The Prisma offers a huge amount of bang for your buck, with a spec that includes everything bar the chainset from Shimano’s excellent Ultegra group, RS10 wheels and a BB30-compatible FSA Gossamer chainset. Bikes finished with this level of componentry are usually closer to the £2,500 mark.
The BH isn’t just jewellery attached to an average chassis, either, with tapering tubes designed for form and function. From an oversized head tube junction, with its 1-1/8 to 1-1/2in dimensions, the top tube narrows to the seat tube junction into a small rear triangle with minimal seatstays, while the down tube remains oversized through the BB30 bottom bracket and into deep 1-1/2in chainstays.
Our XL test bike’s 190mm head tube gives a mid-height front end; it’s a plenty comfortable enough position without being too relaxed. The ride is stiff and sharp – we’d describe it as more sporty than sportive.
The Prisma’s quality wheels are truly exceptional all-rounders, though they’re shod with budget 23mm Rubena tyres, which do dull the ride a little. Once we’d ridden the BH for a few hours and scrubbed the tyres’ waxy surface they did improve, especially through fast corners, out-of-the-saddle accelerations and descents.
Climbing aboard the Prisma is a joy, with the relatively low weight of 8.19kg and the quality wheels making light work of short, snappy ascents, and longer in-the-saddle grinds comfortably bearable. When we wanted to get a little friskier, pushing the Prisma up to sprinting speeds or plummeting through our favourite twisty downhills, it responded beautifully; it’s confident and stable.
The BH doesn’t offer as cushioned a ride as some of its price rivals, but although it’s not the smoothest bike over rougher surfaces, it does reduce the vibrations on coarse or broken tarmac that lead to tingling hands and feet. Overall, it's a great bike for those who value speed and responsive handling over comfort.