STEEL AND TI BIKES

Carbon fibre is everywhere for road bikes, but what if you want something different for your tri training and racing? We test three steel or titanium machines to their limits to take you down a different multisport path

What was once aspirational and exclusive to high-end bikes, carbon fibre frames can now be found for around a grand, or cheaper. The flipside of carbon’s availability is the risk of classic materials such as steel and titanium becoming the niche property of independent builders, elevating metals to the unobtainable levels that carbon once occupied. Thankfully, there are a number of brands keeping affordable metal alive. The Genesis Equilibrium is a modern take on the British all-rounder, built from steel Reynolds 725 tubing, with a full complement of rack and mudguard mounts. Cambridge’s The Light Blue, meanwhile, produce British steel bikes for road, touring and gravel. The Wolfson is its take on the classic British road bike, built using high-grade Reynolds 853 tubing.

We’ve also included some rustproof bling in Dolan’s ADX titanium bike. The ADX combines endurance geometry with disc brakes and Shimano Ultegra groupset. But will these bikes be worth swapping your carbon racer for? We take to the roads to find out.

You’d be forgiven for not knowing The Light Blue brand, but it was established back in 1895, and has been under the ownership of the Townsend family since. Historically the brand was deeply associated with performance bikes, but over the last decade or so it has concentrated on producing the Parkside and Chesterton city bikes. These traditional basket-up-front and situp-and-beg riding position town cruisers have been hugely popular with students in The Light Blue’s home city of Cambridge.

More recently, The Light Blue marque has expanded into a range of classic-inspired road bikes, gravel bikes and the Wolfson, based around the clubman-style road bike. The Wolfson isn’t a retro-replica as its geometry (73° seat, 72.5° head angles and 1,022mm wheelbase) makes it handle like a thoroughly-modern road bike. That said, the ride quality is far removed from modern carbon, which, when it’s used cleverly, can emulate steel in compliance terms.

What carbon can’t match is the natural spring and life of a great steel frame, which is exactly what the Wolfson gives you. It’s made from Reynolds 853 tubing, which has the benefit of a light, seamless construction and is ‘air-hardened’ to give greater strength in the weld areas over more standard steels.

TOUGH COOKIE

The 853 steel is also heat treated to further increase its strength and resistance to damage. The added toughness means you can make the tubes with thinner walls, so it’s lighter yet highly resistant to fatigue. In real terms, that

adds up to a bike with real character. Would we choose the Wolfson for a hard-riding-in-the-red, heartrate-busting race or powerproducing intervals? No, not a chance when compared to modern race bikes. But for spending long sociable days out riding with friends or epic distances, we would go for bikes like the Wolfson every time.

Light Blue has balanced the frame with a skinny-legged carbon fork to create a really nice, balanced feel. The circa 1,500g Halo Devaura wheelset is a decent match for the frame too, the freehub is quick to engage, and the wheels ride with no discernible flex. The rim profile is a great match for the 28mm Schwalbe tyres, which add another level to the overall comfort.

With its Union Jack pattern, the Genetic saddle may be a little garish compared to the understated blue frameset, but the textured surface and shape only add to the luxury feel of the Wolfson.

To get an 853-framed bike at this price and one with an Ultegra groupset will mean some compromises, and on the Wolfson it’s the brakes. The Tektro Quartz units are decent enough stoppers, we like the low profile QR design and dual pivot action, but the pads are a little hard and a bit waxy, which means in the dry they work but feel a little dead. In the wet that feeling is exacerbated along with a drop in performance. Swapping them is an easy upgrade to make, though, and we’d be happy to pay extra for the full Ultegra set-up. If you prefer riding in comfort on a bike that can handle sporty licks yet still look after you all day, the Wolfson reminds us of everything that makes a great steel bike great.

“Would we use it for racing? No chance. But for epic distances, we’d go for the Wolfson every time”

There’s a little step-up in price to the ADX compared to its steel rivals on test here. Some of that is because of the material change to 3AL-2.5V titanium tubing, but also because we couldn’t resist playing with Dolan’s online bike-speccing tools and upgrading to Mavic’s Cosmic disc wheels over the standard Aksiums. Without this upgrade the bike would have been £2,299.99 with Shimano Ultegra or £1,999.99 with Shimano 105.

Whichever way you cut it, the Dolan ADX majors on value when it comes to the competition. It’s always been possible to get titanium for around £2,000, but usually you’re looking at a frame only. Don’t think that because the ADX is cheap, relatively speaking, it’s not quality. A close inspection of the frame shows super-clean welds, neat features like the hourglass-shaped head tube and full internal cable routing on the frame and matching carbon fork.

The rear dropouts are very neatly sculpted and machined, but surprisingly they, and the fork, are standard quick-release and not thru-axle. We didn’t notice any undue flex, disc rub or noise when riding the ADX, so we’d say this chassis is plenty stiff enough without the added solidity of thru-axles. The ADX is an unreserved sportive bike, it’s tall – a 205mm head tube on our 58.5cm test bike – with a mid-length reach. It’s also designed to handle big comfortable tyres up to 35mm, or around 30mm if you choose to add mudguards, which the ADX has welcome provision for.

A FINE PLACE TO BE

Up front the full carbon fork has mudguard eyes, bosses for a rack and a neat flat-mount for its disc

brakes. At the back it has complementary bosses for carrying and protection too, along with a flat-mount for the disc brake. The disc brakes are Shimano’s latest Ultegra units and are star performers. With the 50/34, 11-28 Ultegra gears they make up one of the best performing and best value group-sets around.

The Dolan rides how a great training bike should. The ride position is comfortable without being lazy, so it can be hustled through the bends easily. It’s not as assured as some of its more sporty rivals when you’re approaching the limit, especially when cranking it over in corners. But for endurance riding it’s a fine place to be, the ADX being more about stability than swiftness.

Our wheel upgrade meant we got Mavic’s UST system, the company’s take on tubeless, and the tyres certainly feel compliant and smooth running, really benefitting the overall feel.

Uphill the Dolan is definitely your friend, the chassis is stiff and responsive when you stand and the climbing-- friendly gear ratios are welcome, we’d even be tempted to try Shimano’s 11-30 cassette as Ultegra can easily accept the wider range.

The bike’s finishing kit is all decent stuff, with an aluminium Deda cockpit and Selle Italia saddle, both of which are comfortable and easy to live with. The addition of a carbon seatpost is a nice highlight and all this adds up to a value package that anyone looking to ride even smoother should seriously consider.

“The Dolan rides how a great training bike should, with a ride position that’s comfy without being lazy and an ability to be easily hustled through corners”

The Genesis Equilibrium is a bike we’ve always liked. Initially it was a Reynolds 725-framed classic road machine, then Genesis switched to its own Mjölnir steel tubeset, but now for 2018 the company has returned to using Reynolds mid-level 725 tubing. What hasn’t changed is the classic British road bike geometry, 72° head and 73° seat angles are all normal stuff, and the relatively low stack and long reach [vertical and horizontal distances from the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube respectively] make the 20 a fairly racy proposition.

While the ride position is quite aggressive, the Reynolds 725 frame focuses on solidity. The big volume Clément tyres help in the comfort stakes, making the Genesis a very nice bike to spend time pedalling along on, but it’s not the most exciting of rides.

The handling is neutral and very well balanced; the Disc 20 is never going to surprise you. Thanks to that neutral handling it’s a very fine descender, with the Shimano hydraulic brakes offering loads of feedback, feel, and, of course, power.

The drivetrain specification is decent for the money, with Shimano’s 105 tacking care of the gear shifts in its usual solid, smooth and efficient style, in its racy combination of 52/36 and an 11-28 cassette. But we can’t help but think that a bike with a 10.7kg overall weight would benefit from a slightly wider cassette.

As 105 can handle the Froome-approved 11-30 cassette, that would be a better option than the 11-38 fitted to help us on ascents. Combining 105 with Shimano’s non-series 505 shifters and brakes means getting hydraulic braking. The STI units divide opinion, plenty dislike the bulbous, oversized hood section, but as our tester has big hands it actually felt fine. The unit itself feels longer than a standard STI shifter so you end up with a bit of extra reach, which is great if you like a long, low, aggressive position.

GRIN PRODUCING

We’re not sure that the Equilibrium, with its rack and mudguard mounts and all-rounder potential, should feel quite so aggressive; Genesis has the legendary Volare and its carbon team bikes for the more race-orientated riders.

Yet overall, Genesis has really nailed down what makes a great, sporty endurance bike when it comes to frame shaping and geometry, so less racy than say the Cinelli and All-City. On the flat or rolling terrain, the Disc 20 feels like a friend, and when you head downhill the sorted geometry, smooth yet grippy tyres, new shape Genesis bar, which has a very tactile aero-shaped top section and well-shaped compact drop, all add up to a bike that’ll put a smile on your face.

When the road starts to rise the Genesis wheelset feels sluggish and ponderous compared to the smooth running of the wheels on The Light Blue’s Wolfson. But the Equilibrium has the potential to be a tourer with its complement of bolts and bosses, so if you’re trying to decide between race or recreation the Equilibrium is pretty close to both.