SPORTIVE BIKES

Pockmarked roads and hours sitting on a firm, narrow saddle can be a painful experience. But not if you choose the right bike…

Bikes built for comfort and speed, just the job for a long day in the saddle.

You’ve signed up to your first sportive and, thus far, your cycling mode of transport’s been a slightly tiredlooking hybrid that’s scarred by rust and years in the shed. It’s time for something slicker and stealth-like but be warned: not all road bikes are created equal.

To make your journey to the finish line that bit more enjoyable, you’ll need an endurance bike – aka sportive bike. The remit for sportive bikes is to cope – and do it comfortably – with long days in the saddle. How long is dependent on distance and your ability but, as an extreme example, the final finisher at the 2017 L’Étape du Tour [see pages 2425 for more on one of the world’s most popular sportives] took over 13 hours to cross the finish line. Based on a cadence of around 80rpm, that’s around 62,560 pedal revolutions, each one generated by your thighs, glutes and hamstrings. That’s a lot of chafing between body and saddle, so clearly comfort is key.

FRAME GEOMETRY

This is where geometry comes sharply into focus and where knowledge equals purchasing power. To the uninitiated, there’s no discernible difference between a race bike and a sportive bike. But focus your inner bike geek and you’ll notice a few subtle differences whose impacts punch far above their weight.

An out-and-out race bike sports a shorter wheelbase and a long reach to the handlebar. (The wheelbase is the distance between the centre of the front and rear wheels.) Shorter equals a more twitchy, more responsive ride, while that longer reach results in a more aerodynamic stretch. That’s great for speed but at the expense of comfort.

A sportive bike is designed with a longer wheelbase, higher head-tube and a shorter effective top-tube for a more sustainable and comfortably upright position. Take the Giant Defy sportive bike. Its wheelbase measures 100.7cm for the M/L model against 98.6cm for the same-sized Giant Propel race bike. Not huge but enough to change the nature of the ride.

FRAME MATERIAL

As for frame choice, advances in material technology and more sophisticated building techniques mean it’s rare to find a truly

uncomfortable ride. However, there are a few generalisations that will help steer your purchase.

Aluminium, the heart of many affordable frames, can provide a slightly firm ride, though some riders appreciate this. Steel’s forged an unparalleled reputation for a compliant, almost cosy ride, albeit often at the expense of weight. That said, the likes of Reynolds and Columbus are pushing the boundaries and have dramatically cut weight while retaining comfort.

Then there are the materials of choice for the professionals – carbon fibre and titanium. Both provide beautiful rides at an impressive strength-to-weight ratio; both are relatively costly.