Road Bike Online

Looking like carbon fibre, it’s only when close up you realise the Audacio 400D frame is Alloy. For quite sometime Lapierre has been a popular sight with French professional squads, this curved, smooth welded frame has neatly place internal cable routing, and is on a par with the weight of cheaper carbon frames.

The tight feel of this 7005 alloy frame is evident when giving out-of-the-saddle efforts, the power transfer from your upper body through your legs, shoes, pedals, bottom bracket through to the wheels is a joy, acceleration feels somewhat effortless, great for climbing and cornering.  For an alloy bike you can cruise in comfort, the thin seat stays, big down-tube and flatter curved top-tube do give a more comforting ride than other alloy frames.  Though a little ‘clattering’ is felt from the frame the carbon bladed fork takes a lot of the rumble out of the tarmac.

The frame has a replaceable gear hanger, gearing is Shimano Tiagra with compact 50/34 chainset, 9-speed 13-25 cassette, with a good feel of the STi shifters, brakes are Shimano Tiagra, wheels are Shimano WHR500, you might like to consider a change of brake pads as the feel of the all rubber pads against the rims lacked some braking power, invest in metal backed rubber pads.  Finishing kit is Ritchey.  Weighing in at a very respectable 8.95kg (19.69Ibs) the Audacio looks great and is a very pleasant and smooth ride.  RRP £999.99.

LAPIERRE Audacio 400 DB Specification:

•  Frame, 7005 alloy.
• Fork, Carbon/alloy.
• Gears, Shimano Tiagra.
• Brakes, Shimano Tiagra.
• Wheels, Shimano WHR500
• Pedals, Look.
• Finishing, Ritchey logic bars, stem, and seatpost.

Boardman have built their reputation on no-nonsense good value bikes, fitting into the “bike to work scheme” market with prices sub £1000.  Surprisingly this years offering is alloy framed, although a light full carbon for, triple butted frame, and  oversize BB30 bottom bracket mean that weight has only increased by 100g over last years carbon fibre model.

The alloy Team is a firmer frame with tighter more accurate wheels resulting in a crisper fast ride.  The BB30 chainset is also more efficient and direct in delivering power.  This tight feel and good power transmission are certainly an advantage on sharp hilly rides, although the stiff frame can skip traction on rougher climbs unless you feather power.  Broad bars give plenty of low rev leverage.  With proven Shimano 105 gears and Mavic Aksium wheels, the Team also has durability.

So it’s a light, fast hill climber, but if you want comfort on long runs, the 2011 Team is less up your street, with its firm ride which can be wearing especially on rough tarmac, although this could be improved with different bar tape, saddle and fatter tyres.

• Available for £999.99 from Halfords

If you’re after a decent starter road bike for under £600 then you won’t need to look much further then the SPECIALIZED Secteur, with the ever increasing cycle sportive population Specialized have come up with this excellent entry level machine, the Secteur is named after the cobbled sections of Paris-Roubaix.  With the aluminium frame designed for comfort rather than performance racing, and the FACT carbon fork inclusive of Specialized’s Zertz elastomer this is as good as you will get in this price range.

Shimano 2300 is the gearing; the 52/42/30 triple chainset together with the 8-speed 13-26 cassette gives great 24 speed coverage with the 30×26 lowest to get you up most climbs.  The rims are Mavic CXP22, with Specialized tyres in the form of the 25mm All Condition Sport with puncture protection provided through a layer of Flak Jacket, a very comfortable ride, it must be mentioned much of the comfort is due to the seat stays curving out from the top, curve in around the brake bridge and out again to the dropouts, allowing some flex. The compact frame with long head-tube gives a more upright position.

Weighing in at 10.12kg this is a very good value for money bike, though the rear brake cable under the top tube might not be to everyone’s taste.  Other Secteur specification: Elite bars with padded tape, Body Geometry saddle, Dual pivot brakes, chain catcher.  Priced at £599.99

SPECIALIZED Secteur Specification

Frame:
Specialized A1 Premium aluminium, fully manipulated tubing, smooth weld compact design, integrated headset, rack eyelets
Fork:
Specialized FACT carbon legs, alloy crown and steerer, Zertz inserts
Front Derailleur:
Shimano 2300
Rear Derailleur:
Shimano 2300
Number of Gears:
24
Shifters:
Shimano 2300 STI
Chainset:
Shimano 2300
Chainrings:
52 x 42 x 30T
Bottom Bracket:
Cr-Mo axle, 68mm x 118mm
Cassette:
Shimano HG-50, 8-speed, 13-26
Chain:
KMC Z-51
Pedals:
Black cage, body & toe clips with strap
Front Brake:
Light dual pivot brake, Teflon pivots, forged alloy, with standard angle adjustable pads
Rear Brake:
Light dual pivot brake, Teflon pivots, forged alloy, with standard angle adjustable pads
Handlebars:
Specialized Elite, 6061 aluminium, 130 drop, 90 reach, 31.8mm
Stem:
Alloy, CP bolt, 31.8mm
Headset:
1 1/8″ sealed Cr-Mo bearings integrated with headset, 20mm alloy cone spacer with 20mm of spacers
Grips:
Specialized S-Wrap with 2.5 gel pads
Rims:
Mavic CXP22
Front Hub:
Forged aluminium, sealed bearing, Quick Release, 32 hole
Rear Hub:
Forged alloy, double-sealed, cassette, Quick Release, 32 hole
Spokes:
Stainless 14g
Front Tyre:
Specialized All Condition Sport, 700x25c, wire bead, 60TPI, with Flak Jacket protection
Rear Tyre:
Specialized All Condition Sport, 700x25c, wire bead, 60TPI, with Flak Jacket protection
Tubes:
Standard presta valve
Saddle:
Body Geometry Riva Road, with steel rails
Seatpost:
Specialized Sport, alloy, two-bolt clamp, 27.2mm
Seat Binder:
Alloy, 31.8mm
Extra Features:
Chain stay protector, chain catcher, derailleur hanger, clear coat

The fixed wheel Touché is a heritage bike with from one of the oldest bike companies with a great reputation for service. It has the required ‘touches’ of modernity though. The stiff aluminium lightweight frame is responsive and the Halo Aero Rage wheels and Continental Gatorskin tyres means it can go fast when required and the carbon fork keeps things comfy.

Even climbing a hill, always tricky on a singlespeed, the Touché responds well if the rider does some work at the start of the hill. The fitted 42×18 gear combination is a very good starting point for mixed terrain riding.

The bike handling doesn’t disappoint either as it manages to take corners at speed without drama or twitching.

The Touché combines good performance with remarkable comfort and would stand up to a lengthy ride well. Having mudguard capacity ticks the winter trainer box , single speeds are traditionally used for winter miles or makes it a useful commuter bike option. Alternatively it could perform as  a hill climbing bike but is also ideal for sunny days pottering around town.

It’s a quality built bike suiting a variety of purposes for a variety of riders.

• Aluminium 7005 Smooth Welds Frame with Eyelets
• Carbon Blades Alloy Steerer with Eyelets
• Alloy 48T Chainset
• Long Drop Calipers
• Flip Flop 30mm Alloy Rim Wheelset
• Sizes: 480mm, 500mm, 520mm, 540mm, 560mm, 580mm, 600mm
• Performance: Urban, Training, Commuting, Posing

You can find out more about the Pearson by visiting: www.pearsoncycles.co.uk

There’s a lot of excitement around about the launch of the premium range of high spec Boardman bikes but great to know for those without lots of cash to splash the company also prides itself on producing good quality mid- range bikes.

Highly recommended is the CX Team Cyclocross bike.

Incorporating the latest Boardman CX frame design in super- light aluminium , Avid  front and rear disc brakes, SRAM Apex gearing and a Superlight full carbon fork the bike is still priced at under £900 .

As well as a full UCI legal Cyclo cross race bike , the CX team offers complete versatility and lends itself equally to the daily commute, hilly sportive road ride or touring rides as it stands up to blasting around off road trails.

This bike does it all at a great price. Available to buy from Halfords.com

The COLNAGO C-59 Italia frame is Colnago’s latest top of the range frameset. You can see how the C59 has been formed though the history of it’s predecessors the C40 and C50. The C59 is available in an amazing range of sizes (22 in all) so everyone from the shortest to the tallest riders will be able to find a frame to suit.

The new frameset is hand made in Italy, which you might expect for £3,399… for the standard version, and another £100 fora polka dot or French champion colour scheme.

The COLNAGO C-59 Italia is available with the full Di2 internal cable routing, meaning your C59 looks neat and tidy from day one.

PROS: Stunning, handmade, exquisit ride.

CONS: Not much. The price maybe?