00:00 With the effects of the pandemic now safely in our rearview mirror, bike manufacturers have been
00:04 very busy designing and releasing new bikes, and this year was certainly an active one.
00:09 We're going to take a look at the new bikes that have impressed us the most,
00:12 the ones we'd recommend if you're after the latest and greatest,
00:15 and that doesn't mean the most expensive. Of course, we do have some so-called 'halo' bikes
00:21 in our list, but we've looked at value for money as well as pure performance,
00:25 and they aren't all made of carbon.
00:32 First up, we have a bike which certainly sits in the 'halo' category for many,
00:38 the Specialized Tarmac SL8. After a handful of leaks and an explosive launch at the UCI
00:43 World Championships in Glasgow, the bike landed to a reception of excitement and intrigue.
00:48 Now, in its eighth generation, the Tarmac has become synonymous with road racing,
00:54 not least because of its name, but since it's been under some of the world's biggest World
00:58 Tour teams for over a decade, it's also been the bike which has racked up hundreds,
01:03 if not thousands, of pro victories. We gave the Tarmac SL8 five stars when we reviewed it,
01:08 because we could not find a single thing we would improve. It's fantastically light,
01:14 plays host to a brand new cockpit which helps the bike slice through the air,
01:17 while also offering all of the stiffness you could want without a harsh ride. It's perfectly
01:23 balanced and leaves nothing to be desired. For those looking for a fast, responsive race bike,
01:28 this is the bike to get. One thing the Tarmac SL8 certainly isn't, is cheap. However, you do get
01:35 what you pay for. Full builds start from £6,000 and go all the way to £12,000. However, framesets
01:41 are available too. The pro level model can be purchased for £3,500, while the S-Works frame
01:48 comes in at £4,750. If you're in the market for a road bike under $1,000 or £1,000, you will
02:01 quickly find that there is little choice, especially when it comes to disc brakes. In fact,
02:07 the likes of Specialized and Trek don't actually offer a 2024 disc brake road bike below this
02:12 threshold. Triban, owned by sports retail giant Decathlon, has been long known for offering great
02:18 value products. And the Triban RC520 is no different. The bike features an aluminium frame
02:25 with an endurance slant. It comes fitted from stock with 28mm tyres, but can play host to rubber up to
02:32 36mm in size. Things start to get exciting when you consider that the bike has Shimano 105 derailleurs
02:38 and cable actuated hydraulic disc brakes. While the braking setup won't put fully hydraulic systems
02:44 out of a job, they do still perform better than rim brakes and fully cable actuated disc brakes.
02:50 The one area that the bike is let down is in its weight. The RC520 is not the lightest bike by any
02:57 means, with a frame that comes in at over 1,700g, a fork that's nearly 700g and a wheelset that
03:04 tips the scales at a claimed 2,300g. However, when we look at the bike as a whole, and considering
03:09 the ride it provides is pretty smooth and stable, it represents itself as a great value purchase in
03:15 the sub £1,000 category, which is why we gave it 4 out of 5 stars. All we would recommend doing
03:22 is upgrading the tyres to further improve ride feel, braking performance and grip.
03:33 Pinarello is entering 2024 with a completely fresh line-up of bikes,
03:37 compared to the one it entered 2023 with. Its road offering is now split into two pillars,
03:43 the F-Series and the X-Series, with the former being a racer's choice and the latter
03:49 being the endurance rider's pick. Both pillars of bikes are led by range-topping Dogma models,
03:55 but the bikes that sit below provide many of the same characteristics, but for a better price.
04:01 One bike stood out to us, that being the F7. The F7 plays host to an Ultegra 12-speed Di2
04:08 groupset, some carbon wheels, a carbon cockpit and the brand's famous Honda fork. The carbon
04:14 fibre used to construct the frame is just one step below what's used for the Dogma model,
04:19 so you're getting a lot of the same performance, but for a much lower price.
04:23 We would never say that £7,000 is cheap. It's of course a large amount of money to spend on a
04:30 bicycle, but if you are after the kind of performance that the Dogma F provides,
04:34 but don't want to pay for it, the F7 could be for you. We found the bike provided a pretty smooth,
04:41 dynamic and playful ride feel. However, we would recommend upgrading the tyres to something a
04:46 little bit more high-end to help you extract the most of what this bike has to offer.
04:57 Although the new Cannondale Lab 71 bikes look stunning when ridden in the mountains of the
05:02 Tour de France, the five-digit price tag is higher than the peak of the Col de Tourmalet.
05:07 But you don't have to spend a massive chunk of change to get a good value road bike.
05:12 The Cannondale CAD Optimo 4 with an aluminium frame and carbon fork leans on all the lessons
05:17 the American bike maker learned since launching the CAD line of road bikes in 1997. The Optimo 4
05:24 is an entry-level aluminium road bike that offers good value for those making their first foray
05:29 into drop-bar bikes without committing thousands up front.
05:32 As the only rim brake bike on this list, you can rest assured that the Optimo has plenty of other
05:38 attributes which make it a worthwhile choice for those wanting a nippy road ride. Unsurprisingly,
05:43 a lot of your money will be going towards the frame itself. The ride it provides is one which
05:48 is stable and predictable, but retains the dull road feedback that is so characteristic of aluminium
05:54 frames. The 8-speed Claris gearing isn't quite as impressive as the components you'll find on
05:59 the Triban RC520, but this bike is much lighter. So, if you're after a lighter weight road bike
06:05 suited to faster-paced riding, but want a great value option at around the £1000 mark, then this
06:12 poses a very good choice. Another brand to grace this list from the monolith that is Decathlon,
06:24 is Van Rijssel. Back in spring of this year, a new range of bikes were unveiled at the Sea Otter
06:29 Classic show by the French brand, and one of the new models was the Van Rijssel RCR.
06:36 Soon to be the official ride of Team AG2R Citroen, this bike looks to be a do-it-all racing machine.
06:42 The reason why we're particularly excited about this bike is because pairing the good value of
06:46 a Van Rijssel with world-tour performance could create an irresistible combination for consumers.
06:53 Van Rijssel says it's the perfect balance between lightness, stiffness and aerodynamics,
06:58 and looking at the bike, it's easy to see where it's coming from. The sculpted tube
07:03 shapes and claimed frame weights hovering around 800g could be a real recipe for success.
07:08 Back in February, Cannondale released the fourth generation of its much-loved Super 6 Evo.
07:19 The race bike, which holds quite the climbing reputation, saw an aerodynamic redesign,
07:24 as well as frameset hierarchy changes. The introduction of the Lab 71 framesets,
07:30 which dethroned the High Mod as the range-topping build option,
07:33 made headlines with a price tag of $15,000, or £12,500.
07:37 In recent years, we have seen a trend of lightweight bikes becoming more aero,
07:42 and aero bikes becoming more lightweight. After completely remodelling the Super 6 from its
07:48 previous generation, the new Super 6 Evo has continued down a more aerodynamic path,
07:53 receiving some serious revamping for 2024. However, there's a good reason why we awarded
07:59 the latest generation our Climbing Bike of the Year award. Because, during our period of testing,
08:05 we found that the bike retained its snappiness when put under pressure riding uphill,
08:09 but it still floated a sweet balance between being a fast-handling bike
08:13 without being overly skittish on the descents.
08:16 We also liked that the bike has reverted to a threaded bottom bracket, has clearance for tyres
08:21 up to 34mm in size, and has cleaned up its method of internally routing cables in the headtube.
08:27 It's clear that the fourth generation is far more refined than its predecessor,
08:32 and has been successful in rediscovering some of the Super 6's climbing DNA.
08:37 Happily, the new generation is available in a multitude of different builds,
08:41 spanning an incredibly wide price bracket, making this one of the more accessible platforms to get
08:47 onto. The Factor O2 VAM is a road bike that has looked to captivate the weightweenie audience
08:58 instead of going all out with aero claims. Debuting at the 2023 Tour de France, the new O2,
09:05 with its claimed frame weight of 730g, is clearly right in the Superbike category. But how does it
09:12 ride? We knew even from our first ride of the Factor O2 VAM that this bike was a real contender
09:18 in the Superbike space, and it has continued to impress us ever since. If you're in the market
09:24 for one of the best road bikes, then the Factor O2 VAM should definitely be making your shortlist.
09:30 We really like that the tried and tested geometry has remained largely the same,
09:33 bar a small increase in stack height, and we also just enjoy how light the bike is.
09:39 The O2 we had on test came in at 6.33kg, resulting in a bike which is incredibly responsive and
09:46 playful. The area this bike is let down in is its flatline speed. It's simply not an aero bike,
09:52 or even a do-it-all race bike, meaning if you do live anywhere particularly flat,
09:57 you will be missing out on some wind slicing properties. But for those who spend as much
10:01 time riding up hills as they do going down them, then the O2 could be for you.
10:06 Let us know down below, which of these bikes would you pick? If you enjoyed the video,
10:13 then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content,
10:16 and we will see you again very soon.
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