KINESIS TRIPSTER AT

This is a bike that will excel in all four seasons

Adding a huge slab of fun into the mix and making it available for under £2000 is a hell of an achievement

Each of our four bikes will serve you well throughout the wettest seasons. Tifosi’s new Campagnolo build of its evergreen CK7 is a great slice of old-school aluminium that personifies the fast winter trainer. It’s well priced and equipped; that said, I’d step up to Tifosi’s soon-to-arrive disc version of the CK7, but if you’re a rim-brake fan, then this CK7 is a fine option.

It’s easy to understand why the Fratello is Condor’s most popular bike. The slender steel tubing is quality stuff and gives it a good dose of classic cool, yet it has modern geometry and all mod-cons when it comes to fixtures and fittings. With a bit more value in the package, it’d be a surefire winner.

Next is Ribble’s gloriously smooth yet fast titanium Endurance. The usual Ribble valuefor-money traits are here, and all that great kit adorns a lovely frame in both appearance and experience. This certainly isn’t ‘just’ a winter ride – this is a true year-round companion of the highest order.

Our winner by the smallest of margins, however, is the Kinesis Tripster AT. It’s a bike that’s well priced and incredibly versatile. The AT works brilliantly as a road bike with spoton handling, but it could be anything from a sportive steed to a long-distance commuter, or a world-beating Transcontinental race machine. Head off the tarmac and it’s a capable gravel companion or adventurous bike-packing machine. Building in all the versatility is one thing, but adding a huge slab of fun into the mix and still making it available as a £750 frameset or sub-£2000 bike is one hell of an achievement. Congratulations to Kinesis.

Geometry is probably the most important factor when buying a bike but, as you can see from these tables, even bikes nominally the same size can vary considerably. All reputable bike retailers – high street and online – should ensure the bike fits you.