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Dawes Giro 300 review

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Dawes Giro 300

BikeRadar verdict

2 out of 5 stars

"Heavy wheels and unusual kit choices let down a decent road bike frame"

1 comment
Sun 26 Jun 2011, 9:00 am BSTBy

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As its Giro nomenclature alludes to the Italian Grand Tour, the Dawes is another that could be expected to be at home on reasonably hilly rides.

We weren’t convinced, though. The Giro 300 has a 52/39 standard double chainset which is likely to make the gearing too high – and climbing harder – for a lot of prospective buyers. A compact or a triple chainset, as earlier versions of the Giro 300 were specced with, would have been better for more novice riders.

The wheels are a slightly strange choice too: the 25mm wide rims, around 4-5mm wider than most road bike rims, are more like those you’d expect on a hybrid. This not only made setting up the brakes trickier but resulted in a sluggish feel out on the road – where they were hard to get up to speed, and made climbing more of a chore. Weighing in at 3.91 kg, these were one of the heaviest sets we've tested.

We were also surprised by the 38cm handlebar, which is much narrower than similar bikes’ 42cm and 44cm bars, especially as it was combined with a longer reach to the gear levers than is usual.

The narrow bar could have had implications for the bike’s handling, but it was surprisingly stable, a good trait for a budget road bike, and although out-of-the-saddle efforts were hard work, there wasn’t a hint of twitchiness. This didn’t really make up for the bike’s overall sluggishness, though.

Testers also found it hard to get comfortable – the nose of the saddle is incredibly firm and unyielding, probably too much so for those coming over from hybrids.

With its good looking and distinctive tube profiles – the down-tube turning from a teardrop profile at the front to a rectangular one where it meets the bottom bracket – the Dawes Giro 300 certainly looks the part but we feel that it doesn’t quite play it.

It has a great frame but the dawes won’t win any grand tours: it has a great frame but the dawes won’t win any grand tours

The Dawes Giro 300 is the budget road bike that doesn't feel as wellrounded as some others of its ilk. It looks great, the frame is well finished and the handling reassuringly stable. However, its heavy wheels and slightly higher than ideal gearing make it sluggish on the climbs.

This article was originally published in Cycling Plus magazine.

What's the score with BikeRadar reviews? You can find a full explanation of our ratings here.

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User Reviews

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  • Having owned this bike for several months I would like to draw a parallel with the above review and relate my own experiences.

    Gearing:- I found the gearing neither high enough or low enough but not by much. However, the range of the 13-26 cassette is perfectly adequate for general commuting.

    Wheels: The wheelset is functional and whilst the review states that they weight 3.91 Kg it is misleading. This figure includes the tyres, inner tubes, cassette and the skewers. The is not the basis in which wheel weights are generally compared by manufacturers. In fact the wheels alone are probably circa 400g more then what one might upgrade them too. This weight in itself can be significantly reduced by replacing the tyres to folding ones and race light inner tubes, negating the differential rotational mass. One would certainly want to change the Kenda tryes in any event. They offer little protection in the way of puncture resistance having suffered five in one day my self. Kevlar obviously being the preferred option.

    Handlebars: The stock handlebars on my 58cm bike were 400mm and I found no problems with the width. However, the reach is 140mm and as is the drop and when coupled with a 120mm stem . You are never quite comfortable in the hoods and in the drops lean too far forward into aero a position. Dawes obviously recognised this flaw when they upgraded to compact ones in their Giro 500 model. I feel that this should be a pre-requisite on all their models as it is more akin to a design flaw rather then an optional up-grade.

    Saddle: These generally tend to be a personal preference and a common upgrade on any road bike. It would be a moot point to argue that Dawes were better or worse then anyone else in this regard.

    The frame: It is certainly a contemporary design, functional and certainly one of the most attractive at this price point.

    All in all if one were to consider that upgrades are part and parcel in personalising any bike at this level, then the Dawes 300 has a lot to offer. Not having read the above review before I purchased my bike and having ridden countless miles on it since, I would have to say in retrospect that it was not a bad place to start cycling.

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Specification

Name:
Giro 300 road bike (11)
Built by:
Dawes Cycles
Price:
n/a

Weight (kg):
11.34

Frame & Fork:

 
Frame Material:
Aluminium
Fork Model:
Steel unicrown

Brakes:

 
Brakes Model:
Dual pivot

Contact Points:

 
Saddle Model:
Dawes
Seatpost Model:
Aluminium
Stem Model:
Aluminium
Handlebar Model:
Aluminium

:

 
Description:
Gears: Shimano 2300, Wheels: 32-spoke aluminium

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