Bergamont GranduranceElite

£2699

The thinking behind Bergamont’s Grandurance is that by not being restricted by the confines of a race bike, it could create a true all-round platform. The Grandurance is a bit of an outlier in this test, but blends endurance geometry with plenty of clever design tweaks in the frameset, enabling you to prepare the bike for pretty much any drop bar-based activity. Our 57cm model features a 72-degree head angle and 73.5-degree seat angle, plus a long 1036mm wheelbase, due to the extra tyre clear afforded by the frame’s design.

The aero-shaped fork crown flows smoothly into the Grandurance’s headtube, and the fork has massive tyre clearance.

The Elite’s handling is confidence inspiring, and combined with a wide-range 11-32 cassette of the Shimano 105 drivetrain, is an able climber and exceptional descender thanks to Shimano RS505 brakes and plenty of comfort and grip from the Schwalbe G-One tyres. The wheelset combines ownbrand Saint Pauli (Bergamont’s home town) hubs with Taiwanese-based manufacturer Shining’s C-325D rims. They aren’t the lightest, contributing to the not-inconsiderable 10.3kg overall weight, and you’ll notice that weight when it comes to longer and steeper climbs. Despite superb, flex-free power transfer, it does feel ponderous where we’d prefer a bit more go.