OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Would we stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons on our off-the-radar tri bikes from Simplon and Neil Pryde? Check out our 6-page feature…
Whether you’re in the market for your first tri-specific bike or a seasoned triathlon veteran looking for your next ride, choosing a new bike is an exciting if daunting prospect. With so many buying options out there, it’s not always easy to look beyond the brands whose marketing budgets shout the loudest. But look past the usual major players of Specialized, Trek and Cervélo, and there are plenty of other highly developed, aero-optimised speed machines that stand out from the crowd.
We’ve selected two bikes for this month’s test from Neil Pryde and Simplon that firmly fall into this off-the-radar category in the UK. Both have impressive amounts of input in terms of research, development and design, with each one having aero capabilities at their heart. Our two bikes on test fall at different ends of the price-tag spectrum, but does that extra cash convert into more performance? Let’s find out…
Take a brief glance at the Simplon MR.T2 and you’re in no doubt where it’s from. ‘Born in Austria’ the decals proudly state on the down tube. Simplon might be an unfamiliar brand on UK shores, but the company can be traced back to 1931 and took up the Simplon moniker in 1961, where it made its name creating premium bespoke bikes. Although Simplon is an Austrian brand, its founder Josef Hämmerle took the Simplon name from the legendary Simplon Pass in nearby Switzerland.
Simplon have since moved away from producing bespoke frames and shifted to developing high-quality framesets, onto which you configure your own preferred components, wheels and finishing kit, from a wide range of options via the Simplon website. Your bike is then hand assembled by a sole mechanic in Simplon’s Austrian HQ and delivered to the nearest Simplon dealer to be set up to your personal preferences.
The MR.T2 is Simplon’s only tri/TT frame and they believe it’s ‘a perfectly shaped race design with fireworks of innovations’. The performance and speed of the MR.T2 is backed up by top UK pro triathlete, Lucy Gossage, who in 2017 rode a MR.T2 to four Ironman titles, including another win at Ironman UK in Bolton.
The first thing that struck us is that the frame sizes size up larger than we’d expect, our usual size small measurements were equal to an extra small on the MR.T2, something that’d make a trip to your local dealer worthwhile to ensure getting the correct fit. The MR.T2 instantly feels like a rapid stealth racer. Looking closely at the finer details of the frame, fork, aero bar and stem, it becomes obvious that a great deal of research has gone into the design. The integrated carbon ‘T2’ aerobar, carbon T2 S-bend extensions and T2 stem are particularly impressive, and it remains one of the most multiadjustable cockpits we’ve used.
The bike comes with a whole box of extra shims, extension height spacers and stem stack height and reach options, allowing you to get your individual millimetre-perfect aero set-up dialled in (something that’s frustratingly lacking on many expensive aerobars). The stem neatly incorporates the Di2 charging port inside and is accessed by unscrewing the tapered hex bolts that fix the stem top cover. The ‘T2’ central mount is a useful finishing touch for mounting your computer between the extensions.
The overall front-end design – with the integrated stem at the same level as the top-tube and tapered head tube profile cleanly merging into the fork crown – has a similar design to the Scott Plasma of 2014, an extremely fast tri bike developed by aero guru Simon Smart.
RESPONSIVE RIDE
Adding to the clean look of the bike, the front brake is integrated and mounted on the rear of the fork, while the back brake sitting behind the bottom bracket area is optimum for aero gains (but also good at collecting mud and grime on longer training rides!).
Cable routing is all fully internal, and the MR.T2 has three bottle cage mounts, situated on the down tube, seat tube and on top of the stem. Fuel-bag mounts are also located on the top tube. The wind-cheating carbon Kammtail tubing profiles on the down tube, seat tube, seatstays and seatpost are proven high performers at all yaw angles. The rear dropouts are horizontal, with
“You get the feeling that the bike is urging you to push harder, making you want to return to it daily”
adjustable stops and a carbon replaceable rear mech hanger is a neat finishing touch.
Hitting the tarmac, the MR.T2 is incredibly stiff and responsive, with straight-line speed, acceleration and overall handling all impressive. You get the feeling that the bike is encouraging you to push harder, an addictive feeling that makes you want to ride the MR.T2 daily. And yet, having tweaked the position multiple times and changed the saddle (to our preferred Fizik Antares), we still found the overall feel unforgiving on longer rides.
The performance of the Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset is faultless, as ever, with the MR.T2 specced with Di2 shifters on both the extensions and brake levers. Having a shifting option while covering the brakes allows you to keep on top of the gearing while going in and out of corners, a real bonus for keeping speed up. The equally highperforming and reliable Zipp Firecrest 808 wheelset always impresses, although we did experience a certain amount of squealing from the carbon-braking surface when stopping in the wet.
The £8,324 price tag puts the MR.T2 in the top-end category alongside the likes of the Cervélo P5 with SRAM Etap and HED Jet 6 wheels, or a Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 9.0 SL equipped with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and a Zipp 454/858 NSW wheelset. In a straight comparison the MR.T2 has a lower spec but comes at a similar price. In this case you’d expect the frame and forks to offer an overall performance gain over its fellow top-end priced competitors, but we just can’t say that it does. It’s a well thought-out bike with great touches, especially the adjustability in the cockpit. But it’s up to you whether the package, design process and aesthetics are worth spending the extra money over similar top-end bikes with better spec.
As with the MR.T2, the Bayamo is Neil Pryde’s sole Tri/TT frame. The componentry might position the bike at entry level, but the Bayamo’s frame and forks are of a very high quality in all respects, making it a bike well worth investing in to upgrade in the future, as and when you can.
Founded in 1970 as a sailmaker, Neil Pryde then moved into windsurfing, becoming a major player in the industry by 1989. They started to develop their own fully integrated windsurf rigs around carbon fibre masts, which still remain the industry benchmark. Looking to use their years of experience working with composites and aerodynamics, Neil Pryde branched out into the bike market. PRYDE WITHOUT PREJUDICE The first version of the Bayamo tri bike was launched in 2012 and received great reviews, including a 87% score from 220.
Jump to 2018 and the Bayamo frame and forks have had a major makeover, with improved aerodynamics and stiffness, yet retain the comfortable ride and user-friendly handling that made the original Bayamo such a hit with us.
It’s constructed with C6.7 Toray unidirectional carbon fibre, utilising Kammtail aerofoil-shaped tubing profiles in the head tube, down tube, seatpost and fork. The blunted edge of the Kammtail tricks the airflow coming off the tube to behave as if there’s a longer tail and so smooths out the flow. The shape also benefits from being stiffer and creating a lighter tube profile. The bowed fork is another new aero gain for the Bayamo, placing the fork legs further away from the wheel – a high drag area – and so creating less turbulence. The fork accommodates a Shimano ‘direct mounted’ brake to improve airflow, but is most noticeable by the improved braking performance.
The rear of the seat tube allows the rear wheel to snugly fit behind it, a design first used on the iconic Cervélo P2 to aid aerodynamics by shielding the wheel edge and improving airflow over the seat tube and onto the rim. The rear end of the bike has a similar, speedy look of the Kona-winning Canyon Speedmax. Fuelling is catered for via seat tube and down tube bottle cage mounts and there’s a fuel bag mount on the top tube.
FEELING AT HOME
On the road you feel at home on the Bayamo within just a few miles. The impressive ride qualities and easy handling make it a perfect first tri bike or for those making the step from a traditional road bike set-up. The quality and performance of the frame and forks shine through and makes the Bayamo a pleasure to spend mile after mile on. We were really surprised at just how comfortable the ride is without having a negative effect on rigidity, acceleration or handling.
The Profile Design T2 alloy aerobars perform well in use and the elbow pads are among the most comfortable on offer. But the amount of adjustability, especially with the arm rests, is lacking and they’d be the first thing we’d upgrade after the wheels.
Our test bike came race ready, equipped with a set of Knight 95 carbon deep-section wheels, but these aren’t a standard buying option; the Bayamo comes supplied with a Fulcrum Racing Sport wheelset so we replaced the Knight wheelset with comparative training
wheels to get a good feel for what you’d get out of the box. As with other tri bikes (see the Boardman ATT 9.2) aimed at the same price bracket, good training wheels instead of racing rims are specced to bring the price down, with the expectation that you’ll upgrade with your preferred race wheels. Elsewhere, the Shimano 105 groupset is reliable and durable without a huge weight gain. Unlike the Simplon, the gear shifters are cable operated (internal cable routing) but they don’t inhibit the performance or enjoyment, and again keep the overall price down.
Overall, the Bayamo is a high performing package that punches well above its price. As it is, it’s a great bike, but upgraded with some race wheels and a lighter and more adjustable aerobar and you could create a really great tri bike. We’ve seen this bike for as low as £1,499.99 online at Chain Reaction, which make it a bargain that’s surely worth a look.