peloton dreams - harry hall cycles · machinery the bike industry has to ... wind tunnel, and...

50 | Summer 2016 | CYCLING PLUS

Photography Robert Smith

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We don’t have the legs, but we can have the pros’ bikes. We test 10 Tour de France-worthy machines

PELOTON DREAMS

CYCLING PLUS | Summer 2016 | 51

PELOTON DREAMS


n 2 July, 198 riders will roll out from Mont-Saint-Michel on the first stage of the 2016 Tour de

France. Those that survive three weeks of gruelling racing will cover 3519km, and they’ll do so atop an awe-inspiring selection of the finest machinery the bike industry has to offer. Once upon a time professional riders all rode steel frames which, paint and decals aside, were broadly similar to one another. Nowadays everything is off the peg, but no two manufacturers ever quite agree on what makes the perfect race bike, and we as consumers are all the better off for it.

Our test covers a huge price range this month and not all of the bikes are kitted out with top-level groupsets; what they do have in common is that every single one is based around a pro peloton-level

frame. In the right hands, any one could be raced at the very highest level of the sport.

When you’re spending this kind of money, there aren’t really any bad bikes, but there is an astonishing variety. At one extreme, machines such as the new Trek Domane SLR bring amazing technology to the table with something approaching a full-suspension road bike; Canyon’s Aeroad CF SLX looks to have come straight out of a Formula One team’s wind tunnel, and it’s equipped with groundbreaking wireless shifting; and then you’ve got stunning ultra-light bikes from Focus, Cervélo, Cannondale, Ridley, Scott and Specialized – every one testing the limits of weight savings with cutting-edge carbon construction. None of these bikes come cheap, of course, but every one deserves to be here. Read on to find out which one rules the peloton...

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O★★★★★

EXCEPTIONAL

A genuine class leader

★★★★

VERY GOOD

One of the best you can buy

★★★

GOOD

It’ll do the job very well

★★

BELOW AVERAGE

Flawed in some way

★

POOR

Simply put, don’t bother

RATINGSEXPLAINED

Above

Peloton dreams, but who’ll be in

yellow at the end of the day?


The French AG2R-La Mondiale team ride Focus

Izalco Max machines with SRAM Red groupsets and Zipp wheels, whch is exactly what we’re riding here. SRAM breaks the Shimano hegemony, Zipp’s

hoops are proven at the highest level, and with a Fizik cockpit and saddle Focus isn’t exactly skimping on the finishing kit. Considering the quality of the components, that price looks almost like a bargain. But is it?

Up the ante to five-and-a-half grand and you’re

getting a full pro-level specification to match Specialized’s tried-and-trusted

Tarmac frame. It’s good enough for the Astana, Etixx-Quickstep and Tinkoff teams, so this 6.5kg Specialized ought to be enough bike for the rest of us.

THE BIKES ON TEST

Mark Cavendish and his Dimension Data team-

mates will be strutting their stuff on Cervélo machines this year, with the lightweight R5 serving for climbing duties. Our test rig is kitted out with

Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 with a Rotor 3D chainset and Ardennes Plus LT wheels from HED. We can’t guarantee that it’ll make you motor like the Manx Missile, but you’ll have no excuse for being at the back of the pack.

The IAM Cycling team ride bikes from fellow Swiss

company Scott, and though the Addict has been around for a while its 6.4kg overall weight is still extremely competitive. This model comes with a full

complement of Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Dura-Ace C24 wheels. Scott’s partner company Syncros is responsible for the stem, carbon bar and seatpost, and there’s a Prologo saddle and 23mm Continental tyres.

Lotto-Soudal’s road weapon of choice is the

Helium SL from Belgium’s Ridley. Our test model doesn’t quite have a pro-level build, but Shimano Ultegra, a Rotor chainset and Fulcrum Racing

Quattro wheels isn’t shabby kit, and the all-up weight of 7.4kg – thanks to the impressively light frameset – isn’t too bad either. This should give us a pretty good idea of what the Lotto-Soudal guys experience.

Trek’s newest Domane represents one of the most

feature-filled frames of recent years. The US company’s unique IsoSpeed decoupler in the frame has now been joined by a similar comfort- and compliance-

boosting device in the head-tube. Is this really a full-suspension road bike? More typically, this comes with a full raft of Bontrager components, from a carbon handlebar to 28mm wide tyres.

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RIDLEY HELIUM SL20 £3599.99

CERVÉLO R5 DURA-ACE Di2 £6599

TREK DOMANE SLR 7 £4400

SPECIALIZED S-WORKS TARMAC DURA-ACE £5500

FOCUS IZALCO MAX AG2R £5699

SCOTT ADDICT TEAM ISSUE £6699


PINARELLO DOGMA F8 SKY DI2 £8499

CANNONDALE SUPERSIX EVO HI-MOD TEAM £7499

The second appearance of SRAM in an otherwise all-

Shimano parade – this time in the form of its wireless eTap shifting system, hence the aero road bike Aeroad’s ultra-clean lines. Zipp – part of the SRAM

empire – provides the Firecrest carbon clincher version of its highly rated 404 wheels, while Canyon’s name is on the seatpost and cockpit. A Fizik Arione saddle and Continental tyres round things off.

Not surprisingly the Teammachine SLR01 is

one of the two machines ridden by Switzerland’s BMC Racing team. Equally not too startling is the fact that our test bike is specced with a full complement

of Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 with matching Dura-Ace wheels. The stem and bar are from 3T, with the seatpost a slimline carbon model. Fizik (sound familiar?) and Continental (ditto) round out the specs.

You can guess that a Cannondale is going to be

light, but just how light? In the case of the SuperSix Evo Hi Mod just 6.4kg – take that, UCI, with

your 6.8kg minimum weight limit! Dura-Ace Di2 is joined by Cannondale’s own SiSL2 chainset and Mavic’s Cosmic Carbone 40 wheels.

BMC and Canyon have tried hard, but Pinarello

has delivered the most distinctive-looking bike here. Froome, Thomas and Co will

duke it out on Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-equipped Dogma F8s, a frame that already has a Tour de France victory under its belt. But will it nab this Cycling Plus test?

THE BIKES ON TEST

PELOTON DREAMS

CANYON AEROAD CF SLX £6700 BMC SLR01 DURA-ACE DI2 £7499

THIS MONTH’S TOUR BIKE TESTERS

WARREN ROSSITER TECHNICAL EDITOR

Our ultra-experienced head honcho has tested

more road bikes than just about anybody in the

history of cycling. Ever. Probably. We think…

ROBIN WILMOTT TECHNICAL WRITER

Like Matthew, Robin has also spent time earning his cycling dues by working in a bike shop. He still races

time trials and cyclo-cross as well as testing bikes

MATTHEW ALLEN SENIOR TECHNICAL WRITERA former bike mechanic

and wheelbuilder, Matthew supplies a keen eye, an acerbic wit and

some of the skinniest legs ever seen at Cycling Plus…


t’s easy to find reasons to dislike Specialized. It’s the Ford of the bicycle world with its utter

ubiquity. Nonetheless, the brand has a history of producing mouth-watering fare for serious riders, and alongside the aero Venge, the top of the line S-Works Tarmac is a bike few roadies wouldn’t give a second glance. In a pro-worthy Dura-Ace and carbon clincher spec, with a stunning red, white and black paintjob, this is one eye-catching bike. It also has legitimate racing pedigree, as three WorldTour teams have the Tarmac in their arsenal,

SPECIALIZED S-WORKS TARMAC DA£5500 › A pro-spec superbike from the big, red ‘S’

and it’s the bike of choice for Spanish climber and multiple Grand Tour-winner Alberto Contador.

The Tarmac’s frame is a wonderful blend of glorious excess and some stylish, organic design, with lines that bulge and blend beautifully. The down-tube is gigantic, and its muscularity extends through a bottom bracket area that deserves the clichéd description of being ‘beefy’ (ideal for Contador then..). The sense of super-sizing doesn’t end there. While it’s a given that a bike like this will have a tapered fork, the Tarmac goes bigger than most with a steerer that requires a huge 13/8in

lower bearing, all in aid of front-end stiffness, while the aero carbon bar’s massively wide tops are a bit of an acquired taste. There are some lovely details – a hidden seat clamp means ultra-clean lines where the post enters the frame, and as it’s accessed from the side, it’s no less convenient than a standard one.

Shimano Dura-Ace continues to impress with its light yet precise shifting. Shimano’s lower groupsets are very nearly as good, but Dura-Ace has an expensive, metallic edge to its shift action that sets it apart. You get a full groupset, apart from the in-house cranks. We’re still not convinced the shifting they offer

I

Below Dura-Ace – the apogee of mechanical groupsets?

Bottom …while the Specialized S-Works chainset adds a certain carbon swoopiness

SPECIFICATIONWeight 6.54kg

(54cm)Frame S-Works FACT 11r carbonFork S-Works FACT carbon

Gears Shimano Dura-Ace, FACT 52/36 cranks,

11-28Brakes Shimano

Dura-AceWheels Roval Rapide CLX 40Finishing kit

S-Works stem, bar and seatpost, Toupé saddle,

24mm Specialized Turbo Cotton tyres

PELOTON DREAMS

The frame is a wonderful blend

of glorious excess and some stylish, organic design


is quite up to Dura-Ace level, but

theyÕre fine looking and stiff.

The Tarmac is one of those

bikes that upsets your sense of

how cycling should feel. Despite

its immense tube profiles, it has

a dainty, flickable feel thatÕs

addictive, with the physical volume

of bicycle beneath you seeming

at odds with its character on the

road. ThereÕs a surgical precision

to the handling, partly thanks to

phenomenal chassis stiffness, but

also because itÕs just so light.

Climbing is a delight as the stout

rear triangle is rock solid during

out-of-the-saddle efforts. We

did wonder if the exceptionally

stiff frame was overwhelming the

averagely-stiff (but lovely) Roval

wheels, as a little rear brake rub was

evident when throwing the bike

from side to side, but despite this,

there was a sense of total power

transfer. It helps that the wheels

are very light, their low moment of

inertia offering a lively feel. TheyÕre

a useful middle-of-the-road depth

too, and braking is very good for

carbon, something we put to the test

with some spirited wet descending

and one chamois-soiling encounter

with a delinquent sheep. The Turbo

Cotton clinchers do a fair job of

imitating tubs in both look and feel.

The S-Works isnÕt an endurance

machine, but is a smooth and

refined racer that deserves the

ÔsuperbikeÕ label, thanks to a

chassis thatÕs truly world class.

With a delectable component spec,

thereÕs very little not to love.

THE VERDICTThe S-Works Tarmac is a ready-to-race

stunner and an utter delight to ride

HIGHSWorld-class ride quality;

no-holds-barred spec

LOWSSlight rear brake rub

BUY IFYou want one of the worldÕs best race bikes in an absolutely

glorious spec

FOR AERO FANS

SPECIALIZED S-WORKS VENGE

VIAS DI2 £9000 Developed in SpecializedÕs own wind tunnel, this is pricey and rare as henÕs teeth, but all the more awesome for it.

FOR COMFORT FANS

SPECIALIZED S-WORKS ROUBAIX

SL4 DISC DI2 £6500The most aggressive version of the Classics special still has the comfort to get you through the toughest rides.

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There’s a surgical precision

to the handling, partly thanks to phenomenal

chassis stiffness


WINNERSpecialized S-Works Tarmac Dura-Ace Ý A very special Specialized

igh marks all around, yes, but then again these are all Grand Tour-ready bikes.

Cervélo’s R5 can easily handle itself in this august company, but it does struggle on value against brands such as Focus, Canyon and Specialized. And the same is true of Pinarello. It has served up its best Dogma yet, a stunning and aggressive aero-ish road bike, but at £8500 it is expensive (then again, if you have £8500…). Cannondale’s super-light and dynamic Evo is as responsive as anything we’ve ridden, but it’s overshadowed by better, and more

economically priced bikes elsewhere in the company’s own range.

Trek has hit another high watermark with its radical Domane, while Canyon’s Aeroad is a fast and practical aero bike elevated by SRAM’s wireless eTap. Ridley’s Helium SL is light, aggressive and impressive, and is due to be superseded this year – its successor having a lot to live up to. The BMC and Scott have lightweight frames that deliver on the road, with Scott serving up a climber’s special and BMC its still exemplary smooth-riding Teammachine SLR01.

Which leaves just the Focus Izalco Max and the Specialized S-Works

Tarmac. They’re evenly matched on weight, devastatingly quick and handle sublimely. This Izalco can’t run Di2 or EPS, though you could fit eTap, while the Tarmac comes with Di2. And though we’d happily spend the rest of our days riding the Focus it’s the Tarmac that edges it.

The S-Works Tarmac has a smooth and refined ride with a super-rapid turn of speed and a great all-round spec – and last year you’d have paid a grand more for it too. For the first time Specialized is beating the likes of Canyon and Focus on price, this Tarmac coming in 200-quid cheaper than Focus’s Izalco Max, for example.

The Tarmac has a smooth and refined ride with a super-rapid turn

of speed and a great spec

H

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Above

In third place at the moment, but

is the Tarmac ready to pounce?

peloton dreams - harry hall cycles · machinery the bike industry has to ... wind tunnel, and...

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