At just 7.64kg this titanium model from online retailers ProBikeKit was one of the lightest bikes in Cycling Plus's Bike Of The Year test. Everybody agreed that it was nicely finished too, with just a minimal touch of PBK branding on an otherwise naked titanium frame.
In spite of titanium’s reputation among road riders for offering comfort over performance, our testers felt that the PBK was more a machine for the competitive rider than the casual cyclist.
“Strictly for racing; very fast, very stiff out of the blocks, with an aggressive position and nippy handling,” said resident racer (and BikeRadar editor) Jeff Jones.
Other racers in the test team also appreciated the stiff, racy frame and excellent Ritchey fork. Specced with Fulcrum's Racing 3 wheels, the PBK was described by one tester as “a very raceable bike, one that induces pedal-mashing excitement”.
Only workshop manager George Ramelkamp – generally a fan of all things titanium – was less than totally impressed by this bike, having issues with heel clearance on the rear triangle.
The 27.2mm seatpost helps to take the sting out of road buzz, but even this bike’s fans reckoned that the ride is on the firm side, Jeff suggesting that it wouldn’t look after you on a long ride.
Overall this is a good looking bike that shows titanium still has a place on a racing bike. The weight is comparable with carbon fibre and the ride is just as fast, but titanium has the advantage of longevity too. Theoretically, and barring a catastrophic crash, a titanium frame should last you indefinitely.
The PBK is available as a frameset with Ritchey WCS full-carbon fork, or as a frame only. The frameset costs £1,000 (or with present 10 percent discount £900), with the frame coming in at £785.99 (£707.39 with discount). Ours came with kit based around SRAM’s second string Force groupset.