No - he doesn't see the "Road Marathon" as a true winter racing bike, despite the mudguards fitted as standard and fully encapsulated brake and gear cables, says Gerrit Gaastra. The Dutchman, who has lived in Bonn for many years, adds that he sees it more as a carefree bike for daily use in all weathers - and therefore as a piece of sports equipment that would actually be ideal for 90 per cent of all racing cyclists. He was practically born with the idea that Gaastra would one day become a bicycle manufacturer. His great-grandfather founded the Batavus brand in 1904 and his parents established the Koga Miyata brand in 1974. Gaastra himself has been working as a consultant in the bicycle industry since the mid-1990s. Along the way, he decided to found Idworx in 2000. In just a few years, the brand became a popular premium label for trekking bikes. The recipe for success: comfortable, reliable bikes with high design standards. The "Road Marathon", the first racing bike from Idworx, also follows this approach.
With a long head tube and relatively short top tube, it is aimed at riders who like to sit in a relaxed position. A relatively long wheelbase - necessary to create space for the mudguard and sufficient foot clearance - and a slack steering angle create a smooth ride that die-hard road cyclists may well find too ponderous. However, you quickly get used to the steering behaviour, which has been trimmed for good directional stability. What remains lasting is the pleasure of a comfortable and safe ride. This all-weather road bike flattens out brittle tarmac and bumpy ground without going through the rider's marrow and bones. Despite this, the handling is never spongy - on the contrary: the bike is extremely stable thanks to the high stiffness values of the neatly finished aluminium frame.
The lightweight "Ultremo R" tyres from Schwalbe, which Idworx is the first manufacturer to fit in the newly available width of 28 millimetres, make a significant contribution to riding comfort. The high damping capacity of the voluminous rubber does not come at the expense of propulsion: wide tyres generally roll better than narrow ones with the same air pressure and otherwise the same structure. Conversely, this means that with slightly lower tyre pressure - we rode the bike with 5.5 to 6 bar - comfort can be noticeably increased without unduly increasing rolling resistance. The elegant, well-damping titanium seatpost from USE and the lightweight handlebar/stem combination from Syntace further increase comfort.
The rest of the equipment is also quality-conscious: sturdy, hand-built wheels spin around high-quality hubs from DT-Swiss; the functionally good brakes from Cane Creek are among the few models that leave enough space for the wide tyres and the elegant mudguards from Belgian manufacturer Curana, which Gaastra had specially made for the "Road Marathon". Shimano's Ultegra shifters offer a high level of shifting comfort, while the triple crankset from Truvativ, which is fitted to the largest frame size in the rare length of 180 millimetres, offers the right gear ratio for any terrain. The high price of 2,950 euros for the "Road Marathon" appears in a different light in view of the development effort for all the special solutions.
The bike's biggest drawback: initially only four frame sizes. However, Gerrit Gasstra has promised to expand the range of sizes next year.
Web: www.idworx-bikes.com
Test bike frame size greased; **projected measurement from centre of bottom bracket to upper edge of head tube/seat tube height at 75 cm seat height (centre of saddle frame-upper edge of headset cover); ***adjusted weight for frame size 57 and fork steerer length 225 mm; ****The grade includes further individual grades that we cannot print for reasons of space. In the case of complete bikes, 60 per cent of the final score is given to the componentry.
