A look around the Myvélo website inevitably conjures up holiday feelings. "Milan", "Rio" or "Tokyo" are just three of the metropolises after which the manufacturer from Oberkirch in Baden names its colourful product range. Whether folding bike, mountain bike or touring bike: Vincent Augustin and Fabian Huber, the two company founders in their early 30s, are creative when it comes to naming their models and link the bikes with dazzling cities, legendary climbs or fascinating regions. Since the beginning of the year, they have added three more favourite destinations for cyclists: Myvélo ventures into the racing bike segment and presents the Verona, a competition model among others. The individual test shows how Augustin and Huber came up with the name, where the strengths of the aero-optimised racer lie and how the young company intends to establish itself on the market.
Past in racing
When Myvélo first appeared in 2018, there was nothing to suggest that the start-up would one day have racing bikes in its range; the founders sold electrified folding bikes via their online shop - the difference to a sporty racing bike could hardly be greater. But according to the idea of the long-time friends, the practical city companions were just the beginning. After all, both were once among the best young athletes in the country. Countless kilometres of training on the tartan track or duels with today's World Tour riders Alexander Krieger (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Jasha Sütterlin (Bahrain-Victorious) defined their everyday lives. The hoped-for professional career came to nothing, but five years after the starting shot for Myvélo, the racing bike is once again at the top of the company founders' agenda: in addition to the Verona, the showroom features a lightweight racer and a gravel bike named after two monumental climbs in cycling: Tourmalet and Mortirolo.
Racing bike with anti-sloping geometry
"Verona", the new competition bike from Baden owes its name to Jan Ullrich - more specifically, to his time trial gold medal at the 1999 World Cycling Championships in Verona. "Our bike epitomises speed and elegance, so the name fits quite well," says Augustin. However, during the TOUR test in the GST wind tunnel, the bike, which has had UCI certification since May and is therefore authorised for racing, fell somewhat short of expectations. Despite optimised tube shapes, aerodynamic add-on parts and fast wheels, it reaches the level of a lightweight race all-rounder, but is a good 20 watts short of the fastest material currently available. The fact that the bike still feels fast in the saddle is mainly due to the unusual shape of the frame for today's riding habits: the top tube does not slope towards the seat tube (sloping), but towards the head tube, which puts the rider in a decidedly sporty riding position. The crisp professional gearing, the unwavering straight-line stability and the low-suspension seat post further emphasise the racing character. Especially on flat terrain, the Verona shows its strengths and flies over the tarmac - In addition to Verona, "Imola", a high-speed motorsport circuit, would also have been a suitable model name.
A look behind the scenes shows just how serious Augustin and Huber are about their young brand. Ten employees now ensure that Myvélo is also more visible with its racing bikes. Plans for their own Continental team are also underway in the background. A small clothing collection is also online. Quality control is the responsibility of a permanent employee in China, where framesets and other carbon components such as handlebars and saddles are produced. "Thanks to our local employee, we can have the frames minimally customised to our specifications," explains Huber. One detail that could be improved in the next model update would be the seatpost clamp: the adjustment screw can barely be reached with a mini-tool; in addition, the internally routed cables rattle on rough surfaces.
A racing bike fairly priced
And how do you get your hands on a Verona? By buying it online! At the time of going to press, the bike could be configured with electric gears from Shimano and carbon wheels from well-known manufacturers. The test bike with Shimano's Dura-Ace and Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels costs 6399 euros. This is a remarkably fair offer; established manufacturers charge significantly higher prices for comparably equipped road bikes, often in the five-figure range. In addition to the standard bikes - the cheapest version with Shimano 105 Di2 and Mavic Cosmic SL 65 starts at 4699 euros - there is also the option of customisation. According to the manufacturer, the majority of Myvélo road bikes are customised in this way. This means that set-ups with Campagnolo or SRAM are also possible. Vincent Augustin and Fabian Huber are planning to sell a three-digit number of racing bikes this year and also see their growing entrepreneurial success as an obligation: an amount from every bike sold will go to a development project in Nepal. Perhaps the fourth model with racing handlebars - an aluminium gravel bike is planned - will bear the name of a mountain in the Himalayas in the future.
MyVélo Verona in detail
- Price: 6399 Euro
- Info: www.myvelo.de
- Weight frame/fork/steering bearing*: 1,223/409/114 grammes
- Frame sizes**: 48, 51, 54, 56, 59
- Seat/top/head tube: 565/575/149 millimetres
- Stack/Reach/STR***: 563/391 millimetres/1.44
- Wheelbase/caster: 1,005/62 millimetres
Equipment
- Drive/gear shift: Shimano Dura-Ace (2x12; 54/40, 11-30 t.)
- Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace (160/140 mm)
- Wheels/tyres (weights)****: Zipp 404 Firecrest/Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR 25 mm (front/rear: 1,187/1,539 g)
Measured values and individual scores *****
- Weight of complete wheel 7.4 kilos2,3
- Steering head stiffness 82 Nm/°2,7
- Lateral stiffness fork 56 N/mm1,0
- Bottom bracket stiffness 57 N/mm1,7
- Seatpost spring stiffness 233 N/mm 2,7
- Aerodynamics****** 222 watts3,0
*Weighed weights.
**Manufacturer information Test size bold.
***Stack/Reach Projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube; STR (Stack to Reach) 1.36 means a very stretched, 1.60 an upright riding position.
****Impeller weights including tyres, cassette, quick release/threaded axles and brake discs if necessary.
*****Single noteswhich are weighted differently in the overall grade, are only partially printed for reasons of space. The grades are calculated with all decimal places up to the final grade; however, for the sake of clarity, all grades are shown with rounded decimal places.
******Aerodynamics Theoretical pedalling power required to overcome air resistance at 45 km/h, measured in a wind tunnel with one leg pedalling.
Julian Schultz
Editor
