PINNACLE KAPUR 3
£675 Impressively upgradable trail hardtail at a bargain price
It’s always a good sign when you go to check a bike’s price and are surprised by how cheap it is. Finding out that the Pinnacle Kapur 3 costs less than £700 was a real shock, considering how well it rides as delivered and how much potential it has for upgrading.
The frame
It’s easy to assume that all a ordable alloy frames are much the same and concentrate on kit spec, but that would be overlooking the best bit of the Kapur. The subtly swollen 44mm head tube allows use of a taperedsteerer fork – rare at this price – while the top tube and down tube are carefully tuned triple-butted (three di erent wall thicknesses) pipes. A flexy 27.2mm seatpost is provided, for a smoother ride, but it’s shimmed to fit in a 31.6mm seat tube, making a future dropper post upgrade easier. As well as using quality tubes, the frame is a really good shape.
The kit
The Kapur’s front end is equally impressive. RockShox’s Recon RL is a well-controlled and reliable fork for a bike at this price, and has a 15mm axle – another rare feature for the money. Shimano’s M365 brakes are totally reliable, although a 180mm front rotor and some sintered pads would be on our wishlist, to boost power and modulation. The 3x9 Shimano Alivio/Altus transmission and basic-spec WTB Ranger tyres are par for the price, but worth upgrading in time, given how good the frame is.
The ride
With its tapered steerer and throughaxle, the Kapur’s fork is significantly sti er and more accurate in feel than most at this price. It’s also held at a 66.5-degree angle, which gives the steering a lot more self-straightening control and keeps it stable when the trails get tough. The 45mm stem and the leverage of the wide 760mm bar mean the Pinnacle never feels heavy or sluggish to turn, but eager to attack sections that threaten to fold the fork under and send you over the bars on bikes with the 69/70-degree head angles common at this price.
The frame is also stretched slightly longer than normal for a ‘cheap’ bike, with a 445mm reach on the large. Again, this puts the front wheel further in front of you, letting you hit sections harder without being tipped forwards. The longer wheelbase makes the bike more stable through fast, loose or slippery turns too. It
SPEC
Frame 6061-T6 aluminium
Fork RockShox Recon RL, 120mm (4.7in) travel
Drivetrain Shimano Altus with Prowheel Suolo-901 cranks and Shimano Alivio mechs (3x9)
Wheelset Double-wall alloy rims on loose-bearing hubs, WTB Ranger 27.5x2.25in tyres Brakes Shimano M365, 160mm rotors Bar/stem Pinnacle MTB, 760mm/ Pinnacle MTB, 45mm Seatpost/saddle Pinnacle rigid/WTB Volt 142mm
Weight 13.93kg (30.7lb), large size without pedals also helps keep the front wheel down on steep climbs, although the slack 72-degree seat angle means you need to balance on the nose of the saddle more than if it were steeper.
Not only does the RockShox fork isolate you from impacts more consistently than most units you’ll find on bikes up to £1,000, but, from experience, it’ll do it for a lot longer too. The butted frame tubes mean you’re not getting battered through the frame either, and while bigger, better-quality tyres will create an even smoother ride, the Kapur is impressively comfy as it is.
Our only real gripe is that the Pinnacle rides so well that, while the clattery multi-chainring transmission and cheap, plasticky tyres wouldn’t seem out of place on most bikes at this price, here they’re put to shame by the quality and control of the fork and frame. Or to rephrase that, it’s a bike that’s going to make you want to push your limits a long way further than most and is well worth upgrading as you do. GUY KESTEVEN www.evanscycles.com
Bargain trail tamer with an outstanding frame, fork and handling for the money