These Bontrager-branded aero wheels match a Steve Hed-designed 50mm deep-section carbon fairing with an aluminium rim and Bontrager hub. They come in at 1,660g per pair so aren’t a mountain climber’s first choice (Lightweight’s carbon set comes in at 1,000g), but equally they won’t hold you up on rolling terrain. Rather than the spokes attaching […]
On paper this is the mother of all cycle computers. As well as the usual parameters (wireless cadence, speed, distance), it measures heart rate, temperature, altitude, gradient, total ascent/descent and can probably predict what your mum’s cooking for dinner. It interfaces with a PC via a USB connection and software supplied for ‘easy’ analysis. In […]
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 […]
The Vitesse is Fizik’s female-specific tri saddle, coming with a more padded, wider-than-average nose for tri-bar time, and pink detailing. Making anything lady-specific in either powder blue or pink is a real trend in the bike industry of late, yet seems to wind lots of women up. Thankfully, on the mostly black Vitesse, the pink […]
The Selle Italia SLR T1 saddle is a triathlon/time-trial specific model from one of the most established names in bicycle seating. It features more gel padding than a traditional road saddle, especially on the nose, to accommodate time spent perching on the tri-bars. The covering material is a glossy black Lorica fabric designed to be […]
Ritchey’s top-of-the-line components fall under the World Champion Series or ‘WCS’ logo. The Streem-2 is from the company’s road bike range, and weighs in at just 180g. The design is very minimalist and initially feels very hard, as there’s little padding to speak of. In an upright road position the hardness of the Streem is […]
The Aspide Glamour Saddle is different from many other female-specific saddles on the market, in that it offers a very firm, flat surface (as lots of men’s saddles do) with a suitably wider profile. It seemed that this was a ‘love it or hate it’ factor with our testers – either they instantly got on […]
The Vision Aero Max is a TT saddle through and through: very well padded, particularly in the nose area, it’s been built with triathlon in mind. The simple, plain black design means it will win favour with anyone looking for a more understated seat (though by the same token, it won’t be the first choice […]
The Podium Ti from Intake is an attractive-looking racing saddle at a bargain price. With titanium rails it weighs in at 250g, which may not be the lightest on the racks, but at such a low price-point you can forgive it that extra little bit of mass. Padding is firm but not too hard, and […]
Prologo supplies saddles to AG2R and the Saxobank pro cycling teams. With only a small range of seats to choose from, the company’s proud boast is that it supplies the consumer with exactly the same products as it does for its professional riders. The Scratch TS is a lightweight (187g) road-oriented saddle with a stylish […]
Specialized’s BG (Body Geometry) system is aimed at optimising the fit and biomechanics of a rider by acknowledging that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t always work. As a result, the minimalist BG Toupe saddle is available in three widths: 130mm, 143mm and 155mm (the dealer will measure your hips to see which is […]
The Aspide TT is a superlight, tri-specific saddle from long-established Italian manufacturer Selle. Even though it has considerably more padding than a traditional road saddle, the use of carbon rails and base bring the weight down to just 162g – very impressive, especially as this also includes the addition of an alloy reinforcement sleeve in […]
The Fizik Arione design has won over a lot of fans in recent years as a road, time-trial and mountain bike saddle. The Tri 2 variant for 2009 has either carbon or Kium rails (the former pushing the price up to £219.99; the latter, tested here, a touch heavier at 209g) and a wider, more […]
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 […]
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