Cannondale, founded in the early 70s, is a well-established brand who pioneered aluminium bicycle frame technology in the mid ‘80s. The CAAD9 frameset is the next iteration of Cannondale’s award-winning welded aluminium frame design, which has built up a well-deserved reputation for its stiffness and light weight. The spec of the Cannondale CAAD 9 Tiagra […]
Planet X started out in the ‘90s making dirt jump mountain bike frames out of its factory in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. More recently they’ve concentrated largely on the development of the road side as well as their range of track, triathlon and time-trial. The Planet X SL Pro Carbon Ultegra 6700 is a winner when […]
Raleigh is probably the most famous of all UK bike manufacturers, with an illustrious history dating back to 1890. Their range over the years has encompassed all types of bike, from the iconic Chopper to a Tour de France-winning road bike for Joop Zoetemelk in 1980. 2009 sees them reinventing their road bike range after […]
Lancashire bike builders Ribble have a wide range of bikes on their website and will build them up to different specs – even supplying with or without wheels – to suit your budgets and requirements. The Aero TT is one of their tri and time-trial-specific models and our test bike was built with one of […]
Focus may not be the most recognisable brand on the market, but its reputation for great builds and amazing value is creeping into the system and undercutting many of the world leaders’ efforts. Having just signed Olympic medallist Nicole Cooke, Focus has made a great forward leap into the racing world that could gain the […]
You might think brands like Specialized, Scott and Trek are the big ones, but in terms of productivity, few manufacturers produce anything like the number of bikes Merida do. And their CC3 is a typically solid and enjoyable off-roader. The Ride With plenty of fat alloy tubing between rider and wheels we were expecting a […]
Look at the website of Pinnacle creators Evans Cycles and you’ll see that the 2009 Expede is basically the ’08 version but £200 cheaper. Not that that’s a bad thing… The Ride First up, weight. The Expede is 1.5lb lighter than the Merida, and while that might not sound a lot, it makes a real […]
Like the Defy, the Sport sits in the top half of Specialized’s long-established Allez intro-competition range. It boasts a decent frame, sound spec, neat cosmetics and practical componentry choices. The Ride The first thing you notice on mounting the Allez is its size: in contrast to the Defy, our ‘large’ Allez came up closer in […]
Merida’s lower-priced alloy bikes have consistently blown us away with their performance per pound. Crank up the price, though, and even with a couple of key bling add-ons, it’s looking less impressive. The Ride There’s nothing lacking about its speed commitment once you’re on board. There’s a whole load of spacers to remove from the […]
Last issue, the Swiss-designed Erox graced our ‘First Look’ pages; this month, we put it straight into the test programme against the Merida. Our bike came with standard forks, unlike the brake-behind BB version shown on the website, but it’s still suitably aero-looking. It also manages to be a surprisingly comfortable, cultured ride. The Ride […]
Focus may not be the most recognisable brand on the market, but its reputation for great builds and amazing value is creeping into the system and undercutting many of the world leaders’ brands. Having just signed Olympic medallist Nicole Cooke, Focus has made a great forward leap into the racing world that could gain the […]
Giant bikes need little introduction. Giant has been making bikes since 1972 and produces many of the other brands’ bikes too. In fact, it’s (probably) the biggest bike manufacturer in the world. Years of professional racing and development have allowed Giant’s designers to produce some of the best bikes on the market. Unquestionably, they’re leaders […]
Japanese manufacturer Ceepo is quite a new player in the triathlon bike game, but has stirred up a lot of interest recently, not least through its partnership with Ironman. The company prides itself on being a dedicated triathlon outfit and does all its own manufacturing; the Viper is the company’s top-of-the-line frameset and new for […]
Felt has a strong pedigree in triathlon. The B2 Pro is almost top of their 2009 range with only the DA ‘dream machine’ above it. It features a carbon frame with top-end Shimano and Zipp components, tri-specific steep angle geometry and comes race-ready from the box, once you’ve strapped on your own pedals. The Ride […]
Tell most people you’re riding a Tiger Frog and their answer will usually be, “A what?” Once you’ve then assured them that it won’t bite their head off, nor go ‘ribbit’, you can explain that Tiger Frog is in fact a UK-based online retailer specialising in tri clothing and a range of bikes. The TF300C […]
b’Twin is the brand name for cycles coming out of the French sports chainstore Decathlon. Its own brand kit combines quality designs and useful features with sensible pricing, and while it’s fair to say they’re not the sexiest or most desirable bikes on the planet, they do impress in the function and value stakes. Much […]
Giant position themselves under athletes of the calibre of current world champion Helen Tucker, with the Trinity the introductory model in Giant’s time-trial range. The ride First impressions aren’t great, as the steering’s twitchy nature becomes apparent. However, once moving in a straight line it’s smooth and, when settled in a good rhythm, it feels […]
Tri-specific bikes are becoming increasingly popular with their purpose-built features and tailored geometry. Quintana Roo are one of the only pure tri bike brands around and for 2009 have unveiled what they say is the bike with the lowest drag coefficient ever. QR even boldly claims that the Cd0.1 can cheat the wind! The Ride […]
Wilier bikes are steeped in history. The Italian outfit have been making frames since 1906 and, at one point shortly after the Second World War, its factory team of 300 were hand producing 200 bikes a day. It currently provides the bikes for the Lampre road cycling team, which includes the 2008 Road Cycling Race […]
Focus bikes became available direct to the UK market in 2006. Through their sole distributor, Wiggle, they have been building their reputation as a manufacturer of quality cycles, ridden by elite athletes such as Stuart Hayes and neo-pro Emma-Kate Lidbury. The Culebro Tria represents the introductory model in the Focus TT range. The ride Things […]
Look has ruled on the road for decades, so it’s about time the company’s influence was felt in the world of tri. Enter the new Look 576 frame. It’s not a TT crossover like many bikes on the market, but a bike designed specifically with tri in mind… The build The Look frame just looks […]
Trek need no introduction whatsoever. Having Lance Armstrong on the books hasn’t just been great for PR, though – it’s also boosted the company’s ability to make quality bikes. And even though Armstrong hung up his tri gear in 1990, all the wind-tunnel testing and development that goes into his own bikes has undoubtedly had […]
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