The new Silverstone Wing at the legendary British Formula 1 circuit was the venue for this week's The Bike Place show. For two days this temple to automotive speed was filled with a collection of cycling suppliers showing their wares to the trade and press. Here's a rundown of the road bikes and kit that caught our eye.
Velocite
First up, Velocite Bikes had their range of four road machines present. We've already had a look at the range-topping Helios Aero (£2,390 frame only, from £2,950 complete) and Magnus (£1,960 frame only, from £2,720 complete), and will be testing the latter soon. Next in line comes the Geos.
All Velocite frames are available on their own or as a full build. With a frame weight of around 1kg, the Geos has carbon dropouts, a BB30 bottom bracket shell and tapered head tube, and is the lightest frame in the Velocite range. Said to offer superb stiffness and efficiency, the Geos is priced at £1,420 for the frame or from £2,400 built.
Velocite intended the Selene to be the best alloy frame in the world, and it's designed to match or exceed the performance of current carbon frames. Oversized, triple butted and custom manipulated tubes make for a torsionally stiff frame, with slim seatstays to provide some relief. It comes with a lifetime warranty. The frame costs £580, with full builds from £1,690. Velocite bikes are currently available online only while a dealer network is established. Many custom options are available.
Velocite Helios
Orange
Orange are known for their mountain bikes, but harking back to a brief foray into the road market in the 1990s, the Carb-O is a limited edition carbon road bike. A run of only 120 machines means this is a truly exclusive bike. Keeping to component brands with high recognition in the off-road world, the Carb-O comes with Shimano 105, Easton components and Continental tyres.
Orange Carb-O
The frame is designed by Orange and sports touches like a filled in seatstay bridge to mimic the monostay found on the company's hardtail mountain bike, and who else does graphics like those? Sizes are 52, 54, 56 and 58cm, and it’s available from Orange dealers now for £1,899.99. Possible future developments could include an urban road or cyclo-cross bike if there’s sufficient interest.
Isaac
Isaac now have a UK distributor, which is good news for British lovers of their carbon monocoque particle-named offerings. We’ll soon be testing the entry-level, 105 equipped Kaon (£1,880), which along with its big brother, the Ultegra-shod Boson (£2,580), is only available as a complete bike. The Meson and Proton are being offered as complete bikes and framesets, and are available in electronic shifting versions. The Meson with Ultegra Di2 seems good value at £4,480 and around 7.8kg fully built.
Isaac Proton FW
Sold as a frame only, the Proton FW is Isaac’s flagship chassis at £3,280, and is matched in price by the Muon time trial frame, with cutting-edge aerodynamic shaping making for a very striking bike. The Proton and Muon both come with a BB86 bottom bracket shell, the Meson BB30, and the Kaon and Boson are both BSA fit. Isaac have a cyclo-cross frame in development, so we look forward to seeing that, hopefully by autumn.
Chris King
Chris King R45 Campagnolo road hub
Chris King’s much vaunted R45 road hub is now finally available with a Campagnolo freehub. A newly engineered axle and internals have been created to allow for the deeper splines of the Campagnolo design, so now any road rider can enjoy the sublime quality of these hubs. Evolution Imports are offering to hand build the R45 hubs into several rim styles from HED, Reynolds and DT Swiss, including the Ardennes, Stinger 6 or 7, Attack, 32 or RR415. Evolution use Sapim CX-Ray or DT Comp spokes to make wheels fit for a King.
KASK
KASK were showing off their new Mojito helmet, as seen on the head of world champion Mark Cavendish and his Sky teammates this season. Weighing in at a claimed 220g with 26 air intakes and a multi adjustable retention system at the base of the skull, the Mojito brings some Italian style with six bold colour options. KASK’s leathery-feel chinstrap is a quirky touch, and one we’d like to test. At £100, you too can wear the same helmet as the pros without breaking the bank.
Kask Mojito
Also on show were the Crono, a £170 conventionally shaped carbon time trial helmet with removable visor, and confusingly, the TT. As worn by Bradley Wiggins and Alex Dowsett during time trials, and with Wiggins’s actual helmet on display, the TT is a more rounded and shortened helmet, with a teardrop shape, which will be sold in white or black. Prices to follow.
