Price-conscious cyclists are familiar with the H&S Bike-Discount website. Savers will find complete bikes, clothing and accessories from various brands here, available to order at the click of a mouse. With their own bike brand Radon, owners Ralf Heisig and Christopher Stahl are focussing on value for money. Radon bikes should always be slightly better equipped than comparable models from the direct sales competition - and above all than from the dealer round the corner. Apart from mail order, the bikes are only available in the only shop in Bonn - until now.
Now Heisig and Stahl are opening up a new sales channel. From this season, they will be offering a limited edition of 500 racing bikes at a price of 999 euros through selected dealers. These are a hundred partner businesses spread across Germany, to which Bike Discount customers have already been able to bring their Radon racers for servicing. The range is flanked by trekking bikes and mountain bikes, also in limited quantities.
Online bonus Our RPS ES test bike differs from the Radon bikes in the online shop due to its somewhat simpler equipment and heavy frameset. The comparable mail-order model R1 4.0 for € 999 offers a higher-quality Ultegra/105 equipment mix including 105 cranks - our test bike, on the other hand, only has Shimano 105 and the simpler FC-R-550 cranks. The stem and handlebars are from Syntace on the mail-order bike and from FSA on the RPS ES. The mail-order version is also ahead in the frame set. The R1 4.0 is based on a slightly lighter aluminium frame plus full carbon fork, which means that the set weight - with similar stiffness and comfort values - should be around 300 grams lower. Our Radon test racer for retailers has a frame weight of 2,450 grams with a complete bike weight of 8.8 kilos. The wheels are the same weight. Both models are fitted with Mavic's Aksium wheels including Schwalbe's top Ultremo R.1 tyres. This puts the online racer slightly ahead of the specialist retailer's range.
In practice, the white Radon racer impresses as a rock-solid training device. Nothing creaks, nothing rattles, the powder coating is neatly applied and extremely robust against stone chips or scratches. The brakes are powerful and easy to modulate. However, the brake pads tend to stutter slightly on the brake track of the Aksium wheels, which are not over-rotated. The shifting characteristics are, typically for Shimano, at the highest level; even at the front, the chain shifts from the small to the large chainring under load without grumbling. The mounted sprocket set with a maximum of 28 teeth helps to overcome winter weaknesses on the climbs. The stiffness values for the headset and bottom bracket are impeccable, so that even heavy riders always feel safe. The FSA Vero Compact handlebar with its low drop, which can still be gripped comfortably even in the lower handlebar position, was a favourite. Radon was only criticised for its seatpost with its outdated screw-in clamp.
On-site counselling
Conclusion: The specialist dealer Radon is a fair and solid offer for price-conscious beginners or hobby cyclists who are looking for a robust training bike. Compared to the mail-order Radons, you have to accept small compromises in terms of equipment and frame set, but you can benefit from the local dealer service. The question remains as to how many Radon service partners will actually stock the RPS ES. Not every dealer will want to bring competition to their already established specialist brand into the shop. However, if successful, Heisig and Stahl promise to further increase the number of units in the 2012 season.
Reference/Info: H&S Bike Discount, phone 02225/8888-0, www.bike-discount.de
Frame sizes** 53, 56, 58, 60, 63
Seat/steering angle 73/73.5°
Seat/top/head tube 510/560/160 mm plus 23 mm
Headset Wheelbase/caster 985/53 mm
Stack/Reach/STR*** 554/388 mm/1.43
Equipment
Fork Deda Black Blades
Steering bearing FSA, 1-1/8 inch
Shimano 105 gears
Brakes Shimano 105
Shimano FC-R 550 crank, 53/39
Mavik Aksium Race wheels
Schwalbe Ultremo R.1 tyres
Handlebar/stem FSA Vero Compact/- 190
Saddle/post Radon/FSA SL 280
Measured values & individual scores
Weight of complete bike 8.8 kilos (without pedals)
Weight frame/fork/headset bearing 1,763/574/67 g
Standardised weight frame set**** 2,451 g: 5.0
Steering head stiffness 109 Nm/°: 1.0
Lateral stiffness fork 51 N/mm: 1.3
Bottom bracket stiffness 65 N/mm: 1.0
Comfort frame 340 N/mm: 3.0
Comfort fork 101 N/mm: 5.0
* The grade includes further individual grades which we cannot print for reasons of space.
** Tested frame size greased.
*** Stack/reach: projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the headset; STR (stack to reach): Values between 1.45 and 1.55 indicate a sporty riding position, values below are race-like, above are comfortable.
**** Adjusted weight for frame size 57 cm and fork steerer length 225 mm.
