Winning a TOUR test ennobles every bike and every frame. Accordingly, manufacturers endeavour to do well here - especially in the carbon frame test, the industry's most important test of the year. But does the test result for the analysed frame actually apply to all other frames of this type? To find out, we have always requested three identical frames from all manufacturers in recent years in order to minimise the risk of prototypes made specifically for this test being foisted on us. We were able to minimise the risk, but not eliminate it.
That's why we changed the requirement: In addition to the usual test size, the manufacturers should also send us the largest and smallest available frame height of the model. This should not only be a handicap for prototypes, but also provide answers to exciting questions: Is the very stiff 56 frame still stiff in size 64? Is the comfortable model in XS also comfortable? Does the successful geometry of a frame also make sense for the smallest and largest models? Before finding the answers to these questions, the TOUR testers went through a six-week measurement marathon in which we measured and evaluated 80 different frames - one manufacturer does not offer a larger model than the standard test size - in detail.
SHORT & SHORT
Canyon, Storck and Specialized are once again at the forefront of carbon frame construction in 2010, with Red Bull a second German mail order company in the top five. The record for lightweight construction will not be broken, but the topic of comfort is becoming increasingly important for manufacturers.
Addendum
In the carbon frame test, the middle of the three tested "Serum" frames from Simplon was specified as a 55 mm frame. In fact, it was a 58 mm frame. In the big bike test special with 60 bikes in the April issue, we unfortunately made a mistake when calculating the equipment ratings for some of the bikes. The rating of the following bikes has therefore changed by a tenth in each case. We apologise for the errors.
You can find the test results of these models in the PDF download below:
Beone Raw
Bike-Tech BT941
BMW Teammachine SLR01
Cannondale Super Six
Canyon CF SLX Evo
CKT 369
Corratec CCT Pro
Endorfin Carbon SL
Fuji SST 1.0
Giant TCR Advanced SL
Haibike Affair RX
Il Diavolo Black Venus
Kuota cult
Merida Scultura Evo Team
Moser 333
Orbea Orca
Parlee Z5
Poison Nitrogen
Principia Revolution Integral C40T
Red Bull Carbon X-Lite
Scott CR1 SL
SDC FR 708
Simplon Serum
Specialised Tarmac SL3
Stevens SLC Team
Storck Fascenario
Trek Madone
Trenga De KSR
Downloads:
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