Evans Cycles has gone disc for 2016, with upgrades to the popular Pinnacle Dolomite, and a new addition to the Hoy range.
The popular high-street chain has also expanded its clothing range, lights range, and has introduced a turbo trainer and and e-bike – meaning that pretty soon, should you want to, your end-to-end and top-to-toe cycling experience could be supplied by Evans.
All prices are in sterling, but Evans ships worldwide – check the Evans Cycles site for international pricing.
Dolomite 2016 road bike
Pinnacle’s Dolomite has been a firm favourite round these parts. Its no-nonsense Brit-centric design (so plenty of provision for bigger tyres and mudguards), with endurance geometry that leans more towards 'agile and aggressive' rather than 'ponderous cruiser', has seen a major update for 2016.
The frame has been completely revamped to incorporate disc brakes for all but the cheapest bike in the range (the Shimano Tourney-equipped Dolomite One). The new frame mixes both double and triple butted 6061 alloy main tubes. The only changes over the previous caliper brake-equipped models are a new carbon/alloy disc specific fork with wider clearances for bigger tyres, and a drop in the bottom bracket height to maintain the ride position with larger volume tyres.
Four women's-specific options are included in the new Dolomite range – this is the Shimano 105-equipped Five
The new Dolomite now has clearances for 28c tyres or a set of 25c rubber with full mudguards (the frame has mounts and provision for both). For commuter convenience the new Dolomite also has rack mounts, and keeping up the UK-specific design is the full internal cable routing, designed around UK brake configuration (or moto-style for our overseas readers).
Aside from the budget (£450) Dolomite One all of the range come with disc brakes, the £550 Two comes with Shimano’s revamped Claris group, mated to Tektro Mira cable actuated discs. An extra £100 means a step up to the Three, which is Shimano Sora, equipped with Tektro’s Spyre mechanical discs handling stopping. The Four as you might expect is another £100 jump and this gains the new Tiagra 10 speed group and an upgraded frameset featuring smooth-weld finishing.
The magical £1000 mark is where the new Five sits, and in our opinion it’s the jewel in the Dolomite range, combining Shimano 105 with Ultegra-grade 785 hydraulic brakes and the new RS-505 STI units, its final upgrade being a move to Continental's excellent Gran Sport 25c tyres over the other models' Kenda Kriterium 25s.
The range topping Six, meanwhile, gains RS-685 shifters and uprated hubs, quality Novatec fully sealed bearing units matched to the Alex rims, plus a full 105 groupset for £1250.
There are also four women's-specific bikes in the range, which feature smaller sizing options and a seat tube angle designed to place rider weight centrally over the bottom bracket, based around research that indicates female riders have on average a lower centre of gravity than males.
Arkose 2016 cyclocross bike
The Arkose is the most popular drop bar in Pinnacles line up, and its easy to see why. Its no-nonsense do-it-all design always allowed you to get off the beaten track. The original Arkose, like Genesis’ Croix de Fer, pre-empted the current trend for all things gravel – both bikes were penned by the hand of James Olsen, designer at Pinnacle and previously of Genesis.
The 2016 Arkose has gained a smooth-welded upgrade to its double/triple butted 6061 alu frame, full internal routing (like the Dolomite it's UK-optimised). The range has become a little more adventure biased, allowing for a rear 'guard and a Crud catcher down tube mount for a front guard.
Kenda's Small Block Eight 35c cyclocross rubber is specced across all the new Arkose line, except for the SS singlespeed model
The spec has also shifted in line with the gravel trend, with all but the single speed SS running Kenda’s Small Block Eight 35c 'cross tyres (though it's not a 'cross bike). The geometry shows plenty of mountain bike influence, with a slightly slacker head angle, longer fork offset and a fairly long top tube mated to a significantly shorter stem. Olsen told us that this helps the Arkose track confidently over the rough stuff, while still helping it handle with plenty of zing when cornering on paved roads.
The Arkose range starts with – you guessed it – the One, at £700 equipped with a cross-friendly 46/36 crankset and Claris gearing with stopping handled by TRP’s Spyre mechanical brakes. The Two is priced at £850 and gets a more road-friendly Tiagra group, based around a 50/34 crankset, and retains the Spyre brakes.
The £1000-priced Three is the first in the Arkose range to gain hydraulic brakes in the form of a 785 brake, 505 STI combo matched to Shimano 105. The range topping Four at £1300 gains a full carbon thru-axle fork, an upgraded crankset (Shimano RS500 over the Three’s Samox) and uprated Novatec hubs mated to the same wide (19mm internal) Alex disc specific rims found on the rest of the range.
There’s also the much more off-road than on-focused SS single speed Arkose, which gets a eccentric bottom bracket shell to allow for chain tension adjustment, a drivetrain with a 38/17 combo and huge 40c WTB Nano comp tyres. Olsen also told us that there's a more hardcore expedition model on its way, made from high-grade steel, which is on its way through final testing and certification.
Iroko hardtail mountain bike
The Iroko is all-new for 2016, and is the first time Pinnacle has entered the 650b arena. Olsen explained that the thought behind the Iroko was a bike that’s designed to be ridden hard, but without leaning to far towards the extreme, 'Forward Geometry' end of the spectrum where only the most aggressive (and skilled) riders are likely to get the best out of it. With that in mind the Iroko does use fashionably long, slack geometry and is designed around a 40mm stem and 740mm wide bar.
Pinnacle's new Iroko hardtail is its first 650b offering. It features a 67.2-degree head angle and 120mm fork
For a size large (for riders from 5ft 10in / 178cm to 6ft 1in / 186cm) you’ll see an effective top tube length of 633mm, matched to a 67.2-degree head angle and a 72.7-degree seat angle. The 6061 alu frame uses external cable routing, but is drilled to accept an internally routed dropper post. The seat tube is 31.6mm diameter for dropper compatibility, but shimmed to a more comfortable 27.2 post out of the box. All but the base model One (£800) get a tapered head tube and all bikes in the range come with a 120mm travel fork.
The One (£800) uses a Recon Silver fork, Deore matched to M447 brakes and runs a tyre pairing of WTB Vigilante 2.3 front and a Trail Boss 2.25 rear. The £1000 Two gains the upgraded taper steerer frame, full Shimano Deore (36/22) group with M615 brakes plus a Recon Gold RL fork.For an extra £250 the Three (£1250) gains an upgraded Revelation RLT fork, SRAM GX1 1x groupset and Shimano SLX M675 brakes.
Topping out the range is the £1450 Four, which comes equipped with Shimano’s latest 1x XT group and a RockShox Pike RC fork, which for this price is an amazing spec.
Hoy Alto Irpavi 2016
The popular Sa Calobra road machine has been superceded by an all-new bike called the Alto Irpavi, named after the high altitude velodrome where Sir Chris Hoy broke the 500m-world record. This isn’t however a track special; it is in fact an aggressive performance disc equipped bike.
Hoy's bike-fitting service offers tailor-made choices on stems, bars and saddles
At its heart is a 6066 triple-butted aluminium frame that uses Shimano’s new flat-mount brake standard front and rear, and both front and rear thru-axles. As with all Hoy models the in-store service is part and parcel of buying the bike, so plenty of time spent fitting you to the bike with options on stem length, bar width and saddle taken in consideration. That’s good to see with any bike, but especially at this £1300 to £1800 price point.
Hoy doesn't produce women's-specific versions of its bikes, with the emphasis on getting the fit right for the individual using the system mentioned above instead. The brand offers a wider range of frame sizes, to accommodate smaller and taller riders of either gender.
The big man himself gets in on the action
The base model Alto Irpavi 002 comes with Shimano 105 and RS505 brakes with an FSA Gossamer crankset for £1300. Next in line the 003 is priced at £1500 and gains a full 105 groupset matched to RS685 brakes. The range topping 004 at £1800 upgrades to full Ultegra and RS505 flat mount brakes.
Prototype Lithium e-bike
The e-bike market is growing, and Evans has decided to get in on the act with it's own Pinnacle Lithium. Based around a women's-specific design, the bike features a down tube mounted battery and a handlebar mounted control unit, plus integral mudguards. The Shimano battery unit is, apparently, simple to use and requires little if any maintenance.
Pinnacle's prototype e-bike
With a planned retail price in the region of £1,700, it will be available from late spring 2016.
FW Evans clothing, lights and tools
Evans entered the clothing arena recently with a limited range, and this has been expanded for 2016 with thermal tights (£39.99), bib tights(£59.99), a long sleeved jersey (£39.99) and a softshell jacket (£64.99).
The pricing is competitive, with the softshell in particular catching our eye. Its water-resistant coating, demonstrated on the spot, looks effective and we're keen to put it to the test in a real-world environment.
The FW Evans accessories range now includes lights and tools
Evans also branched out into the competitive lights market last year, and based on its success has expanded the range for 2016. With budget prices but effective performance, it includes front and rear back-up lights available individually and as in sets.
Evans has also produced a selection of mounts and brackets to allow lights to be fitted on most bikes, accessories and helmets. These mounts are interchangeable and work throughout the light range.
Evans Turbo Trainer
Not content with bikes, tools, lights and clothing, Evans has also released a new magnetic resistance turbo trainer just in time for the winter season. At a very competitively priced £109.99 (though currently retailing at £89.99). It offers five levels of resistance operated by a remote, bar-mounted clutch knob. The indoor training range already includes a mat, sweat guard and riser blocks, and there are plans afoot for a bundle offer in the future.
Evans has released a magnetic resistance turbo trainer just in time for the winter season, under its FW Evans branding
