It’s not too often that I’ll ride a bike at speed while humming Hits From the Bong. I’d best explain myself. About 20 miles into my first ride on the Scott Addict RC 30, the road tightened, nicked through a country park, and rose ahead of me like Evel Knievel’s take-off ramp.

Knowing the local climb of Launde Abbey fairly well, I put the bike in the little ring (for fear of otherwise snapping the chain), got out of the saddle, and prepared for a minute or two of maximum heart-rate exertion.

What actually happened was that, by the time I was halfway up the hill, I’d changed all the way up the block to the point where I needed to put it in the big ring. Boy, can this thing climb! Hence, if you follow my logic, the instant earworm of Cypress Hill opining, ‘I want to get high, so high…’

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Image 19 of 22

Light on its feet

Keeping the bulk of the Scott Addict RC 30 to a minimum was at the heart of its design brief. 'To decide upon the frame design, the first thing we looked at was how we could save weight,' says Scott product manager, Frank Oberle.

'Then we looked at integration and aerodynamic lessons we could apply from the Scott Foil and Scott Plasma.'

It’s a design approach that echoes that of companies such as Specialized, who this year ditched the aero Venge in favour of the Tarmac SL7, a bike that’s an aero and rapid all-rounder.

Oberle suggests there are no plans to do something similar at Scott in the foreseeable future when he confirms the purpose of the Scott Addict RC 30: 'The Addict is a lightweight climber’s bike but it has some aero benefits. Still the most aero bike we have is the Foil. But the Addict RC 30 is also designed to appeal to fans of the Foil…'

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Image 3 of 22

Frameset and match

How has Scott achieved that lightweight frame, which contributes to the 7.88kg all-up weight of a size medium Addict RC 30?

'We use our best fibre type for the whole Addict RC range,' says Oberle. 'The HMX SL Ultimate carbon-fibre has a hollow structure which allows a super-clean internal structure, and saves weight in key areas. Having fewer bonding points also helps to save some weight.'

In practice, it shows, with the Scott Addict RC 30 propelling me up local hillocks in a Strava segment-bothering fashion (and given the number of times I’ve reached for this bike in recent months, I’m a little miffed not to pick up a few Local Legend segments, too…).

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Image 2 of 22

The frame itself is girder-rigid, offering sure-footed descending ability as ably as it ascends. The handlebars, however, flex a little too much for my liking when attacking a short climb on the drops… it detracts from an otherwise guided missile of a climber.

This characteristic is more welcome when devouring rolling roads at 30kmh+ speeds, however, where it serves to dampen vibrations at the front end. The carbon Syncros seatpost deals admirably with isolating your rear end from road vibes.

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Image 7 of 22

Equipment check

The Scott Addict RC 30 is graced by a near-complete Shimano Ultegra groupset. The only moving components to stray from the pack are a Shimano 105 chain and cassette, the latter of which offers a spread of 11-30 – more than enough range to play with when matched to the Shimano Ultegra 52/36 mid-compact chainset.

Hydraulic Ultegra hoods and flat-mount calipers grip 160mm rotors front and rear, offering both finessed slowing performance and arresting 30-0kmh stopping power.

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Image 10 of 22

Magnetic fork bottom covers can be removed for easy access to calliper bolts, while maintaining the bike’s clean appearance. The neatness and integration of the Scott Addict RC 30 is topped off by one of the easiest to fathom integrated stem setups I’ve experienced.

Channelling the mechanical cabling through the bars and under a cap on the stem to then escape down the steerer provides an uncluttered finished product.

'The benefit is that it’s more aero and has a cleaner look, but it was really hard to get right,' adds Oberle. 'We spent a lot of time finding the solution, especially for bikes with mechanical shifting. The goal was to make it mechanic-friendly.'

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Image 4 of 22

Winding it on

As well being more than adequately equipped for uphill and down dale-type rides, this is a bike I’d happily line up on for a crit race.

Its confidence-inspiring cornering prowess is already excellent when wearing 28c Schwalbe One rubber, and I’ve no reason to believe it wouldn’t rocket if puncture resistance was sacrificed for rolling resistance.

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Image 6 of 22

That said, the tyres are a great fit for the build in its current state, rolling through scattered grit and over deep imperfections on parlously maintained B-roads.

Turning reaction from the Scott Addict RC 30 is aided by a 72.5° head angle and wheelbase of 992mm. It devours corners, especially downhill turns, like a particularly gnu-deprived lion.

This bike will do it all. With the exception maybe of being the ideal tool for a club 10 TT nonetheless it is aero, light and rapid. Fit an Ultegra cassette for a little more weight saving; maybe even a close-ratio block to promote more seamless progress, and you’ve got yourself the one road bike to rule them all.

Spec

Building on half a century of dedication to top-level road racing, Vitus’s latest Vitesse EVO promises to be the perfect weapon for its pro riders and possibly a way back to the iconic status the brand commanded in the 1970s and ‘80s

There are few brands with as rich a heritage in pro racing as Vitus. The French brand began life as a tubing manufacturer in the 1930s but by the 70s it was a marque synonymous with great champions of our sport and its frames, produced from its factory in Saint-Étienne, were unquestionably pioneering.

A case in point was Vitus’s now iconic (and very collectable) 979 and its slender aluminium frame with bonded lugs, considered cutting edge at the time due to its exceptionally low weight. Pro riders such as Phil Anderson, Allan Peiper, Stephen Roche and Luis Herrera all tasted international success on a Vitus 979.

But it was arguably the supremacy of Irish Classics legend Sean Kelly in the early-to-mid 1980s that really cemented the 979’s lofty status.

Vitus was producing carbon frames as early as 1982 and in 1991 created its first monocoque carbon design, named the ZX-1, marking the beginning of the end for its legendary lugged designs. Strong opposition over the years that followed saw Vitus gradually fade into the shadows of bigger mainstream brands – for a time at least.

But with renewed investment and a relaunching of the brand in 2009, with as much passion as ever for racing - especially through sponsoring the Vitus Pro Cycling team - this historic brand is enjoying something of a renaissance. 

The 2021 Vitesse EVO is the culmination of two years of R&D with input from Classics supremo Kelly himself, as well as its current sponsored pros, for whom this new flagship, lightweight disc brake race bike will now be the weapon of choice.

Not just for pros

‘The EVO project really started off the back of sponsoring a pro race team and the evolution of a bike to meet the demands of racers, including ex-World Tour pro Scott Thwaites and Olympic Gold medallist Ed Clancy. But that’s not to say we’ve ignored the needs of our customers,’ explains Vitus road product manager, Jodie Shann.

‘We appreciate that 99% of people riding bikes aren’t pro racers and as a consumer-driven brand we have focussed on aspects like the comfort and handling such that everyone can enjoy riding this new bike.

‘The feedback we initially got from our pro riders was actually a bit more critical than we were expecting, but overall that turned out to be a good thing as it really made us knuckle down and focus on the key areas to improve and make the necessary changes,’ says Shann.

Among the targets in the honing of the new frame frame were a slightly longer reach, increased stiffness for both enhanced handling and improved power transfer, as well as to add a few aero benefits and shed some weight, without forgetting about some good old-fashioned comfort. No small task, then, for lead road design engineer, Ben Marvin.  

‘We really worked hard on the geometry to balance what the team wants with what consumers need,’ Marvin explains. ‘We based the geometry around having clearance for up to 32mm tyres, which is relatively easy on the larger sizes but with the smaller sizes was a little trickier. We really wanted all six frame sizes to offer the same riding characteristics, so we spent a long time ironing all that out.

‘We worked a lot on tube shapes for this latest EVO as that’s the way to get the stiffness and ride feel we were after while also being able to hit the frame weight we were chasing,’ Marvin continues.

‘What stands us apart from many of our competitors is we use a full one-piece mould for our frames. That means not having extra material to lay up around joints, reducing weight, but also facilitating more control to balance lateral stiffness with vertical compliance in certain elements of the design.

‘The head tube and bottom bracket areas are critical to the way the bike reacts to rider inputs for handling traits and power transfer and as such we have achieved an 11% increase in the stiffness of the head tube and over 50% more rigidity at the bottom bracket compared to the previous version.

The stiff BB translates through the chainstays, which we have also kept as short as possible, to help brace the rear triangle and make it 9% stiffer, plus the new fork is a massive 69.5% stiffer up front,’ Marvin concludes.

Vitus suggests that the new Vitesse EVO is around 35% stiffer overall than its predecessor, a step up that will inevitably pay dividends in terms of performance out on the road, especially when you consider this has been achieved alongside a 10% drop in frame weight. A painted size medium frame is now a claimed 910g.

Out with the old

The previous Vitesse EVO had a very classic looking silhouette, but the latest frame shape has very much met the modern era head on with features such as dropped seatstays and an integrated seat clamp.

Vitus is keen to stress, however, these aren’t just changes for the sake of following the latest trends. ‘There are proven performance benefits,’ says Shann. ‘The compliance at the rear is dramatically improved by having the dropped stays.’ 

Two modern trends Vitus has decided to eschew, however, are the move to a one-piece aero cockpit and fully internal cabling. But this is with good reason, suggests Shann. ‘We have thought a lot about the mechanical practicality of the bike and arrived at a solution using just a single cable entry point (on the left side of the down tube),’ he says.

‘This, we felt, was a good compromise, minimising the amount of visible cabling whilst also being as practical as possible. It’s also lighter this way, even with a full length outer cable end to end, which we have included to reduce the chance of cables dragging against surfaces internally, ensuring a crisp, light shifting action for mechanical gearing.’

Prices for the latest Vitesse EVO range from £1,999.99 (Shimano 105) up to £4,799 for the range-topping Sram Red eTap AXS-equipped EVO CRX. The Vitus EVO range is a category of high-performance race bikes that includes not just the Vitesse, but also the Energie cyclocross bike, and it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of probability that we’ll also see its aero race bike; the ZX1, getting the EVO treatment soon. Watch this space.

Bike shown: Vitesse EVO CRS eTap AXS £3,749.99

For further information go to vitusbikes.com

The nature of bike development means that, over time, models from different manufacturers start to look the same. As everyone works towards similar goals it tends to iron out the quirks that make a particular model distinctive, and the market becomes homogenised to a certain extent.

If you take away the logos, it can require a trained eye to tell the difference between several brands, and yet there is one bike that very much stands apart from the crowd: the Factor One.

The bike’s direct lineage can be traced back to Factor’s first bike, the 001, which was designed by motorsport engineers at Bf1systems and was radical to the point of being conceptual.

Next came the Vis Vires, which Cyclist reviewed back in issue 26. The first One came next and this One – the second One, if you will – is Factor’s latest aero-race design. All these bikes preserved and gradually refined the 001’s most progressive feature, the ‘Twin Vane Evo’ down tube.

The split down tube concept hasn’t been seen elsewhere in bike design since Colnago’s Carbitubo model circa 1993. Even then, the feature was constructed using carbon tubes inserted into metal lugs.

It has never been attempted entirely in carbon fibre before, making the One’s split down tube unique in bike building. As I’ve found out too, it is also rather effective, though not without its foibles.

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Image 2 of 8

An unusual approach

Factor says its aim with its frame design was to make the fastest bike possible. Of course, that is the aim of most aero bikes, so how come no one else uses a split down tube?

The reason is down to the complexity and cost of the frame’s construction, says Factor’s owner Rob Gitelis.

‘The moulds are hugely expensive – they cost about 50% more than standard – and making the Twin Vane Evo down tube takes a lot of extra effort compared to a more conventional bike.’

He explains that because Factor owns its own factory, the cost of this additional complexity can be offset or disassociated from a given design, an advantage many other brands do not possess.

That is why, despite the expensive manufacturing process, the bike’s final price is on par with its competitors, and why Gitelis believes the design hasn’t been attempted by others. It just wouldn’t be economically viable.

The One’s price might be on par, but its ride quality is distinct. I can’t ever recall riding a bike quite so stiff.

The effect of effort on acceleration is immediate, and while the 7.6kg weight of the One is good but not outstanding for this genre, the rigidity of the frame more than makes up for a little extra bulk.

During tests, the bike thundered forward on the flat and was especially effective up punchy climbs. It felt like I’d reach the top of my local hills a pedal stroke or two earlier than expected, such was the efficiency of the bike.

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Image 5 of 8

An unusual ride

Gitelis attributes the One’s stiffness to that split down tube: ‘Most of the time, in order to make a bike aero the down tube needs to be thin, but thin tubes aren’t stiff.

By splitting what would have been a thin tube in two, you create the contact patch – and therefore stiffness – of a wider tube with the aerodynamics of the thin tube, because air can flow through the centre.’

The split down tube does present its own issues, mind. I’ve never had to floss a bike to get it clean before. What’s more, that central channel may guide airflow off the front wheel, but it also guides road spray straight through.

Its trajectory is only interrupted by the down tube-mounted water bottle (which attaches to two tiny nubbins, one on each half of the tube), so more often than not I found myself reaching down for a drink only to find my bottle caked in grime.

Gitelis says this was a concern from the start of the project but input from pro team AG2R, which Factor sponsored during this bike’s development, offered a different perspective: ‘The team said they end up with so much dirt in their mouths from the guys in front of them in the peloton anyway, any kicked up onto their bottle is insignificant in comparison.’

I understand the One was developed to be raced, but for those of us who don’t always ride in a bunch this niggle is harder to discount. Yet despite that one quirk, the character of the bike never failed to draw a smile every single time I stood up and it surged forward.

I suppose every genius has to have its flaws. Perhaps it is just time for me to get a cap for my water bottle.

Pick of the kit

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Image 6 of 8

HJC Ibex 2.0 helmet, £200, saddleback.co.uk

The Ibex sits at the top of HJC’s helmet line and it places a premium on coolness and comfort. The company claims ventilation is controlled by ‘the principles of fluid dynamics’ – a fancy way of saying that air flows through the holes.

It was certainly very airy and comfortable during rides in Britain’s unusually hot spring, and I particularly liked the ‘Selfit’ closure system, which springs into place to secure the helmet without the need for tightening a dial. I now know how Marty McFly felt every time he put on those self-lacing Nikes.

Alternatively…

Toned down

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Image 7 of 8

The One-S keeps the Twin Vane Evo down tube but swaps the One’s external steerer for a conventional front end, so that the rider can pair any bar and stem with the aero frame.

Aer-no

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Image 8 of 8

If pure light weight is more your thing, Factor offers the O2 VAM Disc, a race bike that uses exotic frame materials to create a disc-equipped bike that flouts the UCI’s 6.8kg minimum weight limit easily.

Spec

All reviews are fully independent and no payments have been made by companies featured in reviews

While many people will pretend to have liked something before it was cool, in the case of British brand Genesis, we’ll reserve our usual incredulity.

For as long as we can remember, its team of designers have been churning out practical and forward-thinking bikes – always versatile, often made of steel, and frequently well ahead of the market when it comes to trends like bikepacking, gravel riding or other more adventurous escapades.

Despite this, its machines tend to evolve rather than needlessly reinvent themselves. Genesis's latest 2021 range seeks to build on this tendency, with most of the brand’s compact offering simply tweaked to make them more user-friendly.

The most notable additions to the line-up are a new top-spec Croix de Fer 50 made of Reynolds 853 tubing. This is joined at the other end of the range by a second flat bar Croix de Fer, a commuter-orientated model that follows on the success of the initial upright version of the well-established platform.

Elsewhere, the 650b Fugio adventure bike and CDA models both receive spec and paint updates, as do the Tour de Fer and Vagabond.

Entirely new for this year is the Broadway. A budget-conscious utility bike, it comes with backswept bars and multi-terrain tyres.

Genesis 2021 bikes: Stand out models

Croix de Fer 50

A single step down from the range-topping titanium model, the Croix de Fer 50 mixes cyclocross and touring DNA while maintaining a passable sideline as a very posh commuter.

Made of Reynolds 853 tubing, this latest version also employs Shimano's GRX gravel-specific groupset along with 40c tubeless-ready tyres and wheels.

To find out more and see the full range, head to: genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes

CDA 30

The CDA line takes the Croix de Fer’s proven geometry and applies it to an aluminium frame. Cutting down on both weight and cost, the range-topping CDA 30 also uses the same Shimano GRX derailleurs and cranks as its more expensive siblings, although here they’re mated to Tiagra shifters and mechanical discs.

Now with increased mounting points on the top tube and front triangle, these are joined by mounts on the fork for maximum carry-capacity

Fugio 10

Another of Genesis’s staple transfers over to aluminium. While the more expensive Fugio models retain their wild paint jobs and steel frames, this more accessible model uses a lighter non-ferrous frame.

Retaining the same wide tyre-clearance and carbon fork found elsewhere on the range, it also benefits from internal cabling and multiple mounting points. With 650b wheels and tyres, these are driven by a SRAM Apex 1x11 drivetrain and TRP Spyre brakes.

Vagabond

A stand-alone model, this year the long-distance Vagabond sees its chassis upgraded from anonymous steel to Reynolds 725. Its radically high front end remains, although its frame and fork now sport bolt-through axles.

The front derailleur has also been jettisoned. Instead using a single chainring set-up, this now sees a 36t chainring married to a 42t largest sprocket on the rear. Carry capacity and tyre size have also been increased.

Broadway

A new utility bike, the Broadway takes an aluminium CDA frame and builds it up to suit the city. It uses Shimano hydraulic discs and its 2x chainring drivetrain simplifies gearing. Employing a broad ratio cassette, this is good for getting up hills and also makes carrying heavy panniers less of a chore.

While designed with the daily commute in mind, the Broadway also shares the same fitting as the more adventure-orientated CDA bikes, meaning it’s happy to be taken on more rugged routes at the weekend too.

Brixton

With a front platform rack and rear pannier stand, the Brixton is Genesis’s top-of-the-line utility bike. Employing a low-maintenance 8-speed Shimano Nexus hub gear system this is complemented by matching hydraulic brakes. Based around a light aluminium frame, it arrives with mudguards and a kickstand pre-fitted.

Tour de Fer 30

Marketed as ‘adventure-ready straight from the box’, the Tour de Fer 30 comes fully kitted out. Based around a steel frame and Shimano Tiagra groupset, its finishing kit is perhaps the main attraction.

Schwalbe tyres, Tubus racks and Busch and Muller lighting is all wish-list stuff. Elsewhere, mudguards and multiple bottle cages come as standard, helping riders avoid any unexpected costs when it comes to kitting themselves out.

To find out more and see the full range, head to: genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes

The message from bike manufacturers has always been fairly clear. If you want to go super-fast, choose our aero bike. If you want a forgiving ride then over here, sir/madam, we have the endurance bike. If you want to go up hills like a startled squirrel up a tree then you need our lightweight bike.

But things are changing. The lines between models are becoming blurred as frame shapes converge on the same space, and this, the third generation of the Émonda, is a case in point.

When Trek launched the Émonda in 2014 the focus was entirely on weight, or the lack of it. The frame was a mere 690g and the top-of-the-line SLR 10 came in at a staggeringly low 4.6kg, meaning the Émonda could rightfully claim to be the lightest production bike in the world.

When the second generation – built around disc brakes – rolled into town a few years later, Trek had managed to shave even more weight from the frame, bringing it down to 665g.

I reviewed both those models and was impressed by both, not only by the low weight but also by the agreeable and balanced ride feel in terms of handling and stiffness, and even the comfort to a degree.

Despite the selling point being the lightness, the Émonda was an all-round bike, but Trek felt that it was still missing a certain something.

‘Basically this new Émonda was a request from the Trek-Segafredo team,’ says Hans Eckhom, Trek’s head of industrial design for road products. ‘The racers want the lightest, which of course the Émonda is, but they felt that it was well behind on aerodynamics.

‘So the big push for this new bike was to keep the weight low, maintain the ride characteristics that the Émonda is known for, but push towards the aero gains we have learned from the Madone.’

The result? The new aero-tailored Émonda SLR frame comes in at a very respectable 698g (size medium), so a mere 38g heavier than its predecessor, yet Trek claims it comes with 180g less aerodynamic drag.

In real-world terms, says Trek, that equates to an 18-watt power saving, or 60 seconds per hour faster on flat roads and 18 seconds per hour faster up Alpe d’Huez.

Bit of a drag

Any hills near my home in the New Forest are fairly short, sharp inclines and certainly don’t in any way resemble the Alps, yet when I took the new Émonda out for its first test ride I could tell immediately that it hadn’t lost its ability against gravity. It felt very rigid laterally as I heaved up a few 20-25% gradients.

The new Bontrager Aeolus wheels, at just 1,350g per set, are a great complement to the frame, combining to make a complete bike that weighs in at just 6.82kg. On the hills, I often felt on far better form than my power numbers were suggesting.

Is it faster on the flat? I couldn’t honestly say. That 180g less drag was certainly not evident from my rides.

The Émonda did help me post some decent times over my regular training loops, but I couldn’t verify the ‘60 seconds faster over an hour’ claim.

And this highlights an important point: many of the gains that brands boast about might not be all that noticeable unless you’re pinning a number on.

I like to ride fast but I’m not racing, so I have to ask the question: has the aero re-modelling of the Émonda been worth it for me? And the conclusion I have come to is: not really.

I must point out I really liked the previous Émonda, so this bike does have big shoes to fill, and overall I can’t help feeling that, for the type of riding I now predominantly do, I actually still prefer the older model.

Sadly, the aero traits this latest version now possesses seem to have ever so slightly impacted the handling. The old Émonda was simply sublime in this regard and I just didn’t feel as confident throwing this bike into turns.

I could probably get over that with time, but more significant is that it also seems to have given up a palpable amount of comfort too. The new version just doesn’t match its predecessor’s more agreeable nature over rougher roads.

If you’re out for every last microwatt of performance gain – like the WorldTour pros for whom this bike was developed – then those fractional advantages are very relevant.

But I’m not a WorldTour pro, I don’t race in Grand Tours and neither does 99.5% of the global market. So sure, give the racers their new race bike, but leave the old Émonda for the rest of us. It still remains one of my favourite bikes.

Pick of the kit

Endura Pro SL Lite S/S jersey, £79.99, endurasport.com

Thanks to its six-year sponsorship of WorldTour team Movistar, Endura’s top-tier road race kit now finds itself standing toe to toe with the biggest hitters in the cycle clothing market.

This Pro SL Lite S/S jersey is made from a super-fine, rapid-wicking mesh to maximise airflow and is designed for the hottest days in the mountains. It’s so light you’ll barely notice you’re wearing it, and it comes at a very reasonable price.

Alternatively…

Ride smoother

If comfort is more important to you than weight, the Trek Domané offers additional vertical compliance for long days in the saddle thanks to its innovative IsoSpeed decouplers front and rear.

Ride faster

The Madone is Trek’s most aerodynamic road model, although it offers a more agreeable ride feel than you’d expect of such an aero beast, again thanks to the inclusion of IsoSpeed technology.

Spec

The new Trek Emonda SLR: The lightest yet

Trek Emonda SLR refreshes its claim to the lightest production bike on earth, but not just for rim brakes. There’s a disc version too

Stu Bowers – June 2017

Price: £6000 (disc) ; £8500

When Trek launched the Emonda in 2014, just a few days before the Tour de France kicked off in Yorkshire, its range topping Trek Emonda SLR upped the ante in the weight race for production road bikes. Its 690g frame meant Trek achieved a fuselage weight (frame and forks) under 1kg and boasted the lightest production bike at that time.

Three years on, Trek has gone all out to see if it could better its own benchmark and as you might expect, there’s now a disc brake option too.

Buy the Trek Emonda SL 5 2019 from Rutland Cycling now

Let’s cut straight to it… At 660g the latest Trek Emonda SLR disc frame is unfathomably light, lighter even than the previous calliper brake frame.

It was only a few years ago that getting to such a feathery low weight would have meant a trip to Cervelo’s California project (and around an £8000 dent in your wallet for the privilege).

The calliper brake Trek Emonda SLR cuts the disc frame figure a further 20g to 640g, breaking the 650g mark for the first time in a production setting (The eagle eyed amongst you may have already spotted one of these being used by Alberto Contador).

That’s also very impressive, but the fact a disc brake frame no longer seems to carry significant weight penalty, and could easily achieve a complete build well below the UCI’s 6.8kg limit, will likely be the bigger talking point.

For reference these weights are quoted as being for a 56cm frame, painted with U5 vapour coat (Trek’s minimalist 5g paint finish).

‘The new Emonda is not just a simple case of making the lightest lighter,’ says Trek’s Director of Road, Ben Coates, keen to stress there’s more to this story than just shaving off a chunk of grams.

‘These bikes still had to be Treks - which means they still have to ride incredibly well and still have a lifetime warranty etc.

'We knew that we had to satisfy the disc brake market. Not for the pros, that’s still probably the most controversial topic in pro road racing right now, but for our customers who appreciate having super lightweight with race geometry and ride quality to match, we felt we needed to offer them the choice.’

Trek’s claim then is not only is the new Emonda SLR lighter, it’s stiffer and more compliant, this improving the ride quality at a lower weight.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard that old record spun, but Coates goes on to explain how the OCLV 700 carbon of today is far from the same as OCLV 700 of a few years ago.

‘We constantly evolve it, finding new fibres and ways to improve the laminate schedule and the carbon fibre pieces are always getting smaller and more precise – optimised for the jobs they have to do.

'For this new bike we changed absolutely everything and made improvements across the board. It was a ground-up new start.’

This process begins with tens of thousands of iterations running through computer modelling software.

That’s nothing particularly ground-breaking in itself, it’s how most manufacturers make their decisions these days, but the point of difference at Trek, according to Coates, is the number of times it goes back through this cycle in combination with real world prototype testing.

‘The math tells you only so much. But we can take this to the next step to 3D model what it would look like out on the road.

'But even then we still have to take what appear to be the best options for real-world testing. Then we go back to the science and the numbers with the ones that tested the best to try and see how we can improve on it further.

'That’s our cycle.’

The frame will still appeal to those who like traditional road styling, as Trek has kept the style changes subtle compared to the previous Emonda, with both H1 and H2 fit options (H1 has a racier fit with a lower front end – H2 is taller at the front for a slightly more relaxed position) available in both rim and disc options.

The Trek Emonda SLR features Bontrager’s new, sub 100g Speedstop Pro direct mount brakes, and is entirely carbon frame, including details like the derailleur mounts.

The SLR Disc uses co-moulded aluminium drop outs (accounting for the additional frame weight) for the threaded portion required for the thru-axles.

Putting the SLR aside for a moment, one of the most exciting things about this new launch is at the opposite end of the pricing spectrum.

Realising that the market for top of the line SLRs is limited to those with fairly deep pockets, Trek has also brought out new models lower down the range.

The standout bike seems to be the Emonda SL (essentially the same frame as the current Emonda SLR, but using a slightly cheaper updated laminate) retaining a lot of the features of the top end bikes – direct mount brakes, internal cabling, ride tuned seat mast etc. with a claimed frame weight of 1000g.

Pricing with a full Shimano 105 groupset is impressive at $1700 (£1300). Again there’s a disc option at this level too.

Trek Emonda SL: Pricing

Trek Emonda SLR: Top of the range

Trek Emonda SLR from £4000 for the SLR 6
Trek Emonda SLR Disc from £4400

Trek Emonda SLR 9 (top of the range) - £8500
Trek Emonda SLR 8 Disc - £6000

Trek Emonda SL: Entry level

SL prices start at £1500 (SL 4 rim brake), and the cheapest disc model is the SL 6 Disc at £2650

Trek Emonda SLR 2015 review

The lightest weight production bike ever made also happens to be one of the best. The Emonda SLR has shot straight into our top three

Trek already has two race-winning road bikes in its line-up – the aero-tuned Madone and the cobble-slaying Domane – so when the Wisconsin-based company announced it was launching a completely new road platform, it was hard to fathom where it might go next. In the end when they produced the Emonda SLR, they took on one of the oldest and fiercest battles in bike building – simply to be the lightest.

Frame

The goal for the engineers was straightforward – elevate Trek to the top of the weight race with the lightest production road bike in the world (and then create another bike name using the same six letters as the Madone and Domane).

It’s important to make a distinction here between lightest ‘frame’ and lightest ‘production bike’. The Emonda frame has a claimed weight of 690g for a painted 56cm, so can’t lay claim to being the skimpiest out there (although it’s not far off). However, what Trek has done is taken a holistic approach to the entire build, to arrive at a staggering 4.6kg (10.2lb) complete bike weight for its range-topping SLR 10 model, enough to crown it as the lightest production model on the planet.

You could argue that’s a slightly hollow victory, because at this price point – the SLR 10 costs £11,000 – who goes for ‘production’ anyway? And as soon as you start thinking outside the box for spec choices, the weight can soon come off practically any production bike. But, as they say, a win’s a win. What’s crucial, however, is that Trek has done more than just make one superlight flagship. It has created an entire range, using the same exhaustive approach to each model to achieve ‘best in class’ weight and specification at every level.

Our test bike is a custom spec, based around the top SLR 700 series OCLV frameset, and includes a Dura-Ace 9000 mechanical groupset (with direct mount brakes front and rear), Bontrager Aelous 3 D3 wheelset and the all-new Bontrager XXX integrated bar stem, showcasing all of the new technologies Trek has on offer. You can buy the very same bike through Trek’s Project One programme – complete with highly attractive (in our opinion anyway) powder blue paint colour, and it would set you back £7,080. That puts it squarely between two off-the-shelf models – the Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2 equipped SLR 9 at £7,899 and the Dura-Ace 9000 specced SLR 8 at £5,800.

Weight

It graced our scales at 6.2kg, more than half a kilo under the allowable weight limit for pro bikes. ‘All you have to do is pick it up to understand what [the Emonda concept] is about,’ says Trek’s road product manager Ben Coates. ‘For the consumer, weight is very quantifiable, both when you lift it and when you ride it. Everyone wants lightweight. The person who spends £1,500 wants lightweight, just like the guy that spends £15,000. The benefits are there across the board. It is a quantifiable benefit that every [level of] rider will appreciate.’ Crucially though, Coates adds, ‘Superlight only plays when it rides super great.’ Which sounds like our cue to take the Emonda for a spin.

Power to weight

I have to agree with Coates. A lighter bike (assuming it has good build quality) adds a tangible and instantly gratifying element to the ride experience. Sure, it’s a plus if your bike handles smoothly, and some aerodynamic profiling is always a bonus as well, but I believe there’s more currency in something that accelerates effortlessly and makes you feel like a superstar uphill. Let’s face it, hills are where most of us gauge our performances, and climbing prowess is for the most part about power versus weight. And Coates is right about the shop floor point too. Picking a bike up is the first thing (OK, maybe the second thing – after squeezing the brakes repeatedly) that customers do.

Shedding weight from a frame is always a case of striking a balance, trimming grams where it won’t affect the ride quality and optimising lay-ups so that every single strand of carbon serves a purpose. Trek appears to have got the mix spot on with the Emonda. It didn’t take long to impress me. On my very first ride – which happened to be a large chunk of stage one of the 2014 Tour De France – I felt immediately at one with the Emonda. I’d describe the feeling as riding 

‘in’ the bike rather than ‘on’ it, something that for a micro-adjuster like myself usually takes a fair amount
of time and fettling to get right.

The ride

The rolling Yorkshire landscape, and the Buttertubs Pass in particular, were early opportunities for the Emonda to show what it was capable of. It seemed to gain, and hold on to, speed with ease on the undulating lanes, in or out of the saddle, but pointing it up the bigger climbs was where it really showed its true colours. It’s a beautiful sensation when a bike feels like it’s genuinely making a climb easier for you. The Emonda showed no signs of being flappable under even my most aggressive hill efforts, and with such low weight it was like having a few extra watts on tap. I wondered, a few days later, as I watched Jens Voigt on TV powering over the Buttertubs on his Emonda at the head of the Tour de France, whether he too was thankful for its benefits.

I’ve since travelled to Italy, and all over my regular Dorset stomping grounds with the Émonda, and not once have I come back disappointed. It’s a dream to ride uphill, and it carries on delivering over the top and down the other side. I haven’t, in over two months of testing, found a chink in the Émonda’s armour. The Bontrager Aeolus 3 D3 wheels are a superb complement to the bike – light and stiff enough to accelerate quickly when you lay down the power. The only glitch is the supplied cork brake pads’ performance in the wet, which left me white-knuckle braking in the Dolomites in a heavy downpour. But that’s an easy and inexpensive fix.

Buy the Trek Emonda SL 5 2019 from Rutland Cycling now

There is a lot more to a great bike than just being light, but when the rest of the aspects are as good as on the Emonda, then it’s always going to be hard to dismiss weight as a deciding factor in a bike’s performance. I’ll genuinely miss it once this review is published and the bike is returned, and I’m already pondering how to reconfigure my all-time top three, to give it a well-deserving place.

For

The best climbers bike we've ever ridden

Against

Poor brake pads

Geometry

Spec

• Want more in-depth reviews of the latest bikes and must-have kit? Subscribe to Cyclist magazine today and try 3 issues for JUST £5 (saving 84% on RRP) and get a FREE Ass Saver as a welcome gift.

The news that Alberto Contador has been sashaying about on a mysterious new bike has been circulating on social media for a few months now, the multiple Grand Tour winner sates the appetites by repeated glimpses of the unmarked frame.

The bike is the Magma, the brand is Aurum.

Aurum was born out of collaboration between Contador and two-time Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso. They say that a combined 30 years of professional experience gave them the desire to design the bikes they had always yearned to use during their sponsor-constrained racing days.

Aurum is Latin for gold: 'the material of winners, the most precious medal and spot on the podium, reflecting both Contador and Basso’s passionate desire for success whether in racing or in business.' 

The pair say they recruited a team of designers and engineers who could create and develop the designs and features Contador and Basso wanted from their product.

Apparently the former pros provided input on aspects like handling and geometry, tube shapes and ride characteristics. Then they were heavily involved with the testing and refinement process out on the road – thanks to their extensive experience the brand says they could give invaluable feedback.

Two years of development, one successful Everesting attempt and a claimed half a million kilometres ridden on various prototypes later, the pair say the Magma is the realisation of their ambition.

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Image 2 of 11

Lightweight and aero

'People say why? The market is full already, no? For sure it is hard, but so is the TdF,' says Contador. 'We will do the best thing we can, and work hard at this the way we did as racers.

'It’s still our passion. It’s a lifestyle. For me it’s a huge challenge but that motivates me. I feel like my experience means I have a lot to give a project like this. It is a personal motivation to give 100% like we did as bike racers.'

So named due to the thousands of metres of elevation climbed on Mt Teide during the frame's development, Contador says the Magma is not purely about light weight, but rather aims to balance that with aerodynamics, stiffness and comfort. For those following the fortunes of literally any modern race bike, those claims will come as no surprise.

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Image 6 of 11

Aurum says it has the stats to justify its claims though. The brand used high-end production methods to create a claimed frame weight of 850g for a size medium – it used latex-coated EPS mandrels during the fabrication process to aid carbon compaction and minimise excess materials inside the frame, for example.

The forks and front triangle in particular are formed with aerodynamic efficiency in mind, their truncated airfoil profiles the result of CFD modelling and time spent in the University of Milan's wind tunnel.

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Image 7 of 11

Practical touches

Aurum says an important aero feature on the Magma, and one of the bike's more distinctive areas visually, is the cavity underneath the stem at the top of the headtube. Aurum dubs this the 'Head Tunnel' and it exists to route cables inside the frame from the bars.

Apparently this is an efficient way to internally route cables while still allowing for a conventional cockpit setup.

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Image 8 of 11

The brand says stiffness is promoted though the use of a BB386Evo bottom bracket, which allows the tubes forming the bottom bracket junction to flare out and promote lateral stiffness while maintaining space for 30mm tyres.

What's more, the chainstays and seatstays are moulded as one piece, which Aurum says makes that frame portion stronger and lighter thanks to there being no overlapping material or bonds.

While the Magma's stated performance objectives are no different to its competitors, the Magma design diverges from the norm at the seatstays, which remain a part of the seat tube cluster and are not dropped.

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Image 9 of 11

Aurum says the seatstays' long spans of thin tubing promote comfort as they are able to flex. Contador suggests that even pro riders' benefit from a bit of cushion, and Aurum wanted the bike to appeal to more comfort-orientated riders as well as racers.

The Magma is the only offering from Aurum just now and is available in three high-spec builds, with prices starting at €9799 (approx £8885). The frameset can be had for €4099 (£3700). 

Cyclist has a test sample of the bike so be sure to check out the review feature in a future issue of the magazine.

This might not be the place to say it, but road riding and I have been going through something of a rocky patch. In fact, that’s a literal explanation, as I genuinely have been spending more of my time riding through patches of rock.

I’ve been doing far more gravel riding than road riding, which is something Open would appreciate, having built its reputation developing gravel bikes such as the UP, the Upper and the Wi.De.

So it really piqued my interest when I learned that Open’s co-founders Andy Kessler (former CEO of BMC) and Gerard Vroomen (co-founder of Cervélo) had chosen to create a road bike: the Min.D.

‘We basically wanted to design Andy’s perfect road bike,’ says Vroomen. ‘Andy lives in Basel, Switzerland, where if he turns left out of his door there’s tarmac, but right there are technical trails in the mountains.

‘He could of course use two of our UP gravel bikes set up differently, but we also reasoned in those circumstances riders are better off with two different bikes – a Wi.De [Open’s gravel bike with extreme tyre clearance] and this new Min.D.’

He says they approached the design in the opposite way to their gravel bikes. Rather than seeking to squeeze the maximum tyre clearance into the frame, they saved on clearance and ‘spent’ it elsewhere in the frame with a focus on efficient stiffness-to-weight and comfort.

Buy the Open Min.D from Open here

As a result, the Min.D is designed to be used with 32mm tyres, which Vroomen suggests – and I agree – could be considered as the ‘sweet spot’ for road when outright speed isn’t top priority. It offers lots of volume for comfort and grip without going so wide that a road bike basically becomes a gravel bike in all but name.

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Image 2 of 8

Make yourself comfortable

Elsewhere, though, gravel influences are very much in evidence. The Min.D’s geometry is aimed at stable handling and offers a ‘realistic saddle-to-handlebar drop and reach’.

It’s a direct result of Open’s experience of gravel geometry, which Vroomen believes is better suited to the average road cyclist anyway. To arrive at that geometry, Open developed a steel-framed test mule with adjustable tube angles.

‘The adjustability is so big that when we were playing around with the Min.D’s development we got the toe overlap so big we almost created crank overlap. The pedal could touch the front wheel,’ Vroomen says.

‘That configuration actually rode quite nicely but we thought we might get sued so stopped pretty quickly.’

The name comes from an amalgamation of the words ‘minimal design’. Vroomen says that by keeping things simple he could create the performance characteristics Open desired, with a case in point being the bike’s continuous seat tube, which for much of its length is a svelte 25mm in diameter.

A conventional seatpost-into-seat tube design creates a rigid, bulky structure, with limited scope for alteration. ‘This way we could create any flex characteristics we wanted and take them all the way through to the saddle, while also shaving weight off the seat tube cluster,’ he says.

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Image 3 of 8

Theory in practice

The more I’ve learned about the bike, the more I’ve come to understand how all these details add up to an incredibly well-executed endurance road bike.

In terms of geometry, the Min.D combines a fairly slack 72.5° head tube with a fork offset of 50mm (43-44mm is more typical on road bikes), which makes for a stable ride at high speed. Yet the steering never felt ponderous, as tight 405mm chainstays keep the wheelbase to 998m on a size large, quite short for an endurance bike. 

The stack and reach are equally sensible. My size large’s 585mm stack meant I could have all the ego-soothing benefits of slamming the stem without back pain caused from an unsustainable position.

Added to the wide tyres and narrow seat tube, it meant the Min.D’s ride was as smooth as buttered silk over any condition of tarmac.

There will be some prospective customers who will balk at the continuous seat tube, thinking it makes reselling the bike more difficult once cut, but Open has thought about that too and makes a topper with up to 35mm of adjustment.

Buy the Open Min.D from Open here

I’m not really sure why someone would want to sell this bike on anyway. I’ve reached the end of my test period and I really don’t want to lose my Min.D. It looks like my relationship with road riding is back on track.

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Image 6 of 8

Pick of the kit

100% Speedcraft sunglasses, from £139.99, freewheel.co.uk

The Speedcrafts are one of 100%’s oldest designs but still look contemporary, and despite their size they are competitively lightweight at 33g because they’re made from hollow sections that have been neatly fixed together.

The raised brow bar offers an unrestricted view while in an aggressive riding position, and the frameless lower portion ensures good peripheral vision. Optical clarity is excellent and even after two years of regular use the lenses are virtually scratch-free.

Alternatively…

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Image 7 of 8

Try a different track For anyone looking to Open for versatility, the Upper (£3,900 frameset) is just as comfortable sporting aero road wheels and slick tyres as it is with 650b wheels and knobbly gravel tyres.

Buy the Open Upper from Open here

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Image 8 of 8

Yin and yang For the most adventurous gravel riders, the Wi.De is the antithesis of the Min.D. It features a double-dropped chainstay design so it can accommodate up to 61mm tyres on 650b wheels.

Buy the Open Wi.De from Open here

Spec

All reviews are fully independent and no payments have been made by companies featured in reviews

The new Canyon Aeroad has finally hit the market after being glimpsed in the WorldTour peloton throughout the latter part of the season, and claims to be the most aerodynamic bike on the market.

Developed through CFD and wind tunnel testing at the GST the wind tunnel in Immenstaad in conjunction with SwissSide wheels, Canyon describes the Aeroad as ‘the new benchmark in aerodynamic road bikes’, saving 7.5 watts over the previous iteration of the bike.

Despite the aerodynamic gains, the top-tier Aeroad CFR, which stands for Canyon Factory Racing weighs in at only 7.3kgs, just 500g above the UCI minimum weight. The frame weighs only 915g – a full 168g lighter than the outgoing Canyon Aeroad disc frame.

Canyon has evidently reconceived the bike from the ground up, taking rideability, handling and speed all into consideration. Aerodynamics is certainly the main attraction, though.

Aerodynamics

Canyon claims that independent testing, yet to be published, places the Aeroad ahead of major rivals such as the Cannondale SystemSix and Cervelo S5. 

However, it’s worth remembering that these tests often rely on a specific wind-tunnel, speed, and a specific angle (or range of angles) of yaw – the angle at which the wind hits the bike.

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Image 6 of 24

The bike was developed in conjunction with wheel brand and aerodynamic experts Swiss Side, who used what the brand argues to be the best computational fluid dynamics (CFD) available to develop the bike.

It was then tested in the GST the wind tunnel in Immenstaad, where German Tour magazine also does its comparative aerodynamics analysis. There, it was tested at yaw angles of +/- 20° and at a speed of 45km/h. The results showed a substantial step up compared to the previous Aeroad CF SLX.

Canyon claims that as a bike in isolation, in these settings, the Aeroad is 7.4 watts faster than the previous Aeroad. However, to make the testing a little more reflective of real world riding Canyon developed a set of carbon fibre legs called ‘Ferdi’. 

With Ferdi’s legs in place, the bike was 4.4 watts faster than the previous Aeroad, and 5.4 watts with water bottles in place.

Intriguingly, the eventual R065 frame was not the fastest Canyon tested, as a ‘Geometry 19’ model outperformed it. Canyon engineers sided for wider practical performance on offer from the final frame.

Indeed, all around performance has been a serious consideration for the Aeroad.

Practical thinking

The last generation Aeroad was a surprise hit amongst pro cyclists, with many siding for the Aeroad even for the likes of cobbled classics.

‘More or less all of our pro riders wanted to test the last bike,’ says Sebastian Jadczak, Director of Development for Road at Canyon. ‘They have often continued with this bike for several years, and it’s an interesting perspective as they still need performance when climbing but see the Aeroad as working in all areas.’

‘Even when riding in a small mountain breakaway group you can still be going super fast for 25 or 30kms. So maybe it also makes sense to go for Aeroad even in those situations,' he adds.

While the new Aeroad looks more dedicated to speed, there is a lot of consideration for practicality.

For instance, the Aeroad uses an adjustable integrated handlebar, which uses ‘Cockpit wings’. The CP0018 bar effectively comes apart, both drop bars detaching from bolting points beneath the stem, and fold down beside the fork.

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Image 10 of 24

This will prove a big advantage for travel, and of course delivery given Canyon’s direct-to-consumer model. The other benefit is the width of these bars can be adjusted by up to 20mm on either side. There’s also a more aggressive CP0015 bar that will be far flatter to effectively slam the stem. For now that’s only available to pro riders.

At the rear end, we’re pleased to see that the deeper seatpost hasn’t compromised comfort. Canyon uses what it calls the SP0046 seatpost, which is effectively two parts, with the rear half of the seatpost being effectively a hollow carbon shroud. The front half is where the seatpost clamp attaches, offering a little more flex.

First Ride Impressions

Encouragingly, the geometry on the Aeroad has reverted back closer to its rim brake predecessor. The chainstays, for instance, have shortened to 410mm, making the rear end a little more tight and the handling a little sharper. 

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Image 19 of 24

From the outset, the Aeroad is simply rapid. Recently I’ve taken to ‘riding blind’. That is, riding with Strava on my phone but no head unit. I was genuinely surprised when I returned home to see how quickly I’d been cruising along my usual loops. 

On a wet and windy day I rode one quick 11km loop and looked back to see a 37kmh average, around 2kmh faster than I’d been riding in recent months. There’s a sense of rigidity that means the bike just leaps forward with every impulse. 

Importantly, though, that rigidity fits very well within the wider system of the bike. For instance, the SP0046 seatpost really manages to sooth the rear-end of the bike. That’s really important for overall handling, and efficiency. Ultimately - you can’t deliver a huge amount of power if you’re constantly being bounced up and down and out of your most efficient and powerful position. 

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Image 24 of 24

The front-end also complements that – the Aeroad’s CP0018 handlebar also has an agreeable level of flex to it. That dialled-in flex helps balance what appears to be a stiff headtube and fork, meaning that the bike handles very positively and decisively but doesn’t deliver that stiffness to aching forearms.

A really interesting choice in terms of spec for this bike has been to opt 25mm tyres on the front, but 28mm tyres at the rear. Canyon’s engineers argue that modern aero wheels are developed for 25mm tyres, so they haven’t followed the trend to use wider tyres on the front wheel. 

But at the rear, the aerodynamic cost of a wider tyre really isn’t felt, as the air has already had to travel over the rider and frame to hit the front of the rear wheel.

The benefit, of course, is that you can have a wider contact area, and run lower psi for more overall comfort.

A little unconventional is the choice of DT Swiss ARC 1400 Dicut 62 wheels. These are fairly deep, and these days, especially at the front, you may more commonly see 35mm or 50mm rim depth, as that will be disturbed a little less by cross winds. 

For me, having ridden 80mm front wheels in the past, I wasn’t disturbed by the slight wind-effect on the steering, but some people may prefer a shallower rim that offers a little more stability.

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Image 7 of 24

At the same time, there are clear gains to that deeper front wheel, and Canyon argues that the bike even effectively has a sailing effect in the right sort of yaw angle. For our part, we’d have to see a little more data to verify that.

Flat-out speed

What strikes me around the new Aeroad is that where other brands have watered down their aerodynamic road bike offering – for instance Specialized removing the Venge from its range – Canyon has actually committed the Aeroad even more to speed.

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Image 15 of 24

In that sense, perhaps it won’t have the versatility of some of Canyon’s other road bikes, but for those people that really love speed above all else (and I’ve certainly been one of these in the past) this is a real dream bike. 

It has the speed, the handling and the excitement you’d expect from an aero road bike. With the success the Aeroad has already enjoyed, the improvements of the new Aeroad while retaining that same DNA are really promising. We look forward to putting together a comprehensive full review in the months to come.

Pricing and spec

There are three tiers of the Aeroad: The CFR, CF SLX, CF SL

The top-tier Aeroad CFR, discussed above, comes in at £7,699. That’s higher than the Euro price of €7,499, which we expect is down to exchange rate and tariff uncertainties involving Brexit. Optimistically, we could perhaps see these prices come down into next year. 
The frameset only option comes in at £4,449.

Below the CFR sits the CF SLX, which adds a little weight and sacrifices some rigidity compared to the CFR. This starts at £5,199, and is electronic groupset-specific.

Below that is the CF SL, which shares the shape of the CFR, but uses external cabling and a conventional cockpit of handlebar and stem and is mechanical groupset-specific. It starts at £3,399.

For more information on the entire Canyon Aeroad range, visit Canyon.

Specialized has unveiled its brand new lightweight road bike platform, the Specialized Aethos, which boasts an incredible frame weight of 588g in a 56cm size, and hits only 5.9kg for an overall build.

The lightest production disc road bike we’ve ever seen, the Aethos has not been conceived for competition in the WorldTour, and it makes no attempt to stick to the UCI’s weight limit of 6.8kg. Yet, despite it’s 5.9kg overall weight, this bike is not simply an exercise in cutting grams.

Specialized claims that the Aethos is the most technologically advanced bike the brand has ever produced, yet is designed around the needs and passions of the most dedicated bike lovers.

As a result, the Aethos is a rare example of a top-end Specialized bike not built purely around aerodynamics.

Buy the Specialized Aethos from Specialized now

This was down to a reconception of the goals for Specialized’s top road bike, with the brand acknowledging that the needs of pro riders and elite amateurs were becoming increasingly divergent from many of the most passionate bike consumers.

Passion over pro performance

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Image 7 of 22

‘It became even more clear to us at the point of creating the Tarmac SL7 as a single solution to racing, that we were drifting even further from some of the priorities that core riders were after,’ says Stewart Thompson, road category leader at Specialized.

'These riders are incredibly discerning – they value performance and their identity is largely defined by the riding experience. But they don't always prioritise aerodynamic integration and performance criteria in the same way that competitive racers do.'

Specialized claims this is the lightest disc road bike ever produced on a mass market level. According to the Cyclist scales, this size 56cm Aethos comes in at 6.2kg with bottle cages, and Specialized claims the S-Works Aethos comes in at an average of 6.0kg. The Jet Fuel colourway Founders Edition weighs in at a more svelte 5.9kg.

Importantly, that isn’t down to lightweight components, as we often see on other special edition super-light bikes. The S-Works Aethos is equipped entirely with standard componentry – it even has a Dura-Ace crankset rather than an S-Works Praxis crank.

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Image 16 of 22

To hit this weight point, Specialized hasn’t employed exclusive super high-modulus carbon fibre, which is historically a favourite means of cutting weight. It uses the same Fact 12r carbon as used on the S-Works Tarmac, and rather it’s an altogether new shape and what Specialized call the ‘strategic use of this material’ that has allowed it to hit this low weight.


Finite Element Analysis

This bike was designed using something called Finite Element Analysis, or FEA for short, alongside a powerful supercomputer. Now that’s not uncommon amongst frame design, as most top-end frames will use FEA to determine shape and carbon layup. The difference with the Aethos is that it went through 100,000 simulations to create this finished product.

The project was spearheaded by Peter Denk and Sebastian Servet, who are based in Germany, and involved extensive computations and data analysis.

The brand built more and more data before refining it down until they hit an effective golden bike design – a perfect sweet spot and an entirely new shape.

‘We often spend a few months working on analysis and validating a frame shape, and then spend a year or more working in layup,’ says Thompson. ‘This was a three-year project for us in which the first year was spent completely in an FEA stage, going deeper than we ever have before. That's because the shape itself represents basically three quarters of bikes performance.’

The first prototype weighed an incredible 545g, and Specialized boasts that it didn’t need much material to be added to make it rideable.

Buy the Specialized Aethos from Specialized now

Despite the Aethos’ innovative new shape, it actually looks fairly classic, with tube shapes that remind us of earlier generations of Tarmac. Yet up close, there is some advanced design at work.

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Image 9 of 22

The entire frame uses a type of constant curvature across the tubes to ensure one tube flows into another and there are no blunt junctions. Amongst those 100,000 FEA simulations, Specialized created thousands to find exactly the right curvature where the seat tube flows into the BB and flows into the down tube.

Every single fibre in the bike is doing work, in what Specialized describes as a layup with no ‘lazy fibres’, which has helped cut wasted material and hit this low weight.

That has all come together to mean the bike is not only incredibly light, but also really rigid too. Specialized claims the Aethos has a stiffness to weight ratio that beats everything aside from the Tarmac SL7.

The ultimate goal for Specialized was the 'perfect ride'. Not one for World Tour pros but people who simply love to ride bikes.

Geometry and components

While light weight was the most attention-grabbing goal, Specialized wanted the Aethos to offer a complete package in riding and handling terms. No surprise, that the geometry and fit is identical to the Tarmac SL7 that Specialized released a few months ago.

The S-Works Aethos comes with a new Roval Alpinist wheelset, which hit a very impressive weight of 1,248g.

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Image 18 of 22

Specialized has also used an Alpinist seatpost and the top tier Founders Edition comes with an integrated Alpinist bar and stem cockpit that will be available for purchase for other S-Works Aethos frames too. As standard the bikes come equipped with S-Works carbon bars and alloy stem.

The Aethos comes with S-Works 26mm Turbo cotton clincher tyres, though there is officially clearance for 32c tyres, which will be a big attraction for Aethos consumers eager to take on gravel or cobbled routes – which we expect to match the Aethos profile well.

At present, there’s no announcement of specs of Aethos that will sit below the S-Works tier. However, we can only assume that we’ll see the Aethos shape used across a range of new lightweight Specialized bikes hitting more affordable price points.

S-Works Aethos Founders Edition, with Alpinist cockpit, at a price of £13,000

At £10,750, the Aethos sits at the top of the Specialized tree in terms of price, but the extra £250 over the Tarmac SL7 is on account of currency exchange, rather than innately more expensive production costs.

There are three options for the Aethos in total – the Founders Edition equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 at £13,000. Then comes our Dura-Ace Di2 spec and an identically priced Sram AXS Red spec.

On paper, the Aethos hits some incredible stats, and so we were raring to take it out on the road to test its real-world performance.

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Image 5 of 22

Specialized S-Works Aethos: First ride review

When climbing, this bike really does feel weightless. It’s almost surreal when rocking the bike from side to side, it almost feels like there’s nothing beneath you. The kilogram or more of saving over most disc brake road bikes makes a really palpable difference, and it almost feels like having a hand on your back uphill.

Cyclist testing the Aethos, picture by Chris Sansom

Of course, light weight isn’t a huge gain if it comes at the cost of rigidity and with a loss of power, and this is where the Aethos really performs well. As it’s surprisingly rigid from front to back, it has a transfer of power and a turn of speed that is really striking, and while riding it I found myself dreaming of classic climbs I’d love to return to in search of a PB.

While geometry plays a huge part in handling, what really distinguishes top racing frames is making sure they’re stiff in the right places, and they have flex where it’s needed. That’s certainly the sensation aboard the rear-end of the bike, which handles road scarring and potholes really well – very reminiscent of the Tarmac SL6, in fact.

Coming downhill, the Specialized Tarmac has always been a champion. It historically leads the industry when it comes to stiffness across the bottom bracket, and the Aethos really mirrors that handling quality.

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Image 10 of 22

Aerodynamics hasn’t been a priority for this bike, where normally Specialized designs everything with aerodynamics at the heart of it. So in theory means it won’t carry the speed that we’re used to from the Venge or Tarmac.

On flat stretches, of course, it lacks a bit of the sheer speed of the Tarmac SL7 or the outgoing Venge, yet as a bike that encourages you to ride without a GPS unit and power and speed data, I didn’t really notice it. It still felt like a quick bike, and with the aerodynamic Roval Alpinist wheels it still probably performs relatively well against the wind as a whole system.

Ultimately, the Aethos almost captures opposing ride qualities all at once – it climbs like a light-footed mountain goat yet sprints and descends with all the resolution of an aero race bike.

So far, we can only make first impressions, but it seems that Specialized has really captured a sense of riding for passion rather than pure speed. In that sense it has achieved exactly what the brand set out to do.

We look forward to spending more time with the Aethos over the coming months to create a long-term review.

All aero bikes are sharp, sleek and fast, but which is the best of the bunch? Cyclist’s expert testers offer their own opinions

Photography: Rob Milton

There was Francesco Moser’s 1984 Hour record bike, all cutting edge disc wheels and wildly sloping frame. There was Alf Engers’ 1978 time-trial bike, with its one-piece bar-stem, reversed levers and filed down cranks.

In fact, as far back as 1891 riders were aware of the role of aerodynamics in performance, with participants of the 560km classic Bordeaux-Paris allowed to draft behind tandems.

Yet when the dust settles, it will always be argued that the Cervélo Soloist set out the blueprint for what’s commonly understood to be the aero road bike.

Released in 2002, the Soloist broke new ground with tall, skinny tubes based on NACA profiles, semi-internal cable routing, aero seatpost and… it had been in a wind-tunnel.

It’s this thought that helped steer our criteria for Cyclist’s inaugural ‘Best of the best’ bikes… well, steer the argument, because we quickly came to realise how those lines have been blurred.

Take the latest BMC Teammachine. It has been designed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), so too the Scott Addict and Cannondale SuperSix. But are these ‘aero bikes’ in the truest sense? Do they embody what the Soloist did 18 years ago?

We came to the conclusion that no, they do not; an aero bike needs to be a bike that puts aerodynamics front and centre of the design brief; a bike where sacrifices in comfort, stiffness and weight are made on the altar of drag and lift, not where aerodynamics has been shoehorned into a more balanced equation.

Aero bikes still have to be road bikes, of course (otherwise we may well have gone for the outlandish Cervélo P5X, the bike Batman would surely choose for a triathlon), and like all the categories we’ll eventually cover in these features – from climber’s bikes to custom builds – our picks have to be currently available. No Miguel Indurain Pinarello Espada for us.

Otherwise, it was an argumentative free-for-all over a bunch of Zoom-distanced coffees in which we sifted through the 1,000-plus bikes that have passed through Cyclist’s hands, from outright test bikes to those ridden on launches, at sportives or sometimes, in the case of a Brompton or two, around the actual office.

On that last note, it’s important to state our criteria for choosing our favourite bikes were entirely personal. We didn’t compare wind-tunnel data or provide scientific evidence – we simply chose the bikes that gave us the widest smiles when pedalling off in search of PBs.

So without any further ado, here are Cyclist’s four favourite aero bikes before we name our one winner…

For a wider assessment of the aero road bike market, see our full buyer's guide here

3T Strada

As chosen by tech editor Sam Challis

Few bikes have been as controversial in recent times as 3T’s Strada. Designed by ex-Cervélo founder Gerard Vroomen to be used with wider tyres and a single chainring, the Strada immediately divided opinion.

In fact it is still the cause of debate now, despite having been around since 2017 and having had several progressive features copied by competitors.

There are myriad reasons behind this being my top pick, but the primary rationale is that the 3T Strada’s design resonates with me just as much as its ride quality does.

It feels fast and handles well, but moreover it rides like it has been developed by a team that knows what road riders want from an aero bike in the real world, not just in the wind-tunnel.

As such, I find it a shame that the Strada’s incredibly fast yet wonderfully balanced nature is often overshadowed by conversations around 3T’s ‘controversial’ gear choices – more on that later.

Now, at a time when ‘system integration’ dominates bike design, tyre choice is often a murky afterthought. Bikes are marketed as having clearance for 32mm tyres, yet often they are aerodynamically optimised around 23mm or 25mm tyres, and the fact that running wider tyres can undermine the aero benefits is never communicated.

In contrast, the Strada was designed to pair specifically with 30mm tyres, a size Vroomen believes has much more practical benefit on the road in terms of comfort, grip and speed.

As a result, I think the bike feels no less racy than other aero designs but is remarkably more comfortable and assured over a variety of surfaces.

Yet all that said, neither I nor 3T can escape discussing the feature that got all those keyboard warriors furiously tapping out opinions on internet forums the moment the bike was released: 1x gearing.

To some the move to 1x was genius, a utopian throw-forward to a level of drivetrain simplicity hitherto unexplored by road bikes. For others it was heresy, with critics declaring that the 1x design was riddled with compromises.

3T’s relationship with the ill-fated Aqua Blue Sport pro team added fuel to the flames, with some of the team’s riders openly condemning the bike, but I’m firmly fighting the Strada’s corner.

When 11-speed was the only option I found the Strada’s gear range adequate and the bigger steps between gears not particularly jarring; now that 12-speed and 10-tooth sprockets are mainstream options and 13-speed is on the horizon (thanks Campagnolo) I can see no downsides to 1x, only up.

That’s because a traditional double-chainring groupset’s range can be replicated with cassettes that have one-tooth jumps between the six smallest sprockets, making for a wide range with smooth progression.

Effective gearing aside, a 1x setup is mechanically simpler, lighter and more aerodynamic too – Vroomen says dropping the front derailleur and inner ring saves around 300g in weight and 7 watts of drag at 32kmh. Again, all real-world benefits. 

Going back to the concept of ‘system integration’, the companies behind many aero bikes have moved to produce every component bar the groupset. These components are often proprietary, so not always as easy to live with, or to fine-tune, as conventional finishing kit.

The Strada’s cockpit is similar, made in-house by 3T, yet it’s entirely conventional – a bar, a stem, no fancy caps or shrouds or finicky cable routing – so it’s easy to adjust and swap components.

It’s a relatively overlooked aspect of the Strada, but it makes so much sense for an aero bike. After all, a poor body position caused by an ill-fitting bike impinges aerodynamics far more than a seamless interface between bar and stem.

Cable integration is similarly unfussy. Hiding cables between the bars and frame is one of the biggest headaches bike designers choose to create for themselves, and in my opinion it has questionable benefit.

Giving a bike’s head tube the frontal area of a Coke can just so it can house a couple of cables doesn’t seem aerodynamically logical to me.

Evidently neither does it to 3T and Vroomen, who traded the small drag penalty of 20cm of exposed cable in return for a svelte, sculpted head tube and fork crown.

For me the Strada is a bike that has found simple solutions to complex problems, and consequently I’ve found it to be as easy to live with as it is fun and fast to ride.

Despite producing a bike that fits in with the very best of the aero genre, 3T has taken a design approach that has very much stood out. That, in my opinion, is what makes this bike so fundamentally brilliant.

Wanting more on the 3T Strada? Check out our full review here

Fancy owning a 3T Strada? Here is how

Cervélo S5

As chosen by editor-at-large Stu Bowers

Why does the Cervélo S5 stand out for me as my favourite aero bike ever? Simple. I’ve categorically never ridden as fast as I did on this bike and, until it mysteriously got deleted, I had the Strava KoM to prove it.

It happens the world over, I’m sure; every local riding group has its own Strava ‘patch’ within which there will be a hierarchy of segments. Riders know very well which are the more prestigious ones to ‘own’; those with the biggest bragging rights.

And so it was back in 2013 I found myself testing the recently launched second generation of the S5, and returning home after what had seemed like a decent first ride I was surprised to see I had come within striking distance of one such prestigious segment.

I couldn’t resist. I necked a coffee, swiftly changed my kit for something a little slicker (I admit, I put on a skinsuit) and headed straight back out.

It’s the one and only time I’ve ever gone riding with the express intent of bagging a segment, and it’s also probably the one time I’ve managed to average over 50kmh on flat-to-rolling roads for the best part of 8km. I just couldn’t believe how fast this bike was.

In my review I called the S5 an ‘absolute beast’, unapologetically singing its praises, at least where speed was concerned. Yet it wasn’t perfect. It certainly wasn’t very comfortable, those tall, skinny tubes making for a harsh ride, and an unexpected side gust could suddenly have me two metres off line.

Then there was the handling, which was fine but a touch languid for my tastes, as many others agreed at the time. But it was impossible not to love the sense of being so fruitfully rewarded for my efforts, and hence impossible not to love the S5, in the same way that some friends have annoying habits that you forgive them for because they are just such fun to be with.

I’ve ridden and tested many other aero road bikes, many of which made it into discussions for this feature: the Trek Madone and the Specialized Venge to name but two. Yet while they all have their merits, nothing has eclipsed the exhilaration of the S5.

It’s not like that should come as a huge surprise – Cervélo started the aero-road movement at a time when most other brands were scrapping over grams of weight not grams of aero drag.

Then the S5, launched in 2011, threw away the rulebook for how a ‘road bike’ should look, changing the way brands thought about frame design forever.

By 2013 some of Cervélo’s competitors had definitely caught up, so the second generation of the S5 was a key developmental step, Cervélo once more flexing its wind-cheating muscles to put itself back on top. 

When it comes to aesthetics, the S5 has always been more purposeful than pretty, and that was never more the case than with the third generation, which arrived in 2018.

This brought the S5 bang up to date with a number of new trends – disc brakes, wide tyres, fully internal cabling – and Cervélo has managed to make it faster still with some nifty new features, most obviously a move to an external steerer tube and a crazy-looking stem.

The fact that this latest model is only a claimed 5.5W faster – hardly staggering given that generation two of the S5 saved 28W over the first – is indicative of how far aero bikes have come and how hard it now is for engineers to squeeze out further gains.

However, while significantly more speed can’t always be found, Cervélo’s engineers have found gains elsewhere for the latest S5, which now has more comfort and has been bestowed with slightly sharper handling than its forebears, making it a much more complete bike.

Speed, though, is still its forte, and that’s something reflected most in its form. I applaud the function-led design, its big tubes and bold curves, but I still can’t love how the S5 looks.

Sorry old girl, you might be fast but that V-stem is v-ugly. I won’t hold it against you though. If you’re going to lead, not follow, as Cervélo and the S5 always has, you’re always going to be pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable.

Check out our in-depth review on the Cervelo S5 here

Want in on the Cervelo S5? Get one here

Trek Madone

As chosen by digital editor Peter Stuart

Since the advent of the aero road bike, tradition has dictated that speed and comfort are acrimoniously opposed. Either you had an unyielding bike shaped like a blade that rattled along the tarmac, or you had a comfortable cruiser with thin tubes that flexed and bounced with every ripple in the road. Take your pick. Then in 2015 Trek revealed its new Madone, and it blew my mind.

Unveiled to journalists at a press launch in Wisconsin, the Madone Series 9 was like a jetlag-induced hallucination. The previous Madone 7 Series, released in 2013, had been a fairly conventional race bike with a few nods to aerodynamics, including kamm-tail tube shapes and concealed front and rear brakes.

It was fine, but it was hard to pick out from of a line-up of similarly pitched race bikes of its day. The Series 9 was a different beast altogether. It looked like the love child of Trek’s Speed Concept time-trial bike and its Domane Classics racer.

It came with a dramatically curved top tube, vastly oversized aerodynamic down tube and fully internal cable routing that had never been attempted before on a road bike.

Perhaps the most unusual engineering quirk was the pair of tiny ‘Vector Wing’ flaps on the head tube. These opened and closed as you turned the handlebar and were designed to allow the front rim brake to move freely while still being partly concealed within the massive bulk of the Madone’s head tube.

The real surprise of the launch, however, was that the 9 Series had incorporated the IsoSpeed decoupler from Trek’s Domane, a system originally designed to help smooth out the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.

This effectively meant the seat tube was separate from the top tube and could rock back and forth to soften the blows of rough roads, only on this bike it was even more complex as the free-moving internal carbon seat tube was encased by a more aerodynamic outer one.

It was crazy, but it worked. Any cynicism around the seemingly over-engineered nature of the bike was well and truly blown away on the first test ride. Trek ambassador and former pro Jens Voigt called it ‘f***ing fast’, and I struggled to think of better words to describe it.

Trek claimed it was the most aerodynamic road bike on the market, admittedly before it had a chance to try out the Specialized Venge ViAS, which launched the same week. What’s more, even with the flaps and convoluted seat tubes, the whole thing weighed just 7.01kg.

For those of us lucky enough to try it in Wisconsin, it was the combination of aerodynamics, rigidity and comfort that really stood out. During further testing back in the UK, most of my Strava personal best times were scored on this bike, and they remain standing to this day.

Its speed was undeniable, but it combined that speed with a rear-end comfort that genuinely defied belief – I found myself stopping to check for a flat tyre time and again.

Of course, the bike had its downsides. The brakes were, to put it simply, barely functional. To improve aerodynamics, Trek innovated its own centre-pull Bontrager braking system that won full marks for looks and innovation, but when throwing a set of cork pads in them and squeezing them onto carbon rims, the result was white knuckles and unsettling descents.

Similarly, the one-piece bar-stem was a little too flexible and sapped some power, perhaps in an effort to allow the front-end to mirror the compliance of the rear.

Since then, many of those quirks have been ironed out. The Madone has been updated and refined again to produce the bike seen here, the Madone SLR 9 Disc, which is strictly disc brake-only and has done away with the one-piece bar-stem combo.

The decoupler is still in place, although now it is an L-shaped leaf spring housed in the top tube and its compliance can be adjusted to suit the terrain.

The SLR 9 is almost certainly a superior bike to its 2015 predecessor, yet I can’t help feeling that the original 9 Series was the more exciting of the two. At the time it was a brave and innovative leap into the unknown and was like nothing we’d seen before.

With the Madone, Trek was arguably the first major manufacturer to take comfort seriously in an aerodynamic bike, and to see it as part of the holistic package of speed and performance.

That’s why it gets my vote, and I’d argue it began the movement that is ultimately now leading to the convergence of aero, lightweight and endurance bikes. Back in 2015 we described the Madone as a game changer. I believe it still is.

In-depth review of the Trek Madone to be found right here

Buy a Trek Madone? Well, do that here

Bianchi Oltre XR4

As chosen by deputy editor James Spender

It was January 2013, I was still wet behind the ears and we had just come back to the office from our Christmas holidays. ‘Stu!’ I exclaimed to then-deputy editor Stu Bowers.

‘You’re not going to like this, the Bianchi must have gotten a double puncture.’ In the workshop rack, both of the Bianchi Oltre XR’s 23mm tyres (remember them?) were forlornly flat.

It was my first experience of tubular tyres and, as I learned, they have latex inner tubes that are rather permeable to air. They weren’t punctured, just deflated, and once they had been pumped up to regulation 140psi – that’s what we did back then – I was soon taking a spin on my first thoroughbred aero bike.

I still remember the incredible rumble and whampf whampf sound the deep-section wheels and cavernous tubes made. So too the consistent and almighty kicks up the behind the less-than-smooth roads elicited.

To say it was a visceral experience aboard the Oltre is an understatement; having a root canal on a rollercoaster is probably more like it.

But it was an incredible thrill, and as the years rolled on I looked forward to every further iteration of this beast of a Bianchi flagship.

Right now we’re at the Oltre XR4, and like every bike here it has gone disc brakes. I can’t imagine how disgusted the average Bianchi fan is at the sight of discs, a distinctly non-traditional direction for the oldest bike brand in existence, founded in 1885.

Yet to that I’d say three things: first, Bianchi still makes a rim brake Oltre XR4, something many brands have dispensed with; two, Bianchi isn’t as traditional as you might think – it first messed around with disc brakes back in 1996 on Evgeni Berzin’s time-trial bike.

Three, discs are the best things in performance terms to have come along in the past decade, and the Oltre XR4 Disc is just flat-out better than the rim brake model.

However, I will concede that disc brakes do add a fair amount of weight, so if that’s your primary concern, look away now. The all-singing rim brake version comes in at 6.8kg (56cm top tube), with a comparable disc model around a kilo more.

In truth most of that is in the components, with the framesets themselves not dissimilar in weight. But with those discs on board you get an even more beautiful-looking bike with all cables hidden and a super-clean front end.

That’s a big thing for me, I can’t lie – I am overtly enamoured with any Bianchi for its looks and the way it makes me feel. It’s silly, but there you go. It is an emotional bike brand.

However, it’s the way the Oltre XR4 rides, and here I’ll let you into a little secret – I came in for a fair amount of flak for criticising the rim brake version as being almost too smooth, and it is.

Bianchi also adds the moniker CV to the newsest Oltres, and that stands for Countervail, a viscoelastic resin-based carbon that helps dampen vibrations, and I think it really works.

What that means for the bike is that it lacks that out-and-out white knuckle feel of its great-great-grandfather, the XR, which is to me a bit of a shame.

Then again, I can’t argue with the numbers. The XR4 has delivered various PBs, especially downhill where it truly shines, a perfect example of balance, poise and grip – again due to the road-smoothing, corner-hugging frame.

Just as Sam says about the 3T Strada (but Stu doesn’t with the Cervélo S5), I love how ‘complete’ a bike the Oltre XR4 feels.

It’s a race bike first and foremost, a stiff sprinter, a rapid descender, as at home in a crit as a sportive, but with an all-over aero skin. It is born of a ‘speed first’ mentality and has been refined over countless versions.

Does it handle as well as Bianchi’s lightweight all-rounder, the Specialissima? Nope. Is it as comfortable as its cobble-munching Infinito? Nope.

Is it more fun to ride, more exciting to look at, than both those bikes and indeed any aero bike I have ever ridden? Absolutely yes, and I’ve ridden the other bikes nominated here too.

It ticks all my boxes, even if I might lament the loss of that original Oltre’s brashness. But it more than makes up for it in other areas. And it’s a Bianchi. Belissimo.           

The full nine-yard review on the Bianchi Oltre XR4 can be found here

Become a Bianchi Oltre XR4 owner here

And the winner is...

Of our four favourites, the leader of the pack is… the Trek Madone. We were never going to agree easily, so in a fit of Euro-style proportional representation, we asked each of our testers to nominate a first and a second choice, and based on those results we arrived at… a tie. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

With a first place and two second places apiece, the Trek Madone and 3T Strada turned out to be Cyclist’s favourite wind-cheaters. However, since like The Highlander there can only be one, we went back to the Zoom debate centre.

At first we thought weight might settle it, and after running the numbers the lightest bike here (in comparable size and top-spec form) was in fact the 3T Strada at 7.50kg.

This plays to Gerard Vroomen’s idea that losing a front mech and chainring saves significant grams, and is borne out by the contrasting weights of the Madone at 7.67kg, the Cervélo S5 at 7.77kg and the Bianchi Oltre XR4 at 7.82kg (a moot point – the Oltre with rim brakes is 6.80kg, and it’s worth noting the other bikes are only offered with disc brakes).

In-depth review of the Trek Madone to be found right here

Buy a Trek Madone? Well, do that here

However, several of our number argued that, in the grand scheme of things, 170g lighter does not a winner make. That’s because bike design is so good these days we have become accustomed to having our cake and eating it, and even the fastest bikes should ride well too. Comfort and handling could not be ignored, so here with the final pronouncement is Stu Bowers.

‘It has to be the Trek Madone. The Strada is fast, and pushed the boundaries with the gearing – it was probably ahead of its time – while the S5 and Oltre are also exceptionally quick.

‘But none of those can do what the Madone can. It rides as comfortably as Trek’s Domane Classics bike, sprints like a beast and handles as well as any race bike. I reckon it’s the best-looking aero bike going too.’

Winter comes every year but it still takes people by surprise. Not wrapping up your bike, or yourself, will end in a worn-out groupset and worn out legs.

We’ve put together a little guide with some ideas of what to pay extra attention to.

How to prepare your bike for winter cycling

1. Fit some mudguards

Mudguards aren’t cool in some parts, but we know of plenty of clubs that wouldn’t let you ride without full mudguards after October

A full-length set of mudguards will work best, saving you and your kit from excess wear.

Read our full review of the SKS Speedrocker mudguards shown above here

Alternatively, read our complete guide to the best mudguards available

2. Swap your tyres for wider and more puncture resistant models

When the roads are slippy you want your tyres to be grippy, and they don’t come much more grippy than these Schwalbe One TLE models. They’re not cheap, but they’re likely to be longest-lasting.

Plus you can set them up tubeless: Rolling with a generous squirt of sealant inside, they’ll be able to seal most punctures before you even know they’re there.

They aren’t too heavy, so there’s still some joy to be had from them. Get them in a wide size and you’ll be ready to roll through the worst winter conditions.

Read our full Schwalbe One TLE tyres review here 

Or head over to our complete guide to winter tyres here 

3. Get some lights

Even if you don't plan on staying out after dark, the clocks changing make it increasingly likely you'll find yourself caught out at some point.

And as not having lights after sunset is both dangerous and illegal, it makes sense to leave a set permanently attached to your bike over the winter. 

We're big fans of this Lezyne Hecto Drive 500XL/Strip Drive Light Set. Its front light will pump out 500 lumens from a very neat package and will last up to 20 hours on the lowest setting.

Equally quick to attach and compatible with aero-seat posts, the Strip Drive's five LEDs sit in an IPX7 waterproof case. Offering up to 270° of visibility and a 150-lumen output will ensure you get seen by any cars approaching from behind.

It's even bright enough to use as a daytime running light – perfect for gloomy mornings or when riding into low winter sunshine.

Read our buyers guide to the best winter bike lights

4. Stay on top of cleaning

Unsurprisingly, grim weather will make your bike accumulate dirt quicker. This means it’s important to clean it regularly. Salt from the road can be a particular killer, so after each wet ride, try to at least give it a quick hose down, followed by treatment with some water-dispersant spray and a re-lube of the chain.

This will help everything last longer and avoid rust. A nicely polished bike will also be more inclined to shed dirt the next time it’s ridden too.

A set like Muc-Off's 8-in-1 bicycle cleaning kit includes all the brushes you might need, plus bike-specific cleaning fluid and finishing spray. 

You can read our full guide to cleaning and detailing your bike here

5. Be prepared for an increased number of mechanicals 

Even if you do go tubeless, punctures are more likely in winter as the rain washes foreign bodies on to the side of the road, where they’re primed to bring misery.

A decent-sized waterproof saddlebag is your best friend when carting around all the relevant tools and inner tubes to prevent you getting caught short.

This waterproof Topeak Wedge saddlebag even has an integrated light loop for and is quick to remove.

You can read our guide on how to pack your saddlebag like a pro here

5. Keep an eye on your cables...

It's amazing how far water and dirt can penetrate your bike during a wet, muddy ride. Even sealed-in components such as brake and gear cables can suffer after a good soaking, affecting your ability to stop or shift in a timely fashion.

The liners in Jagwire's Road Elite brake and gear cable set will help keep cables clean while the compression-less construction boosts braking power and shifting accuracy.

You can learn how to fit them with our tutorial here

6. And your drivetrain...

Your bike’s drivetrain will suffer more in the winter. Whether from rain or salt on the road, it’ll both get muckier and dry out quicker. One solution is to change to a thicker ‘wet’ condition chain lube such as Finishline's Cross County wet lube, £3,99 for 60ml from Wiggle.

While this can work if you’re lazy, doing so will soon see your drivetrain get black and gunky. A better solution is to clean regularly with a dedicated chain cleaning device and simply apply your regular lube a bit more frequently.

Of the bunch we group tested, Pedro's won our vote, largely by dint of looking like a little pink pig.

As cyclists, we’re constantly told that fast is fun and we should constantly be striving for that elusive KOM, increasingly hard to achieve though that might be. The Ribble CGR Ti Sport, however, hearkens to another cycling tradition altogether: that of the long and leisurely ride that’s taken at a slower pace and takes you to places you’ve not been before.

It’s a style epitomised by the audax ride – heading out self-supported into the unknown and finding your own way from A to B.

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Image 8 of 11

The CGR stands for Cross-Gravel-Road, a statement on its intended versatility, and this is the titanium version (hence the Ti moniker in its full title). It is an update on the classic touring bike, with enough clearance for 45mm tyres on 700c rims if you don’t want mudguards, 40mm tyres if you do, or 47mm tyres on 650b rims so you can take on gravel paths and bridleways too.

Whatever wheel option you go for, stopping is taken care of by hydraulic disc brakes and so is powerful and effective, no matter the weather or conditions.

Buy the Ribble CGR Ti from Ribble for £2,299

The Ribble CGR started life in 2016 as an alloy machine. Since then, it has branched out into carbon, steel and now titanium, as well as an electric version. 

The Sport build tested here is the entry-level titanium option, amongst several road and one gravel off-the-peg specs for the bike, with prices heading up to £8,000. It's the only one from the range specced with mudguards as standard, though as with all Ribble’s bikes, you can use its bike builder app to customise your component choices to suit your needs.

The look of a special metal

Titanium is a great material for an all-day, all-weather road bike. It’s half the weight of steel for the same strength and more resistant to fatigue than aluminium.

Plus it doesn’t rust and looks terrific in the brushed finish with etched logos used by Ribble.

There’s a small Union Jack on the top tube and a shiny chrome headset logo to add to the classy look, which is completed by the smart orange headset – one of seven colour options.

Tube diameters and profiles are mixed, with the aim being to improve compliance while retaining stiffness – something that the Ribble’s ride quality shows it has successfully achieved.

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Image 7 of 11

The wide diameter of the 44mm head tube makes for a substantial weld area to the chunky down tube, while the stays at the rear are comparatively thin.

The titanium frame is set off by the all-carbon fork. It comes with an internal channel to route wires from a dynamo hub up the right fork leg, again a nod to the bike’s long ride credentials.

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Image 2 of 11

In another nod to longer adventures in the saddle, you get mounting points separate from the mudguard mounts to fit a rear rack. These are incorporated into the beautifully sculpted forged chainstay-seatstay junctions.

The Ribble CGR Ti’s resistance to the elements is increased by internal cable routing, with outers for the full run to the mechs, including under the threaded bottom bracket shell.

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Image 6 of 11

Weight-wise Ribble says that the CGR Ti frame is 1,600g, with the fork adding another 470g. Complete with mudguards, our test build came in at 10.8kg, which is about middle of the pack for its price point and specification.

Speaking of which, the Sport build features a Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brake groupset. It’s a great choice for a bike of this type: slick-shifting, rugged and not too expensive to replace parts if need be.

It comes with a compact 50/34T chainset and an 11-32t cassette. That gives you plenty of range to spin up sharp hills on road, and while it's not quite as off-road friendly as a super-compact setup, the plus side is you get better ratios for faster riding on tarmac.

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Image 11 of 11

The 40mm Schwalbe G-One Allround tyres, with their low profile tread, are a plus for road riding too. Along with the compliant titanium frameset and a comfortable Prologo Kappa RS saddle on top of a Ribble own brand Level carbon seatpost, the tyres offer plenty of comfortable air volume at low pressure, with little additional rolling resistance.

The extra wide contact area makes descents on dodgy road surfaces more assured. Coupled with the hydraulic disc brakes, you can be confident that the CGR Ti will go where you want it to.

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Image 5 of 11

The tyres do have a tendency to rub against the mudguards when riding over uneven road surfaces. This can be minimised by fiddling with the mudguard stays, but the supplied tyre width is towards the limit of what the guards can cope with.

Capable off road

The Ribble CGR Ti is a decent performer off-road too, and is an ideal bike for anyone looking to mix and match road riding with some unmetalled stretches.

Buy the Ribble CGR Ti from Ribble for £2,299

In dry conditions, there’s plenty of grip to tackle both dirt and gravel tracks. The gear ratios are a bit high for the toughest ascents, but towpaths, old railway lines and more level trails are perfectly feasible. I took in all of these and some off-road climbing too without any issues.

Through the mud, the tyres do have a tendency to clog and lose grip, plus mud tends to build up around the mudguard stays. As a result, full winter off-road riding would probably need a change to knobblier, narrower tyres and you might need to forsake your mudguards to keep them turning.

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Image 4 of 11

Although the supplied Schwalbe tyres are tubeless-ready, the Mavic Aksium rims are not. I’d have liked to see a tubeless-ready wheelset too to be able to garner the advantages of setting up tubeless if desired.

It’s always a bit nervous threading your way through flints and along thorny paths knowing that a flat is going to necessitate a tube swap, although I didn’t actually have any punctures during my test rides.

As a solution, Ribble’s bike builder app lets you upgrade the wheels to the UST tubeless Mavic Allroad for an extra £50. The Allroad’s rims are wider too at 23mm in place of 17mm internal, so they’re better suited to the wide tyres, although they might exacerbate the tendency to rub against the mudguards.

A do-anything bike

In short, there’s a lot of versatility built into the CGR Ti. It’s pleasant for longer day rides, could easily be kitted out for multi-day tours and can take on off-road duties with ease. It could serve duties equally well as a flashy winter bike or an everyday commuting machine.

The cyclocross part of its name might be over-egging things a bit, but it will certainly get the job done if you're just looking to dabble in off-road and so don't need a full race-spec bike.

As such, Ribble has certainly hit a sweet spot with its CGR Ti. We had to wait three months for our test bike and there’s a similar wait if you decide to buy one. With its looks, superb spec for long rides and versatility, it’s no wonder there’s a queue for Ribble’s titanium mile muncher.

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Image 9 of 11

Spec

All reviews are fully independent and no payments have been made by companies featured in reviews

Back during the height of the first full coronavirus lockdown in the spring, the bicycle as means of escape, as resetter of perspective and far more besides, really came into its own.

Initially for my rides during enforced home-working and avoidance of anyone I didn't live with, I swapped between a pricier bike from a bigger, better known brand and the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 road bike.

Soon enough I settled for the latter and the Vitus became my only go-to for any 'proper' rides. Now, with a second lockdown underway, the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 road bike is once again taking up the same role.

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Image 2 of 9

Frameset

The frame has touches of a traditional 'compact road' geometry with its sloping top tube but, as we are used to seeing on many bikes these days, comes with dropped seat stays. It creates a contemporary looking bike that rides nicely to boot.

It climbs well, clips along nicely on the flat and is comfortable enough for a gruelling Classics ride.

Buy now from ChainReactionCycles for £1,999.99

The wheelbase is on the long side at 1,017mm which can, in part, be attributed to the longer fork rake pushing the front wheel forward.

Coupled with the 71.5° head angle, the bike's handling is stable and corners well.

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Components

The bike is set up with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and Vitus's own Prime wheels. The groupset is the best my riding standard needs and also indicates the bike's good value.

Many bikes of a similar price – RRP £2,499.99 – come with Ultegra mechanical, with electronic groupsets usually commanding a higher outlay.

When set up properly, Shimano electronic gearing is near-faultless and in terms of shifting that is true on the Zenium too.

However, many bikes now hide the Di2 junction box – in the bar end, the seat post or elsewhere – which gives much cleaner lines, helps keep external cabling to a minimum and moves the junction box further out of harm's way.

This is not the case for the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 road bike and forms one of my few complaints about the bike. Looking like a model from five years previous, the junction box is hanging about below the stem, attached with a fiddly rubber band.

This is a bike build feature I'm not a fan of anyway, but I was further perturbed when using a Rapha Bar Bag to store ride essentials and ensure I could be as self-sufficient as possible on any ride.

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Image 6 of 9

The Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes work fantastically and have been very welcome as the weather has turned and we head towards winter.

A consistent upgrade I make to bikes is to swap in a pair of Michelin tyres as, in my experience, they are unrivalled. However, rather than just being a point of preference as usual, this time it was a necessary change.

They may just have been from a bad batch, but the pair of Vee Tire Co Road Runner 700x28 tyres that the bike came with had such a curve to them, laterally, that it was like riding with a bent rim. In fact, I was convinced for a while the rim was indeed bent, and even did a wheel swap to isolate the problem and confirm it really was the tyre.

I've since spotted that the 2021 version of this bike comes with Schwalbe Pro One tyres, so I couldn't have been alone in thinking an upgrade was needed.

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Ride

Eye-catching in an iridescent, sparkly purple at the front end that fades to black at the back, the other riders out for their solo jaunts (and those in groups who didn't believe the rules of a global pandemic applied to them) were unlikely to be on a similar machine, instead rolling around on the stealthier shades of grey and black that many brands currently favour.

But this bike is, thankfully, style and substance. While the former might be a down to personal preference (a friend I rode with in the summer was not a fan of the paintjob) the latter I can vouch for after months with and many kilometres on this bike.

The previously mentioned geometry suited my riding style, which I might describe as being at the racier end of average: a long way from sit-up-knees-out but equally not charging around everywhere with a flat back like I'm forging a solo breakaway in a Belgian headwind.

Buy now from ChainReactionCycles for £1,999.99

My main achievement on this bike, if 'achievement' isn't over-egging it, is twice bettering my time on a tough climb in the Surrey Hills where my previous PB had stood for about five years. Part of this can be attributed to chasing the segment on Strava Live on my Wahoo, but the bigger part of the credit should go to the bike.

Power transfer, particularly when climbing out of the saddle as I was on the 20% incline, is efficient on the Vitus. Each hard-slogged pedal stroke feels like it is effectively translated to forward motion – it never failed to make steep hills feel that bit easier to summit and helped to offset the bike's 8.3kg weight.

Conclusion

No doubt with some influence on my opinion coming from the freedom cycling on any bike can afford – especially in lockdown, every kilometre on the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 was enjoyable.

But I think it does go beyond 'any bike would do' during lockdown. With the fit perfectly dialled and the bike competently rolling along or over anything I chose to point it at, this bike made me want to get out and ride. Early mornings before work and longer rides at weekends didn't feel like a chore, as they sometimes can, with the Vitus as my choice of ride.

A bike that's comfortable without being slow, climbs with ease despite not being feather-light and is always fun to ride, with a couple of tweaks this could sit well above rival brand offerings in the same price bracket.

Find out more: The new 2021 Vitus Zenium CRI Ultregra Di2  
Buy the 2020 Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2for a reduced priced on Wiggle  
Buy the 2020 Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2for a reduced priced on Chain Reaction Cycles

Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 2021 update

While the frameset has remained the same, some componentry changes for 2021 and a switch to single colour only have seen the Zenium's weight drop by 250g from 8.3kg down to 8.05kg (advertised weights) – which addresses my main gripe about the bike's heaviness, although it's hardly a brute as it is.

As mentioned, the tyres have also been changed and though they aren't Michelin I can see the merit of using Schwalbe.

If the Di2 junction box disappears into the bar end for the bike's next update then it'll be a clean sweep of improvements for me and will surely produce a 5* bike.

Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 2020: Spec

All reviews are fully independent and no payments have been made by companies featured in reviews

With plenty of Black Friday deals already floating about, now could be the perfect time to fork out on a shiny new road bike.

Not only can you enjoy some winter cycling with your new ride but you’ll also save a substantial amount in this year’s Black Friday sales.

But when does it officially start? Well, Black Friday officially falls on 27th November ('officially' insofar as it's a recently made-up phenomenon) but it’s well worth your time if you can keep an eye on any early deals that eager retailers are rolling out. 

Below, you’ll find a curated list of all the best Black Friday road bike deals already available. If nothing takes your fancy now, check back in at a later date because we’ll regularly update this page with the best bargains. 

Best Black Friday road bike deals: Editor's picks

Ridley Fenix SLA disc | Was £1,499, now £999.99 – save 33%

The Ridley Fenix is the strong and sturdy endurance option from the popular Belgian brand that has been a feature in the WorldTour for years.

Comfort is ensured thanks alloy, diamond-shaped tubing as well as clearance for 28mm tyres. The Shimano Tiagra 10-speed groupset fitted has a generous gear ratio of 46/36 on the front and 11/32 on the back while the discs will help provide better stopping power, especially in adverse conditions.

At just under a grand, this is a quality option for anybody wanting to commute by bike or looking to invest in a winter ride and it comes in Lotto-Soudal red, which is cool.

Buy the Ridley Fenix SLA for £999.99 from Wiggle now

Cannondale Caad13 disc Force eTap | Was £4,799, now £3,983 – save 17%

The Caad range is a dynasty perfected by Cannondale and its latest offering, the Caad13, is the best performing alloy racer from the brand yet.

Almost as light and stiff as some carbon bikes, the frame has been optimised to reduce weight while retaining comfort. Aero is also taken care of thanks the Delta seat tube deep carbon wheels.

This bike is living proof that you do not need carbon to go racing, alloy is able.

Buy the Cannondale Caad13 from Cycle Store for £3,983 now

BMC Teammachine SLR02 disc | Was £3,699, now £2,999 – save £700

The Teammachine is previous Australian Tour de France winner Cadel Evans's favourite bike, apparently. He likes how compliant it is. 

Fair enough, we guess, the Teammachine has always impressed us at Cyclist with the way it manages to mix precise handling with all-day comfort. This particular option is a step down from the top line SLR01 and comes with the thinking rider's groupset, Shimano Ultegra, and weighs 8.3kg which is pretty respectable.

Ultimately, this bike performs just as well as its more expensive siblings and is a worthy option for those chasing incredible performance on two wheels.

Buy the BMC Teammachine now from Tredz for £2,999.99

Orro Gold Tiagra | Was £1,799.99, now £999.99 – save 44%

The endurance option from Orro, a great bike brand based down on the Sussex Downs, a stone's throw from Ditchling Beacon.

The Gold recently underwent a geometry overhaul that helped retain the rider's comfort fit while adding speed thanks to aero-optimised tubes. The carbon frameset also helps provide a stiff base from which to climb.

The Shimano Tiagra groupset is also versatile enough for a variety of terrains and the 25mm Continental Grand Sport tyres are also pretty good, too.

Buy the Orro Gold now from ChainReactionCycles for £999.99

Boardman SLR Titanium 9.6 | Was £4,200, now £3,499 – save £701

Buying titanium is a shrewd purchase, it's a bike for life, not just the next few years.

This clean looking SLR 9.6 from Boardman relies on classic tube lines, relaxed geometry and the ever-dependable Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset to present a versatile bike that is able to scoop up the miles all year around. 

An astute purchase for anybody looking for a long-term investment from their bike.

Buy the Boardman SLR Titanium 9.6 from Tredz for £3,499

While it might seem an outrageous luxury to have a dedicated bike just for winter, if you ride a lot it can make sense. What we want in summer is different to what we want in winter, as the menu at any restaurant will tell you. Plus, a dedicated winter rig will stop your more expensive bike getting trashed courtesy of the bad weather and mucky roads.

For the old-school rider, the archetypal winter training bike might still be a fixed gear with an easy-to-turn ratio and mudguards. But there’s no need to go for something quite so austere.

However, there are some things we’d definitely look out for…

What makes a good winter bike?

Space for wide tyres and mudguards

Tough tyres in a wide size and run at a slightly lower pressure will increase grip and comfort over winter roads. Mudguards are also a must for riding in a group, plus they’ll save your kit and components from excess wear while keeping you dry and comfy.

Mounts for racks

If you’re going to get a second bike it might as well have the ability to carry a rack too. Plus the mounting point will ensure you can fit proper full-length mudguards, not the fiddlier clip-on type.

A more relaxed geometry

Winter is not the time for dashing about. A more sedate geometry will keep you happy on longer rides while providing more planted handling which can be a boon when weather, light or road surfaces conspire against you.

A wide range of gears and a mid-range groupset

Your drivetrain is made up of consumable components. In winter it makes sense to choose something expensive enough to survive in testing conditions, but not so expensive it’ll cost an excessive amount to replace.

Disc brakes

More powerful and consistent, disc brakes are ideal in the wet. Plus, they require far less maintenance, great when grit from the road can also devour your rims. About the only penalty is weight, something that shouldn’t be a major concern on a winter bike.

A durable frame

Salt from the road and cleaning products can slowly knacker carbon and aluminium frames, meaning steel remains a popular choice for winter hacks. Even better if you can afford it is titanium. Given a quick polish, it’ll look as shiny and new in a decade as it does today.

Five of the best winter road bikes

1. Triban RC520

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Image 2 of 7

Many will argue a winter bike should be cheap. And boy does the Triban manage this. Yet at the same time, it also provides riders an ultra-durable Shimano 105 groupset, and thanks to TRP’s clever Hy/Rd callipers, hydraulic stopping.

The rest of the spec is good too. The tyres are sensibly wide at 28c, plus they can be made tubeless without excessive faff. The wheels are durable and run on sealed bearings, while the whole bike is geared towards comfort and longevity.

With space for mudguards and racks, it’ll do for winter, but also touring in the summer, while the cost will leave you enough money to take it somewhere warm too.

Buy now from Decathlon for £730

Read our full review: Triban RC500 and RC520 review

2. Dolan Titanium ADX Disc 105

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Image 3 of 7

Titanium is perfect for a winter bike, if you can afford it. This Dolan provides the space-age material at a down-to-earth price. Comfy, light, and corrosion-resistant, it’ll polish up like new at the end of each season, while giving a superlatively smooth ride year after year.

Featuring a comfortable audax geometry based around a long head tube, it’s ideal for getting in the baseline miles without putting your back out. With room for big tyres and mudguards, both can be requested before it arrives thanks to Dolan’s online bike builder.

Also allowing you to tailor the gearing and cockpit components along with the wheels, we enjoyed using Mavic’s mid-section Cosmics. Set up tubeless, they added a small injection of speed to a bike whose progress was otherwise pleasingly stately.

Buy now from Dolan for £2,000

3. Ribble Endurance 725 Disc

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Image 4 of 7

Steel is a great choice for a winter bike and at a time of the year when riders might be carrying a little extra timber, a kilo or so more on the bike won’t do any harm. Plus the extra resistance will help with training. Tough, comfy and cool looking, this Ribble provides riders with Reynolds’ mid-level 725 tubing, along with disc brakes and a carbon fork.

With builds starting at £999 for a Shimano Tiagra equipped machine, mudguards and racks can be added at the build stage, while gearing and finishing kit can be similarly tweaked. Finished in metallic British racing green, it’s a winter bike that’ll sparkle in the sun too.

Buy now from Ribble Cycles for £999

4. Condor Fratello Disc 

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Image 5 of 7

Lead singer of The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow are among the many cyclists to have been allured by London-based bicycle brand Condor, and we understand why.

Mixing old school tube lines and classic paint schemes with innovative performance nods, it is a bike brand that does things properly. The Fratello, for example, ticks all those winter bike boxes. 

Constructed of lightweight Columbus Spirit steel tubing it is as nimble as it is sturdy meaning you can really turn up the heat on that local climb while remaining confident it will survive a winter's worth of road muck.

Room for 32mm tyres and flat mount disc brakes means you could even be tempted off-road and provision for racks on the rear allow you to even to take this bike touring if you're so inclined.

Buy the Condor Fratello from Condor Cycles from £1,199.99

5. Genesis Flyer

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Image 6 of 7

There’s still something to be said for taking the Luddite approach and riding single-speed during the winter. Not only will you learn to improve your cadence, especially if you opt for a fixed gear, you’ll also look dead tough too.

With little to go wrong or wear out except perhaps your knees, the Flyer takes its geometry from the brand’s popular Equilibrium and pairs it to an open-road friendly 42/17t gear.

Even better, this Flyer comes set with chunky 37mm tyres which if are unable to tempt you onto some rough stuff will at least provide incredible grip, comfort and puncture resistance on the open road throughout the winter months.

With a fixed/free rear hub, it’ll give you something new to try too. Experimenting with either system is as simple as flipping the wheel around.

Buy now from Freewheel for £549.99

6. Merida Scultura Endurance

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Image 7 of 7

It is commonly believed that winter bikes should be heavier and slower than what you ride in the summer as a way of making you a better rider. We don't always buy that here at Cyclist and nor do plenty of bike manufacturers who are creating road bikes more than capable of taming winter without compromising on performance.

Among those is Merida which recently launched its new Scultura Endurance road bike, a relaxed adventure bike designed to keep its rider comfortable and steady through those long winter miles while providing aero details to keep you rolling at a steady speed.

Room for 35mm tyres makes this a fairly versatile bike and integrated cables not only improve the bike's looks but protect those moving parts from the grit and grim being sprayed off the road.

Buy the Merida Scultura Endurance from Tredz for £3,500

ProConti team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA are selling their 2020 team bikes for less than half price.

Fresh from riding the Vuelta a España, the Spanish ProConti outfit announced yesterday that their green and white De Rosa Protos bikes are available for the general public to buy.

With only a little more than 100 days racing on the road, including two top 10 finishes at the Vuelta and four stage wins across the season, they should still be in good condition and at nearly 55% off, it's a great way to get yourself a pro bike at a reasonable price.

The choice is between one of their competition bikes for €3,500 (approx. £3,140) – fitted with a Dura-Ace R9150 Di2 groupset with limited models, for an extra €250, equipped with Vision Mentron 6D aero handlebars – or one of the team's replacement bikes with Ultegra R8050 Di2 for €3,000 (approx. £2,690).

Apart from the groupset, the competition and replacement bikes are identical, with Miche Supertype 2020 carbon wheels with 25mm Vittoria Corsa Graphene+ tubular tyres and a Repente saddle.

It's not specified how many are available but with 25 riders, limited racing and a year of expert care, this is a team bike sale like no other.

Find out more here: derosa-cajarural.com/outlet

Whether you’re considering treating yourself or a loved one to a discounted road bike or cycling accessory before the festive season, now’s the right time to splash out.

Retailers such as Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles have kicked off the Black Friday sales early with an influx of offers and discount codes.

When does Black Friday officially begin? Well, that’ll be 27th November but we’ve found that sales begin weeks in advance and continue over Cyber weekend and Cyber Monday (30th November).

Find out more: Our pick of the best Black Friday cycling deals

Below, you’ll find a curated list of the best Black Friday road bikes and accessories deals, including bike computers, bibshorts and more. If nothing takes your fancy now, remember to pop back in as we’ll regularly update this page.

Best Black Friday road bikes and accessories deals: Editor's picks

Ridley Fenix SLA Disc road bike 2021 | £999.99

A full 33% off a 2021 bike is absolutely not to be sniffed at, especially when it saves you £500.

With an aluminium frame, a Tiagra 2x10 drivetrain and disc brakes, this bike is well equipped for riding all year round and is, quite frankly, a steal.

Buy the Ridley Fenix SLA Disc road bike from Wiggle for £999.99, down from £1499

NiteRider Lumina 1200 Boost/Solas light set | £85.49

Get your bike kitted out for winter cycling with this light set from NiteRider – make sure to use code LIGHT10 to get the full savings.

With up to 18 hours of run time, a max output at a whopping 1200 lumens and a widespread beam the Boost front light ensure as much of the road as possible will be lit up as you go.

It's also got USB charging and the mount is secure for on- and off-road rides.

Buy the NiteRider Lumina 1200 Boost/Solas 250 light set from ProBikeKit for £85.49, down from £125 with code LIGHT10

Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc 2020 | £7,649

Save over £1000 on this 2020 model of one of Giant's very best bikes.

Equipped with Sram Red Etap AXS with hydraulic disc brakes and tubeless tyres, it's a real gem with WorldTour pedigree.

Buy the Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc 2020 from Cyclestore for £7,649.14, down from £8998.99

Kask Mojito X Road Helmet | £80

Save 32% on one of these Kask helmets at Wiggle.

With a large range of colours on offer, Kask's do-it-all helmet, with an MIT polycarbonate shell, antibacterial padding and Kask's Up'n'Down fitting system, weighs just 220g and is perfect for on-road, off-road and commuting.

Buy the Kask Mojito X road helmet from Wiggle for £80, down from £119

Orro Gold road bike 2021 | £999.99

Built for doing the business over long distances, the Orro Gold – also available in red – could be just what you need.

With a full carbon frameset, a 2x10 Tiagra groupset, Fulcrum R900 wheels and 25mm Continental Grand Sport Race tyres, it's a major coup at this price – a huge 44% off its RRP.

Buy the Orro Gold road bike 2021 from Wiggle for £999.99, down from £1,799

Oakley Jawbreaker photochromic road sunglasses | £144.49

Arguably the iconic cycling sunglasses, the Oakley Jawbreakers have been sported by modern legends including Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan.

The photochromic lenses get darker in the sunshine and go clear when it's dark so you can wear them all day and all night without impairing your vision.

Buy the Oakley Jawbreaker photochromic sunglasses from ProBikeKit for £144.49, down from £105

Orbea Gain M10 19 electric road bike | £4,799

Save an astronomical £2000 on this Orbea e-bike.

Giving you assistance up to 15.5mph and a 62 mile range, it's perfect for an easy day out in the mountains.

With a carbon monocoque frame and a Dura-Ace 9100 groupset, it's still got plenty of juice even without the Ebikemotion 36V battery.

Buy the Orbea Gain M10 19 electric road bike from Pure Electric for £4,799, down from £6,799

Hiplok ANKR and HOMIE chain lock bundle | £97.49

Sleep easy with 35% off this Hiplok chain lock and mounting point.

An excellent way to ensure your bike is fully safe at home, this steel chain and 1.2kg mount that can be installed in wood or concrete will add a couple of layers of security.

Both parts are Gold Sold Secure also, so it's an insurer's dream.

Buy the Hiplok ANKR and HOMIE chain lock bundle from Wiggle for £97.49, down from £149.99

Photography: Mike Massaro

There are three ways to make a cyclist like you. One, bring them cake. Two, bring them a cuppa. Three, bring them cake and a cuppa.

So when I opened the big cardboard box that arrived from Livingstone, Scotland, it was clear its contents and I would get along famously. Along with the shiny new bike from Shand was a packet of shortbread and a teabag. It’s the little things…

For those unfamiliar with Shand, it is what some corners of the industry refer to as a small-batch builder. That is, it fabricates its frames in Livingstone in a manner that is more artisanal framebuilder than mass manufacturer.

Yet Shand turns out enough volume to earn itself the title ‘bike brand’, and while it will build almost anything you ask for, and paint it any colour you like, its core business is in stock models, of which this Rizello is one.

Inspired by the 1980s Scottish punk band, the Rezillos, the Rizello is the epitome of a modern steel race bike. It has flat-mount disc brakes, a T47 bottom bracket (the latest standard, which being threaded and supporting 30mm spindle cranksets, is hopefully the creak-free last), a 44mm head tube, skinny seatstays, chunky chainstays and thru-axles.

Tubing comes courtesy of Columbus, a mix of Life and HSS for the main triangle, chosen for wide diameters and low weight, and Columbus Zona and Dedacciai tubing for the stays, for stiffness and comfort.

The whole thing is expertly TIG-welded and the finish, here in gunmetal grey, is exquisite. It lacks the cable integration we’ve come to expect, but the effect is to make the Rizello look classic rather than untidy.

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Image 2 of 8

But back to the shortbread. It might seem silly to spend time in a bike review discussing Scottish biscuits, but the shortbread is indicative of a manufacturer that really understands the importance of details and how to look after a customer, which is a vital part of the bike-buying experience.

Boxing clever

If I had a pound for every time a test bike came badly set up I would have enough to buy a test bike. Un-faced disc brake mounts, bent mech hangers, tatty bar tape…

If you’re spending thousands on a bike you shouldn’t have to spend time fettling the disc brakes so the rotors don’t rub. It should work straight out of the box, and that is what made the Rizello so refreshing, and is also why it continued to be so.

It came with the wheels set up tubeless, Di2 gears shifting with robotic precision and with bar tape so impeccably wrapped each side could be a mirror of the other. Shand even included a Torx key for the Zipp stem’s bolts, acknowledging that not all riders might have one to hand.

All I had to do was straighten the bars and tighten the stem bolts and I was off. From the start, the Rizello just felt tight, every moving part perfectly adjusted and smooth.

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Free speed

The Rizello does what all good steel racers do, which is make up for sacrifices in stiffness with oodles of ride quality. This bike isn’t just smooth but silky too – it swivels on a sixpence, tracks through corners brilliantly and glides along like someone has greased the chipseal. 

What was more surprising was the string of PBs it delivered. The Rizello’s frame is not aero, it isn’t particularly light and it is stiff but not excessively punchy.

Neither am I in particularly good shape thanks to months of lockdown, but what the Rizello does have is tubeless tyres, 28mm wide, mounted on wide rims and which, crucially, I ran at 50psi front, 55psi rear.

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Image 4 of 8

Once upon a time I’d have recoiled at the thought of such low pressures, but the industry is increasingly providing us with data that suggests the combination of low pressure (less energy wasted to deflection) and tubeless (less energy wasted to friction of inner tube rubbing on tyre) makes for the fastest-rolling wheels.

Some will scoff, but to that I’d say give it a try if your wheelset or budget permits. What’s the harm? You never know, it might just mean you suddenly find some free speed.

As for me and my theories, they’re all well and good, but when it comes to the Rizello they are merely accoutrements to a bike that serves up functional design, precisely executed, and which delighted me every time I rode it.

This Shand bike is simple, but it works, and that’s the spirit of cycling at its core.

Pick of the kit

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar, £739.99, get it now from Costwold Outdoor

The depth of data on offer from the new Garmin Fenix 6 watch is staggering. As well as all the usual stuff such as heart rate and GPS tracking, it gives VO2 max readings, hydration stats and sweat rate.

The other day it told me I was ‘18% adapted’ to riding in the heat and needed ‘36 hours’ recovery before my next ride. Honestly, I don’t know what half the data means, but I love it all the same.

The biggest star, however, is battery life. Thanks to a photovoltaic screen, the Fenix 6 Pro Solar can top up charge from sunlight, stretching out battery life to 14 days.

Alternatively…

Choose your own adventure

With its internal geared hub and belt drive, 45mm tyre clearance and rack, guard and (optional) dynamo mounts, the steel Shand Stoater Rolhoff (£3,995) is as happy on the commute as it would be crossing the Andes.

Get off the road!

Shand was doing gravel bikes long before the marketing people coined the term, and the Stooshie (£3,395) supports everything from a 1x drivetrain to a Rolhoff internal hub or a Gates belt-drive system.

Spec

All reviews are fully independent and no payments have been made by companies featured in reviews

Based in Mitcham, London, Isen is the offspring of Hartley Cycles and Talbot Frameworks, bespoke builders founded by Caren Hartley and Matthew McDonough respectively.

Both are award winners in their own right, but back in 2015 the pair hatched a plan to start a small-batch bike brand together to cater for a wider audience.

It was out with custom geometry and custom tubesets, and in with off-the-peg and stock geometry sizes. Hence the small-batch bit.

Because the process is standardised, Hartley and McDonough are able to build bikes in batches, thereby cutting time and costs. A custom Hartley or Talbot frame, for example, could run north of £4,000, whereas Isens are nearly half that.

For more on Isen bikes, visit the brand's website here.

And this is Isen’s road bike, which for legal reasons is technically only ever known as the Road Ready Race, but which I will henceforth refer to (as Isen does in-house) as the Isen R3. Sorry Cervélo.

Stock options

Just because sizes are standardised doesn’t mean the build kit is, and this build is as exotic as it gets.

The seatmast topper is made in-house and fitted out with an Enve clamp system. The Sram groupset is bejewelled with a THM Clavicula chainset replete with carbon rings.

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Image 2 of 8

The wheels are Black Inc Thirty, and stopping them is a Cane Creek eeBrake at the front and a Shimano Dura-Ace 9110 under-BB brake at the rear.

The cranks alone are some of the priciest on the market (€1,149), full carbon and incredibly light at a claimed 302g without rings.

Likewise, that front eeBrake weighs just 86g without pads. It’s parts such as these that help keep this whole bike down at 7.8kg, remarkably light for steel.

Maybe I’m making too much of the expensive parts and weight, but there are two things you can’t escape when falling in love with a bike: looks and that initial feel. The R3 delivers both.

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Image 4 of 8

First, look at it. That paint is just glorious, a spangly multi-tone blue that shimmers near gold-like in certain light. The TIG welding is so smooth it could have been brazed, and then there’s the asymmetric shaping of the bi-lam seat tube lug, the flourish of the bridge between the seatstays and bronze sculpted headbadge.

I didn’t meet a single person when I was testing the R3 who didn’t compliment its looks. And then there’s the ride.

I have always had a soft spot for steel; it lends itself to a zingy ride feel because the narrower tubes tend to be more flexy than carbon.

In this ‘steel feel’ the R3 does not disappoint, but it was the lightness of touch that impressed me most to begin with. This feels like a deliciously feathery bike that’s rapid off the mark, nimble through the bends and a dancer up climbs.

I had high hopes based on weight alone, but the R3 exceeded those comfortably.

That said, there is a lack of ‘pop’ compared to a stiff carbon bike. However you cut it, a steel rear end that isn’t insanely overbuilt is apt to flex much more than carbon, where chainstays can be twice the size as steel and for less weight. Steel just can’t compete. But what steel can do is offer superb cornering abilities.

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Image 5 of 8

There’s one corner on my standard test route into which I can carry about 40kmh, but which is surfaced like a construction site on the Moon.

The R3 shone, palpably flexing and twisting with the road. Paired with 28mm Conti tyres, the overall effect was one of startling grip.

For more on Isen bikes, visit the brand's website here.

The bike is also supremely comfortable, but there is just one thing the R3 and I cannot agree on – its rear brake. I don’t care what anyone says, putting a rim brake under the bottom bracket is a bad idea.

The Black Inc Thirty wheels have a textured brake surface that zizz-es under braking, and because of this it’s possible to hear brake rub. Indeed I did when climbing hard or sprinting, and it’s the same with every bike I’ve ever ridden with a brake under the BB, carbon or steel.                  

OK, so there’s barely any power lost to friction, the brake rub only happens in extreme instances, and the brake position here really appeals aesthetically. But the other thing is underside BB brakes just don’t work very well.

They need to fit a smaller gap so have a compromised linkage system, giving way to impoverished leverage and worsened modulation. 

So to judge this bike on looks and feel, it’s a solid 10, but as long as that brake is where it is, I’ll be asking Isen if they can build me an R3 with the calliper in the regular position. Or with discs, which they already do.

Pick of the kit

Suplest Edge+ Road Pro shoes, £320

I have long been a fan of Suplest shoes. I find them comfortable enough to wear every day, and I’m pleased to say these updated shoes are no different.

The shape suits my feet well – wide across the metatarsals, deep and grippy at the heel, with a high-ish instep courtesy of some decent insoles from Solestar. The headline update here is a larger, wraparound tongue that does a fine job of distributing Boa dial tension, and a stiffened sole.

Weight is 230g a shoe, and the overall feel is both light and supple.

Alternatively…

Rough it

If you fancy a bit of off-road riding, the Isen All Season (£1,999 frameset) boasts disc brakes, wide tyre clearance, mudguard eyelets, rack mounts… the list goes on. Available in titanium and steel.

Even rougher

To venture even further off-road, the Mountain G.O.A.T (£1,999 frameset) goes into full MTB territory. It maintains Isen’s handbuilt steel aplomb, with some clever engineering and sharp paintwork.

Spec

You can win a unique custom Cervélo for just £10 in a charity raffle this December.

Seasoned endurance cyclist and graphic designer Chris Hall is raffling off the bike, designed in collaboration with Cervélo and Gun Control Custom Paint, to raise money for The Pace Centre – a school for children with motor disorders – and Movember.

The bike is a size 51 Cervélo S3 carbon frame, hand painted by Hall and finished by Gun Control Custom Paint, with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, Parcours Grimpeur Disc wheels and Schwalbe One tyres.

The raffle is open worldwide and will close on Christmas Eve, with the winner announced through Hall's social media accounts on Christmas Day.

One entry is just £10, which will be split evenly between the two charities, and you can enter as many times as you like.

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Image 4 of 10

Hall, a regular competitor in the National 24 hour Time-Trial, is hoping the money raised from the raffle will top up the £12,455 he recently raised riding 107 miles every day during the Tour de France's 107th edition this year.

To celebrate the raffle, Hall plans to do a Trenching challenge, descending the depth of the Mariana Trench – 11,034m, or 91 back-to-back laps of Box Hill.

For more information and to enter the raffle visit: chrishallrides.com/107bike-raffle.

Photos: Simon Eldon for Gun Control Paint