A bicycle is a bicycle is a bicycle. A frame, two wheels, gears and brakes, handlebars, saddle, various attachments and accessories, that's it. Now imagine the rather rare, if not unlikely, case that you are standing in a bike shop and want to spend 6,000 - in words: six thousand - euros on your new racing bike. And can. What do you expect then? Quite simply: everything. Absolute exclusivity, low weight, top technical performance and visual avant-garde. Or at least flawless perfection in the finish, chic colours, great paintwork.
Of course, you might say, you should be able to expect that when you spend a horrendous amount of money on a road bike. There is no shortage of bikes that are supposed to be traded at such prices: ten of the twenty gems in this TOUR test are said to cost over €5,000 as a complete bike. The average price for the framesets tested is around 2,200 euros, with the cheapest costing 1,279 euros and the most expensive 3,290 euros. And? Do these exclusive frames perform and offer what is expected of them? Or hoped for? The answer is difficult.
The TOUR testers tested the following frames until they were black themselves:
Basso Diamante, Calfee Dragonfly Pro, CKT Cor 15, Corratec Carbonflight, Daccordi Race Fiber, Eddy Merckx Carbon MXM, Frank Roccolana, Kestrel Talon SL, Look KG 461, Moser MX Karbon, Orbea Orca, Red Bull Pro Carbon, Ridley Damocles, Scott CR-1 Pro, Simplon Pride DA 20, Specialized Roubaix Pro, Storck Szenario C1.1, Time VXR, Trek Madone 5.9, Wilier Karbon 2 De Luxe
Here you will also find an overview of the weights of the framesets (frame and fork):
ManufacturerWeight framesetWeight frame*Weight fork**Basso 1,598 1,220 378 Calfee 1,370 1,054 316 CKT 2,134 1,614 520 Corratec 1,824 1,473 351 Daccordi 1,517 1,142 375 Eddy Merckx 1,734 1,406 328 Frank 2,012 1,476 536 Kestrel 1,686 1,220 466 Look 1,863 1,494 369 Moser 1,613 1.228 385 Orbea 1,642 1,258 384 Red Bull 1,938 1,549 389 Ridley 1,696 1,311 385 Scott 1,392 943 449 Simplon 1,309 985 324 Specialised 1,630 1,185 445 Storck 1,570 1,225 345 Time 1,643 1,231 412 Trek 1,542 1,188 354 Wilier 1,929 1,510 419
*Frame weight adjusted to standard frame height 57
**Fork weight adjusted to 225 millimetre steerer length
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