The amount of people who still commute on bike without mudguards amazes me, as does the amount of people who turn up on the Sunday club run in the depth of winter without mudguards. Many people justify it because they can’t have two bikes at once, and there isn’t one bike to do it all. Kinesis put an end to that idea two years ago with the 4S, and they’re back with a disc update to put a final nail in the ‘one bike can’t do it all’ coffin.
Kinesis describe it as giving ‘the ultimate winter bike the ultimate upgrade with the addition of disc brake mounts, internal cable routing and a brand new carbon fork.’
The disc brake is really the big development, and Kinesis has opted for the new Shimano FlatMount standard. The big bonus to FlatMount is that the caliper mounts are very discreet, so the frame has been designed to run with discs or rim brakes. The dropouts are adaptable between 130mm and 135mm to get around the hub spacing issue.
The new full carbon Tracer fork (originally designed for the first 4S) has also been updated to match the adaptable frame, so it too can run either disc or caliper brakes.
The frame has also been updated with full internal cable routing in the downtube that should help protect gear cables from the worst of the winter filth. The frame is also now fully compatible with Di2 wiring but sticking with tradition elsewhere, the bottom bracket is still a good old 68mm theaded BSA to avoid the risk of the dreaded creaky press-fit.
An extra size model has been added (55.5cm) as there was previously a bit of a gap between 54cm and 57cm.
Full features list:
- Frameset includes fork, headset, seatclamp and post mount adapter [140mm]
- Compatible with disc brakes or long drop caliper brakes [47-57mm drop]
- Tapered headtube with integrated FSA type headset
- Colour matched full carbon fork with flat mount, eyelets and long drop brake caliper mount
- Dual bottle mounts
- Internal cable routing via adaptable cable ports and special BB shell, Di2 compatible
- 130mm and 135mm rear QR hub compatible – removable bolt in dropout spacers included
- Will fit up to a 32mm tyre with full guards
- 31.mm front mech / seat clamp , 27.2mm seat post
- Caliper brake cable is discreetly routed internally via bolt in cable ports under the top tube