so I actually want a very different bike.

Wishful thinking

‘But there’s also where we ride. I would love it if they would close roads for me, but that’s never going to happen, so by opening up my options of where I can ride, such as on gravel, I can find freedom and experience cycling traffic-free.

‘You’ve got this middle ground where a road bike doesn’t really make sense because it can be pretty harsh and uncomfortable, the tyres are too skinny and your neck hurts, but on a mountain bike you’d be sat up pretty straight, catching a lot of wind and probably not really going that fast. There’s clearly a category in between where there’s got to be something more suitable to ride.’

Ritzler adds, ‘OK there have been some changes made to road bike design based around more relaxed geometries, slightly taller head tubes and more tyre clearance to appeal to a wider market, but the smart product person would have to say there’s got to be a better way to serve what people really want to do on a bike. And mainly that’s about having fun.’

He believes the attitude of the road cyclist has changed, and manufacturers need to reflect this. ‘Ten years ago a group ride would mostly involve beating each other’s brains out, sprinting for stop signs and so on.

‘But people’s attitudes have shifted. They still want to do group rides but they want to encounter new stuff, and that means going on different terrains and going on new adventures. It works both ways, it’s either “build it and they will come”, or it’s recognising the early signs of a trend and saying, “Hey, I need to make something for them.”’

Mongrel bikes

Ritzler suggests the trend towards a more fun, adventurous attitude to cycling requires the development of a new type of multi-terrain bike. Vroomen evidently concurs, saying, ‘Fun is the key. In the big picture racing has always been super, super small compared to the total number of people who ride bikes, right?

‘It’s like a single digit percentage of people riding that actually race. Yet it’s still hard to convince people to think that if that’s not what you’re doing maybe you don’t need a bike like that.

‘Performance is part of having fun on a bike, though, so we still need bikes that you can go fast on because speed is fun and it allows you to cover more ground, especially if it is possible on more types of terrain too. That’s the future.’

Certainly, a glance at the line-ups of the big brands shows that many of them are now producing bikes with a ‘do it all’ propostion – fast and sleek enough for the road, yet rugged and versatile enough to cope with gravel or other surfaces and conditions.

But, as Giant’s Ward attests, there may still be a way to go to convince the consumer. According to sales data, the pure road bike is not dead yet. 

‘We are getting to that SUV kind of bike. I think we will eventually reach a point where one bike will be really capable of doing a lot of different types of riding, but I also think that people will always want to buy specific products for exactly what they want to do.

‘If you take Giant’s range, for example, we’ve got TCX, Defy, Propel and TCR, and you could argue if you just had a Defy [endurance] you could do everything, or the TCX [cyclocross] will do just about everything too, but the reality is the Propel [aero-road] still outsells the whole lot. 

‘It just goes to show that although there’s a big volume of people that want the latest “do everything”, there are seemingly still more that feel they would rather have a super-light, stripped-out, out-and-out race bike.

‘Whether indeed that’s the right thing for them or not, it’s what a lot of people want to buy. A lot of people still just like to mimic what the pro riders are using.’

Ritzler is also quick to point out the dawn of the all-rounder does not necessarily spell the end of the road bike as we know it. ‘One bike can’t do it all,’ he says.

‘You still need a bike that’s super-fast if you want to be serious about going road racing, or you’ll need a cyclocross bike if you want to go and race cross, but if you’re asking me, is there a category of bike emerging somewhere between the two for “most people”? 

‘I would say now, yeah. I think there’s a growing number of choices for riders who want to experience a bit of everything.’ 

‘Sure, people still need convincing at this stage,’ adds Vroomen. ‘It’s very hard to break those old habits. People are often afraid to make a big leap. First the customer just doesn’t quite believe it yet and still wants Peter Sagan’s bike. They still won’t be able to pull a wheelie regardless.

‘But when you put 54mm knobbly tyres on a bike it no longer looks like Peter Sagan’s bike. Plus, it takes a while before the bean counters at the big companies want to make that leap as well. For the past 10 years selling pro-styled race bikes has been big business.’ 

Vroomen is adamant, however, that it’s easy to get people on board once they’ve tried it.

‘When people try the kind of bike that opens up these new possibilities of gravel and maybe even some singletrack and still being able to ride fast, with confidence and not thinking about cars at all, then generally that’s enough to get them interested.

‘Yes, you could say that’s a little bit like mountain biking, but really it’s about building the bike that’s right for the consumer. People are sick of being hit by cars and there’s a definite trend to move away from that and a different bike is a part of that.

‘They can ride like a kid again and not take themselves so seriously. That fits more with the times we live in’, he says.

Everyone’s a winner

But what about those riders who have no intention of straying from the tarmac? Is there really a need for their road bikes to be mountainbikified?

‘The disc brake is probably the best example,’ says Ward. ‘It’s certainly still a big discussion point but the thing is, if you’re getting more reliable braking, and it’s getting much neater and lighter, why wouldn’t you want it on your road bike?’ 

There are those who would argue that disc brakes simply don’t look right on a road bike, but Ward believes that those concerns have already been addressed.

‘The new generations of disc brake products, the Sram eTap Hydro and new Dura-Ace for 2017, have turned a corner from an aesthetics point of view. The days of it being a mountain bike calliper bolted on a road bike are gone.

‘Flat mount is a big part of that and I think that is great for road bikes. It’s just neat and gets rid of the ugly bolts, so aesthetics are becoming less and less of an issue.’

Acceptance of new technology has always been a slow process for the road riding fraternity. Much of it is down to the sport’s rich heritage – we want the benefits that come with improved performance, but we also want a road bike to look like the bikes we remember from the past.

Long-term benefits

Ultimately, however, Ritzler suggests that we will come to appreciate the changes that adapting technology from mountain bikes
will have for the road experience.

‘Cycling for many is about achievement, and when you open up new possibilities other than just racing, it’s enlightening for so many riders. If you go and do a 100-mile ride with your buddies and go home and upload it to Strava, then it feels like a hell of an accomplishment.

‘You can choose to race, but you can choose to just have fun too. It isn’t fun to get flat tyres or mechanicals or pull on the brakes and not feel like you’re stopping because stuff isn’t capable of doing what you want to do.

‘That’s why this new type of bike exists, to give something for everyone.’ 

‘This will be bigger than road cycling as we know it,’ Vroomen concludes. ‘I don’t see it as a niche. That’s completely missing the point It’s not a niche – it’s a niche buster. For me a niche is a bike tailored for one very specific purpose.

‘This is a bike that is almost everything from a road bike right through to a rigid mountain bike, so it’s covering a lot of bases. It’s certainly not a niche.

‘If we make riding fun, people will keep riding and they’ll convince their friends to go riding too. We don’t want to be the kind of industry
where the best part of our fitness apparatus ends up under the bed.

‘We want people to use our stuff and encourage others to use it. The whole trend is positive.’

Part of the process

How mountain bike parts found their way onto road bikes...

1 Discs and thru-axles

They’ve proved contentious in the pro peloton, and there is still no agreement on standardisation of disc rotor sizes or thru-axles, but virtually every major brand now has a disc-equipped road bike.

2 Suspension

The likes of the Pinarello K8s (above) and Specialized Roubaix have included shock absorbers on their bikes designed for the cobbled Spring Classics, but there are benefits for all. 

3 Tyres

No sooner had the market accepted 25mm (over 23mm), the goal posts shifted again to 28mm. Where will it stop? Already many manufacturers are creating bikes with room for 32mm and beyond. 

4 One-by (1x)

Sram launched this as an off-road concept, as removing the front derailleur simplified the groupset in an area prone to mud clogging, but with more wide-ratio cassettes available, it has proved equally suitable for hassle-free road riding.

Clive Gosling was just starting out at Cannondale when the company began sponsoring Mario Cipollini’s Saeco team in the 1990s.

‘It was a really groundbreaking time for Cannondale,’ says Gosling, now marketing manager at Cycling Sports Group, Cannondale’s UK distributor. ‘We made some big waves in the peloton.

‘Cipo would win the first couple of stages of the Tour, be in yellow for a while, then he would bugger off and go to the beach.

‘We were the first team to have a yellow bike ready if he took the race lead, along with matching components and kit.

‘We even thought to put our Cannondale logos on the palms of his gloves for when he came across the
line with his hands in the air.

‘We dressed Cipollini up as Julius Caesar once, and we had his bike on the start line lifted off the floor by helium balloons to demonstrate how light it was,’ Gosling recalls.

‘There were all these rumours that we were continually being fined by the UCI, but they didn’t really fine us, it was great theatre and it was exactly what they wanted.

‘It was a crazy but fantastic time.’

This golden era in Cannondale’s history was the inspiration for giving a modern 2017 Cannondale SuperSix Evo a beautifully rendered makeover in the Saeco livery.

Show stopper

‘We showed it at the London Bike Show and it was one of the most popular bikes on the stand,’ says Gosling.

‘What I liked about it was people would come over and stare at it for a while and they couldn’t immediately decide if it was a new bike or an old bike.

‘There’s a lot of love for those bikes of that era. They’re not yet vintage, because they’re not yet that old.

‘A lot of people buy the current SuperSix Evo because it’s got a classic look. If you put it up against the silhouette of a CAAD3 or CAAD4 from the Cipo era, they actually don’t look too dissimilar.

‘So it’s cool that we have the opportunity to create a modern top-tier, raceable road bike that can still have the look and feel of that iconic team bike.’

Recreating the frame aesthetic and getting that vivid red spot-on was tasked to custom paint specialist Ali McLean of Fat Creations, Chichester, who also custom-painted a few of the more contemporary features on the bike, such as the Fabric ALM saddle and FSA carbon one-piece cockpit. 

‘The Saeco team famously used Spinergy wheels,’ says Gosling. ‘Back in the glory days, though, it would have been the Rev-X carbon four-spoke wheels, which were awful, but they looked cool as hell. 

‘I didn’t realise Spinergy still made bike wheels. It was only through doing this project that I looked them up online and found their website.

‘I got in touch and they were really happy to be involved and created these custom modern replicas using their unique PBO spoke technology, with yellow graphics on a 50mm carbon clincher.

‘I wanted tan wall tyres and the Vittoria Corsa Graphene is spot-on to complement the look.’

Saeco used both Shimano and Campagnolo, depending on who was sponsor at the time, but Gosling had clear reasons for keeping this build in the Italian camp.

‘The team was largely Italian, based around Cipo and Giro winner Ivan Gotti, plus there’s something very beautiful about Super Record that complements the classic look of the bike very well,’ he says.

Cannondale’s own SiSL2 chainset might appear to be an anachronism, but not so.

Ahead of its time

‘The original Magic Motorcycles Coda Cannondale crank that we were running through the mid to late-90s was way ahead of its time, using external bottom bracket and a large oversized aluminium axle,’ says Gosling. 

‘I have a funny story about that. I was at an event where Cipo came over holding a pair of Record cranks.

‘No matter how much we insisted our crank was much stiffer than Record, he wasn’t having any of it, so the mechanic swapped the cranks. It was in the days before torque wrenches and I watched as the mechanic massively over-tightened the bolts.

‘I was like, “Whoa, whoa, you’re going to break the crank.” He looked at me angrily and said, “Do you want to be the mechanic when Cipo’s cranks fall off in the sprint?” Like I said, it was a crazy time.’

Photography: Fred MacGregor

In developing the L'Etape, Dolan set out to create a bike that’s lightweight, responsive and comfortable, and (in its own words), ‘the ideal weapon of choice in a variety of disciplines, from general riding to road racing.’

The trickle-down of electronic groupset tech from Dura-Ace to Ultegra has allowed Dolan to piece this bike together for a very palatable £1,815, and even cheaper options are available if you specify different finishing kit and wheels when you order.

Frameset

Dolan’s L’Etape frame is a masterclass in swooping lines. The shape of the sloping ovalised top tube is mimicked below in the oversized down tube, and also in the shape of the curved seatstays, which act like dampers to minimise vibrations.

The straighter, beefed-up chainstays are more purposeful, with the intention of keeping flex to an absolute minimum along the drive chain.

It’s at their tips where we encountered the only niggle in the build, in that the Di2 cable has just a little too much slack in it.

You could cable-tie it to avoid snagging it in transit or when negotiating the bike in a packed garage, as electronics groupset cables are less forgiving than traditional steel cabling when they take a knock or pull.

Speaking of cabling, it’s all internally routed. This frameset is compatible with both electronic and mechanical set-ups, but a neat rubber bung plugs the hole on the right of the down tube that would otherwise accept a mechanical derailleur cable.

The sloping geometry of the bike results in a compact rear triangle, which should improve the power delivery.

A measured head angle of 72° puts the bike firmly in the ‘quicker-steering endurance bike’ category, while a short head tube of just 125mm gets you low over the front for more committed riding.

Groupset

A set of Shimano Ultegra Di2 shifters work on a 50/34 Ultegra chainset and 11-28 cassette, and both front and rear mechs are electronically operated and self-trimming.

This means (theoretically) there’s no maintenance required to get perfect shifts every time. Ultegra brakes grace both front and rear.

Finishing kit

A combination of all-alloy kit is used at the L’Etape’s contact points.

A 400mm diameter Deda Zero 100 handlebar is clamped to a Zero 100 alloy stem, of 110mm – an instantly comfortable and well proportioned set-up for our size 44 bike (the 44 referring to the length of the seat tube in cm, not the top tube!).

Selle Italia’s comfortably padded Flite Team Edition saddle tops the alloy Alpina seatpost (the only decidedly basic piece on board).

Wheels

Mavic’s Aksium wheelset is right at the bottom of the French firm’s range of endurance hoops. They’re solid performers but do weigh 1,880g, and that's before you’ve even fitted tyres and tubes.

The fitted Continental’s Gatorskin tyres are 23mm in diameter. They're perhaps not the first choice for many riders, but in all our years of testing, we’ve never punctured a Gatorskin; they’re all-year favourites.

The Mavic rims’ 17mm internal diameter will take much wider rubber if you want to slap some 25s or 28s in there for increased comfort. 

The ride

We spent a good 10 minutes going over the Dolan before our maiden voyage, for no other reason than to see where costs have been cut.

Beyond the fact that it’s running a KMC chain rather than Shimano, there’s nothing obvious to report.

A bike whose spec seems too good to be true for the price might just have the performance to back up its spec sheet too.

There’s a willingness to the Dolan that makes it a joy to ride – and especially to ride quickly.

The Mavic wheels take a little time to catch up with your demands of them, especially if you’re doing sprints or going for a KOM on a local climb, but once they’re spinning up, they’re more than capable of helping to propel you along rolling roads.

And it’s on these kinds of lanes that the bike excels, as well-timed electronic gearshifts help you carry every last bit of momentum up short rises, and make full use of the bigger gears down the other side.

The Di2 electronic shifting is a boon on longer climbs, thanks to the fact that the system will endure ham-fisted up-changes when it’s time to get out of the saddle and shred your legs to the summit.

The lightweight nature of the bike means it’s very much at home on a slope, but the excess rotational mass it carries in its wheels and tyres again let it down slightly in this area.

The Ultegra braking set-up is as good as you’d ever need on a road bike and – while you’re better off not grabbing a handful as you’ll need to get those wheels up to speed again soon after – when it comes to gradual stopping power, they’re truly excellent.

Ergonomically, this is one of the most instantly comfortable bikes we’ve thrown a leg over in recent months, with the handlebar diameter and stem length a perfect fit for the frame size and our 5ft 9in height.

It’s as comfortable when riding on the drops as when tapping along chatting with mates, and the overall package has almost everything it needs to encourage hard riding.

Despite the Dolan’s relatively conservative geometry, it actually feels a little nervous at lower speeds thanks to the very low front end.

However, once the speed picks up, this initial twitchiness disappears, and is replaced by responsive performance that’s right up there with any bike we’ve tested at double the Dolan’s price.

There’s a little harshness from both ends, but nothing we couldn’t live with. This is likely down to the straight-set carbon forks and unyielding alloy seatpost.

Continental’s 23c tyres, in performance terms, meanwhile, never let us down. They’ve long been favourites of ours, for their all-season ability.

The whole package holds together as a machine on which you could happily smash out a mid-length sportive, or take to the races.

It’s a versatile package that’s highly specced and particularly capable. We’d swap out the wheels for something lighter and more performance-oriented for more serious forays into competition, but that’s just about the only change we’d make.

Dolan have a Mavic Ksyrium Elite option at an extra £300, which will save you 300g and could be well worth considering if you’ve a little more cash in the kitty.

Ratings

Frame: Ergonomically splendid. Makes for a very comfy ride. 8/10
Components: Ultegra Di2 all the way. Impressive! 10/10 
Wheels: A bit on the chunky side. We'd recommend an upgrade. 7/10 
The Ride: Impressively responsive at higher speeds. 9/10

VERDICT

It has its flaws, but the Dolan L'Etape deserves plenty of credit for offering a carbon frame and Shimano Ultegra Di2 for sensible money.

Geometry

Spec

See related 

Trek Emonda ALR6 review

New Shimano Ultegra R8000 groupset includes disc brakes and synchronised electronic shift options

Tecnologia del Tubo Torinese (Turin Tube Technology) was founded in 1961.

The name was soon shortened to 3ttt and the company quickly became known for its top-quality handlebars and stems, ridden to countless wins by the likes of Merckx, Moser and Gimondi. 

‘We were the first to produce an aerospace-grade alloy bar and stem in the 1970s,’ says René Wiertz, CEO of what is now 3T after another rebranding in 2000.

‘3T likes to be first. More recently we were the first brand to deliver a full range of disc brake wheels to market.’

The latter is an indication that 3T is a brand willing to test new concepts and explore areas outside of its core expertise in components.

Its recent decision to start manufacturing bike frames is a case in point. It doesn’t look like an ordinary road bike.

I’d go so far as to say that it’s not immediately obvious what sort of bike it is at all, so I endeavoured to find out.

Expert input

The name behind the Exploro’s outlandish design might sound familiar – Gerard Vroomen. He is one half of the partnership that founded Cervélo, and one of the most respected frame designers in the world.

He joined 3T a little over two years ago and started working with Wiertz on the new bike.

‘Gerard and I prefer the kind of riding where we can get off the roads, away from traffic and we can be more free to explore,’ says Wiertz.

‘When he joined 3T we started talking about what the next big development would be, and we both agreed this kind of bike would be the most likely growth sector.

‘The idea was to expand the “go anywhere” principle to “go anywhere faster”.’

3T claims the so-called Sqaero tube shaping (most obvious on the massive down tube) and the super wide stance of the Luteus fork means the Exploro has less drag with 40mm tyres, water bottles and covered in mud than an equivalent round-tubed road bike with 28mm tyres.

It’s not a claim I can verify, but even if it’s true you have to ask if there’s a demand for aero gravel bikes. 

‘Currently it is a niche market, I agree. But for sure it will be growing rapidly in the years ahead.’ In Wiertz’s view, the 3T Exploro is all about giving the customer options.

He says that by swapping the wheels, the Exploro can perform on practically any terrain, dispensing with needing to own multiple bikes. 

‘With 700c wheels and 28mm tyres the Exploro is an extremely fast and raceable bike,’ he says.

‘Switch the wheels for a 650b mountain bike set up with 2.1-inch tyres and you have a completely different ride.

‘You get so much suspension from the big volume tyres you can take the bike on mountain bike trails no problem.

‘The middle ground is to fit an off-road 700x 40c treaded tyre, or something like a wider 45mm slick, which provides versatility across almost any terrain.’

Let’s ride!

I tested the Exploro LTD with 700c 3T Discus C35 LTD carbon wheels and WTB 30mm tyres (tubed, not tubeless), which I felt would provide good all-round versatility.

Its first outing was at La Resistance, a fairly tough 130km Alpine gravel sportive in France.

The event’s mix of road climbs, the first of which is 15km at an average of more than 8%, plus gravel sectors that would have been arduous on a mountain bike, provided plenty of opportunities to test the bike’s limits – and my own.

Man and machine both finished in one piece, and I was still smiling at the end.

I continued to test the Exploro on more familiar roads at home, and I was always stuck with the lingering question – would I actually want one?

While a highly versatile bike such as this is appealing, it inevitably has to compromise in certain areas, and this became more apparent the more I rode it.

It certainly felt fast on the road. Unsurprisingly given the girth of the frame, it’s incredibly stiff and highly reactive to pedalling inputs.

Whenever I injected some extra wattage it dutifully responded with snappy acceleration. Once up to speed, it also held its pace well, which could be attributed to the aero credentials that Wiertz alluded to. 

Confident handling

Handling was hard to fault too. The front end felt light and free in my hands and it gave me the confidence to hurl it into tight corners.

It really did perform well, but I still had to ask myself, are there better aero road bikes out there? I’d have to say yes, especially given the Exploro LTD weighs in at 7.70kg for an £8k+ build. 

Next I took the Exploro off road, as its designers intended. The stiffness again quickly became apparent, this time in a less positive way.

Even with 30mm tyres at 75psi it was too harsh to be truly enjoyable on anything but the lightest gravel, and the fairly aggressive geometry (compared to a dedicated gravel bike) means it’s less stable than others I’ve tested.

As an aside, it’s also quite noisy, the massive down tube seemingly acting as a kind of amplifier to the chatter of the trail.

The 3T Exploro promises much but can’t quite deliver in any of the areas in which it claims to perform. If you want to go fast on the road there are faster, lighter bikes out there.

If you want gravel or off-road capability there are better options. The push for versatility means it doesn’t feel quite right for any situation. 

Having said that, Gerard Vroomen has a habit of spotting trends and developing concepts that are ahead of the pack, so maybe it’s just me the bike doesn’t feel right for.

In a few years I may have to eat my words. 

Verdict: 3T's aero gravel Exploro LTD has plenty of promise but its versatility comes at the cost of excellence in any particular area.

Spec

Marin shouts about the versatility of the Gestalt 3, and seemingly with good reason. The bike is designed to blast dusty trails as well as tarmac, and wears 30c tyres for comfort on differing terrain.

A SRAM 1X groupset means that you only have changing up and down the casse e to worry about, rather than swapping between chainrings.

Add to this copious mounts for luggage and you might well have a very decent tourer on your hands.

Frameset

The Marin’s butted aluminium frame allows tube junctions to be strengthened while permitting narrower diameter tubing to be used elsewhere to keep weight down.

Traditional round tubes make up most of the frame, with a sloping top tube tapering towards the seat tube, becoming flatter.

The cabling is internally routed throughout. The front brake cable neatly runs through the left-hand fork leg (thankfully, there’s none of the usual cost-cutting external routing with snipped cable ties that we often see on budget disc-braked bikes), and it’s noticeably devoid of rattle.

Both wheels are secured by way of thru-axles, rather than quick-release skewers. This banishes flex at either end, meaning more of your power goes to the rear wheel while the front tracks perfectly.

As thru-axles go, they’re a pain to seat and secure, using a quarter-turn system that seems needlessly fiddly when a simple threaded aff air would suffice.

Mudguard and luggage mounts at the front and rear give the bike all-year appeal.

A head angle of 72.1° combines with a relaxed riding position to give a bike that can turn quickly when required, but most of the time is simply reassuring in its steering.

Groupset

SRAM’s mid-level Rival equipment graces the Gestalt, and it’s lovely stuff. The most obvious difference here is the Marin’s 1X set-up.

A single 42-tooth chainring is used in combination with a very wide ratio 10-42 SRAM cassette, offering a wide array of gearing options without the need of a front mech.

This system, originating on high-end mountain bikes, means no dropped chains, and maximum enjoyment.

Of course, it does mean the left-hand Rival shifter is simply a brake lever; the right-hand lever has a single paddle for changing up and down the cassette.

SRAM’s hydraulic discs deal with stopping duties. We’re not convinced of the requirement for Cadillac-style cooling fins when firms like Shimano do it much more neatly, but we certainly never noticed any brake fade.

Finishing kit

This is entirely Marin’s own, mainly alloy equipment. A set of widely flaring, compact drop handlebars is attached to the steerer with a sharply angled 90mm stem.

The bars especially are ergonomically excellent, their 400mm diameter being a perfect fit for our frame size, and the flared drops supported us well during more committed riding.

A vibe-absorbing carbon seatpost is topped by a decent Endurance Concept Elite saddle offering, as its name suggests, all-day comfort.

Wheels

Maddux FR300 alloy rims have a 19mm internal diameter, and comfortably accommodate the Schwalbe One Evo rubber’s 30mm diameter.

This wider rubber offers further comfort on the road and lighter fire roads. The tread can’t quite cut it when the going gets rough, however, and we wouldn’t dream of muddy bridleways.

But they do mark the bike out as suitable for road and farm tracks. It’s not a true all-roader, but how many of us use a bike equally both on and off-road?

The ride

The overriding impression as we roll out on our test loop is of the bike’s considerable bulk.

Our size 52 (S) Gestalt worried our scales to the tune of 9.68kg, and this is felt as slow speed.

Tipping into a 90° left-hander and barrelling down a long, straight hill, however, it becomes a positive advantage, working with gravity to propel us at speed with great stability.

By the time we’d got 15 minutes into our maiden road ride on the Gestalt, we reckon we must have tried to move the left-hand brake lever across to swap chainrings at least 20 times.

Yes, it really does take that long to get to grips with the fact that you’ve only got to worry about moving up and down the cassette.

Speaking of the gearing options, the biggest gear of 42x10 is plenty strong enough to get stuck into a full-on sprint on the road, but almost as importantly, the 1X set-up provides you with a ridiculously small gear of 42x42 for the toughest off-road climbs.

We wouldn’t suggest you take it to a trail centre and try to hang with full-suspension MTBs, but it’s liberating to spin up a grass bank or looser surfaces on off-road tracks when you fancy it.

Coming down the other side of climbs on either terrain, we were really surprised by how well the SRAM hydraulic disc system works – eminently fierce when required, yet easily metered power when you just need to scrub off a litt le excess speed.

Despite the bike’s heavy weight, there’s get-up-and-go to the overall package, with a stiff bottom bracket area providing ample stomp on all but the steepest climbs.

Yes, there’s that 42/42 gear if you’re masochistic enough to be tackling something like Hardknott Pass, but ultimately the bike is hampered by its bulk.

The steering is remarkably assured on any terrain, but concentrating on our tarmac ride we’d say that, although it’s no quick-steering race bike, you’d be hard pushed to notice any laboured handling.

A short wheelbase and two hands on the drops conspire to egg you on when it comes to downhill sweepers, while the lightly treaded Schwalbe tyres offer a good grip and comfort.

The bike’s weight, meanwhile, might hold it back on climbs, but when it comes to cornering it lends it an air of solidity.

Some might puzzle over the short stem’s extreme angle, but move all the supplied headset spacers above it, and you’re left with a bar height comparable to a standard road bike.

Flipping the stem gets you lower, obviously, but still not as low as a full-on race bike. But that’s not the market this bike is trying to muscle in on.

The Gestalt’s trump card is its versatility. It’s neither an excellent road bike nor a world-beating off-roader, but we’d gladly trade what might be seen as shortcomings for the confidence we got each time we rode the Marin, knowing that we weren’t restricted to tarmac roads.

This bike will get you to seek out local bridleways, it will bring out your spirit of adventure, and it will – we’d wager – make you a happier rider. 

Ratings

Frame: Noticeably weighty despite its narrow-diameter tubing. 7/10
Components: Impressive gearing options and brakes. 9/10 
Wheels: Tough enough to tackle off-road adventures. 7/10 
The Ride: Fun. Its heft inspires you to really much about on it. 8/10

VERDICT

The Marin Gestalt 3 is a solid all-road machine that comes with versatility as standard.

Geometry

Spec

The BMC Roadmachine range is the Swiss company’s attempt to present a perfect compromise between their Teammachine climber’s bike and Gran Fondo endurance machine – a bike for all occasions.

This BMC Roadmachine RM03 version is alloy-framed (the more expensive RM01 and RM02 bikes are carbon), sports a full Shimano Tiagra groupset, hydraulic brakes and 28mm any-roatyres.

Frameset

For the RM03’s frame, BMC has used lessons learned in the creation of its carbon framesets, employing its Tuned Compliance Concept.

In essence, this system of frame design creates vertical compliance in the areas of the frame that need to flex in response to road impact and vibration.

These include the seatstays, upper reaches of the seat tube and rear three quarters of the top tube.

Lateral stiffness, meanwhile, is provided in those areas where ultimate rigidity is required for efficient power delivery – the fork tops, head tube, front of the top tube, the down tube and the chainstays.

It’s been achieved in alloy by employing triple-butted tubing, which has three different thicknesses depending on how close the material is to a frame junction.

The cables are internally routed, while there are also mounts for mudguards, giving the RM03 all-round versatility.

A particularly relaxed head angle of 70.7° ensures that there are no nasty surprises in the handling.

Combined with a rangy wheelbase and a 154mm head tube, the keystone of the Roadmachine’s frame is stability and comfort, rather than out-and-out performance.

Groupset

Shimano’s Tiagra groupset is used throughout for the RM03’s moving parts, and it’s a cracking range of kit.

Truly on a par with the last incarnation of the higher-spec 105 groupset, it comprises a Tiagra 50/34 chainset combined with a wide-ratio 11-32 cassette, with shifts taken care of by Tiagra derailleurs front and rear.

The shifters/brake levers are 105-equivalent BR-RS505 hydraulic components, working not only on the mechs but also the hydraulic brake discs.

The hydro equipment is cleverly hidden in the hoods of the levers, and stopping power is very decent.

Finishing kit

BMC’s own alloy finishing kit adorns the Roadmachine. The short-reach RAB03 handlebars are 420mm in width, which feels just a little too wide for our 51cm bike, while a workaday alloy seatpost carries a Velo saddle.

This perch features a pronounced scoop which suitably cradles the rump, and is well padded to isolate the rider’s rear from road vibrations.

Wheels

Novatec’s ‘30’ wheelset is a little on the bulky side, adding a good 2kg to the weight of the BMC’s frame and other components.

But when you consider their primary job is to promote comfort rather than propel you up a mountain at speed, things start to make sense.

Their 20mm internal width makes the Continental Sport Contact tyres feel even wider than their 28c diameter. When it comes to dialling out jarring road imperfections, there are few better combinations.

The ride

This bike has a bit of a split personality. One look at the rear triangle tells you it’s built for efficiency, while the forks are aero in design, while an all-up weight of 9.78kg suggests it’ll be good for neither.

However, one thing that's immediately evident is just how comfortable the RM03 is. This is thanks in no small part to its easy-going geometry and voluminous tyres.

For a bike that’s designed to cope with anything a road can throw at you, it’s certainly a case of mission accomplished.

The high-volume tyres are exceptionally cushioning, and because they’re not deeply treaded like a cyclocross tyre, they don’t impede progress when you just want to get your head down and cover distance at speed.

In terms of pure speed, the Roadmachine is a good performer, but simply good rather than exceptional, since its bulk makes rapid progress very much dependent on the terrain.

Rolling roads and downhill stretches are a cinch, but once the road rises you’ll be wishing you had a lighter bike, despite the wide-ranging 11-34 cassette.

Yes, that does make the best of your efforts on ascents – and the frame design assists in this – but a bike that weighs nearly 10kg is never going to excel on a climb.

The long wheelbase and relaxed riding position, however, cosset you throughout a ride of any length, and were particularly adept at ensuring we experienced next to no fatigue on a 60-mile jaunt around the British countryside.

Trade-off

It’s a trade-off, but sometimes you’ll favour long-distance comfort over outright performance. If that’s the kind of riding you’re into, this bike is well worth closer inspection.

One thing we can be sure of is that Shimano’s Tiagra groupset is a well-matched fitment, and operates with all the efficiency of the firm’s higher end 105 and Ultegra groupsets.

The laid-back frame geometry and 1009mm wheelbase also have a marked effect on the overall handling characteristics of the alloy Roadmachine.

It’s not slow to steer, but if you’re used to a more racy endurance geometry you’ll notice the difference.

It’s more a case of thinking ahead, and not making any huge demands of the bike as you enter – or when you’re already in – a corner, especially if this happens to be a tight downhill turn.

What does assist in the handling stakes is the braking set-up. Shimano’s hydraulic brakes prove themselves to be well suited to this package, in that they allow you to finely gauge your stopping force rather than offering an all-or-nothing approach to scrubbing off speed.

We didn’t experience any brake rub between pads and rotors, so can only assume the bolt-thru axle system is doing its job.

The wide-diameter wheel rims spread the 28c tyres’ footprint widely, which does offer stacks of confidence when you’re barrelling into a turn at speed, or when the road surface becomes unexpectedly iffy mid-corner.

It’s here that the Roadmachine proves its worth, in happily ploughing through, over and across almost any road surface imaginable. It will even handle a little gravel if you’re so inclined.

Bikes aimed at all-road domination will always involve a certain amount of compromise, but if you don’t plan to race, instead preferring a social more ride interspersed with the odd (flattish) sportive, this bike needs to be on your shortlist. 

Ratings

Frame: Comfort is the aim, and it achieves this in spades. 8/10
Components: The Tiagra groupset is a good choice for the bike 8/10 
Wheels: Wide rims and fat, slick tyres do a good job of handling varied terrain. 8/10 
The Ride: Proceeds well on the flat, but feels the weight on hills. 8/10

VERDICT

The Roadmachine RM03 and its Tiagra components are a great example of just how far low-end groupsets have come.

Geometry

Spec

When disc brakes first appeared on road bikes, a number of brands rushed out a redesigned frame in order to be quick to market.

As a consequence, many of these frames changed the character of their rim-brake predecessors, and not always in a good way.

The resulting frames were usually heavier and often less forgiving than before, owing to the extra reinforcement at the fork and rear triangle to account for the more powerful forces that disc brakes exert on a frame. 

Carbon fibre wheel specialist Lightweight has taken a comparatively long time to come to market with a disc brake version of its Urgestalt road frame but as product manager David Bergmann explains, the company doesn’t see that as a disadvantage.

‘For us it’s always a little bit difficult to be quick to respond to trends,’ he says. ‘We’re different to other manufacturers because so many of our products are handmade, so the R&D takes a huge amount of time and expense.

‘It necessitates us waiting to see whether changes are fashion or a definite new direction, so we monitor the market and can learn from others’ mistakes.’

According to Bergmann, that hindsight allowed Lightweight to create a disc-specific frame that weighs a claimed 800g, with the total build as shown coming in at just 6.96kg.

To put that in perspective, the top-spec BMC Roadmachine (a disc brake bike costing nearly £9k) weighs 7.8kg.

‘Relative to our competitors, the increase in weight from our rim brake Urgestalt to the Urgestalt Disc is very small – just 10g.

Completely new

‘That being said, the Urgestalt Disc frame isn’t just the regular Urgestalt with discs bolted on – it’s a completely new frame.’

According to Bergmann, the feedback regarding the handling of the original Urgestalt was so universally positive that its geometry has been closely replicated on the Urgestalt Disc, but there are other marked changes too.

Lightweight has dropped the obsolete brake bridge over the rear wheel and slimmed down the seatstays in a bid to improve comfort – a feature Lightweight nurtures further with more generous tyre clearances.

‘We have two types of customer buying the original Urgestalt,’ says Bergmann. ‘We have the serious, very skilful rider who likes the frame because it amplifies the characteristics of our wheels – it’s quick to accelerate and very stiff.

‘But it’s also a demanding frame that needs to be controlled, so we have another customer: the enthusiast of the brand who is not so athletic, and is asking for a little more comfort.

‘Redesigning for disc brakes gave us the option to cater more for comfort in the Urgestalt Disc.’

It’s a theme that continues at the front of the bike. For additional comfort as well as sufficient stiffness, the fork has what Bergmann calls an ‘asymmetrical lay-up schedule’.

‘It’s far different to the one in the original Urgestalt,’ he says. ‘Asymmetrical in this instance means that the torsional forces of the disc brakes are braced for, but the vertical forces caused by bumps in the roads are allowed for, which adds a little dampening.’

System superiority

Something that’s unsurprising considering the brand’s heritage in wheels is that the new frame was designed to work specifically as a system with Lightweight’s Meilenstein Disc wheelset.

‘This was one of the few things that’s no different from the original Urgestalt. That frame was designed around the Meilenstein clinchers, and I think it’s crucial to the performance of both bikes,’ says Bergmann.

‘It allowed the rim brake Urgestalt’s stiffness-to-weight values just as it allows the Urgestalt Disc’s comfort and controllability.’

Key to this element of control is the Meilenstein Disc’s pentagon-shaped hubs. Bergmann explains that the heat build-up of prolonged braking on disc wheels with carbon hub shells can cause the bond between disc mount and hubshell to soften, allowing the two components to move relative to each other.

This is catastrophic to a bike’s braking performance, so Lightweight moved to the pentagon shape so that the disc mount physically cannot move inside the hubshell.

The design also weighs less, which obviously for a brand named Lightweight is a bonus.

‘Despite our name, we would rather make things 50g heavier than 50g lighter if that brings with it any compromises,’ cautions Bergmann. ‘That said, as long it’s safe we will continue to get even lighter with our products.’

Verdict: Lightweight has taken a while in getting the Urgestalt Disc to market, but with the additions of discs having added only 10g to the total frame weight, the time looks to have been well spent.

£3,989 frameset, approx. £12,899 as built, vielosports.co.uk

What is it?

If your sporting focus is firmly on cycling, you probably won’t be familiar with the name NeilPryde – hardly surprising since the adventure sports brand has only been making bikes since 2010.

If, however, you’re also into sailing, windsurfing or kitesurfing, you’ll know the name very well. Founded by a former Olympic sailor of the same name, NeilPryde’s been a big player in that field for 40 years.

The connection with cycling isn’t immediately apparent until you consider the company’s impressive pedigree as a leading developer of carbon fibre technology,

The firm was producing carbon masts and booms for world-class windsurfers when the Tour de France was still being won by riders on steel bikes.

NeilPryde produces four bike collections, from the endurance-focused Zephyr to the Bayamo, its hardcore triathlon/time-trial bike.

What we have here is the Bura SL, the flagship lightweight road-racing model, which has been completely re-engineered for 2017, aiming to bring new levels of stiffness while also ensuring all-day comfort in long, hard races or sportives.

What's it like to ride?

That balance of low weight, stiffness and comfort is a common enough objective in the bike industry, but with its heritage in working with carbon fibre, NeilPryde ought to be better at achieving this goal than many others.

This was backed up by our first test ride on the Bura SL. It instantly impressed with its solid feel, which is partly thanks to the massively oversized asymmetric down tube which forms the core of the bike.

If it's stiffness you’re after, this is an impressive bike, especially given its super low weight of a touch over 7kg – the frame alone, made with the firm’s highest grade C6.9 carbon, has a claimed weight of just 750g.

And although this is designed as a lightweight climber’s bike, aerodynamics have been given plenty of thought, too.

This is instantly apparent in such features as the teardrop profile of the head tube, and the integrated seatpost clamp recessed into the top tube.

What about the other components?

There’s more carbon fibre to enjoy in the finishing kit – carbon seatposts are a common enough sight on bikes of this price, but carbon handlebars are rare below the upper echelons of road bikes, so we were impressed to see one fitted here.

OK, so the SL-K is the cheapest carbon handlebar in the FSA range, but it’s an excellent compact shape, with a slightly flattened top section, and our test bike came clad in wonderfully grippy and comfortable Lizard Skins bar tape.

Gear shifts and braking are taken care of by the slick, reliable full Ultegra groupset, configured with 52/36 chainrings and an 11-28 cassette for a good balance of high-end speed and climbing gears.

Are the wheels any good?

Fulcrum’s Racing 5 wheelset are solid, reliable performers. They’re the one component we’d consider upgrading if we were looking for a performance advantage, but they’ll suit most riders very well for all-round use.

Although our test bike came with 23mm Clement tyres, NeilPryde tells us that the standard spec is 25mm, and that little bit of extra width should further enhance both grip and comfort.

What does a bike like this cost?

The Bura SL comes in two spec levels – the Ultegra version you see here will set you back £2,900, while the Dura-Ace version with Fulcrum Racing 0 wheels comes in at £4,200.

Given the quality of the frame, spending that bit extra on top quality components would be well justified if your budget can stretch to it.

If you fancy building it up to your own specification, it’s also available as a frameset only for only £2,200.

Spec