00:00 With the effects of the pandemic now safely in our rearview mirror, bike manufacturers
00:04 have been very busy designing and releasing new bikes, and this year was certainly an
00:09 active one.
00:10 We're going to take a look at the new bikes that have impressed us the most, the ones
00:13 we'd recommend if you're after the latest and greatest, and that doesn't mean the
00:17 most expensive.
00:19 Of course, we do have some so-called 'halo' bikes in our list, but we've looked at value
00:23 for money as well as pure performance, and they aren't all made of carbon.
00:34 First up, we have a bike which certainly sits in the 'halo' category for many - the Specialized
00:39 Tarmac SL8.
00:41 After a handful of leaks and an explosive launch at the UCI World Championships in Glasgow,
00:46 the bike landed to a reception of excitement and intrigue.
00:49 Now, in its 8th generation, the Tarmac has become synonymous with road racing, not least
00:54 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.
01:06 We gave the Tarmac SL8 5 stars when we reviewed it, because we could not find a single thing
01:11 we would improve.
01:12 It's fantastically light, plays host to a brand new cockpit which helps the bike slice
01:17 through the air while also offering all of the stiffness you could want without a harsh
01:21 ride.
01:22 It's perfectly balanced and leaves nothing to be desired.
01:26 For those looking for a fast, responsive race bike, this is the bike to get.
01:30 One thing the Tarmac SL8 certainly isn't is cheap.
01:34 However, you do get what you pay for.
01:36 Full builds start from £6,000 and go all the way to £12,000.
01:40 However, framesets are available too.
01:43 The pro level model can be purchased for £3,500, while the S-Works frame comes in at £4,750.
01:57 If you're in the market for a road bike under $1,000 or £1,000, you will quickly
02:02 find that there is little choice, especially when it comes to disc brakes.
02:06 In fact, the likes of Specialized and Trek don't actually offer a 2024 disc brake road
02:11 bike below this threshold.
02:14 Triban, owned by sports retail giant Decathlon, has been long known for offering great value
02:19 products.
02:20 And the Triban RC520 is no different.
02:24 The bike features an aluminium frame with an endurance slant.
02:27 It comes fitted from stock with 28mm tyres, but can play host to rubber up to 36mm in
02:34 size.
02:35 Things start to get exciting when you consider that the bike has Shimano 105 derailleurs
02:39 and cable actuated hydraulic disc brakes.
02:42 While the braking setup won't put fully hydraulic systems out of a job, they do still
02:46 perform better than rim brakes and fully cable actuated disc brakes.
02:51 The one area that the bike is let down is in its weight.
02:54 The RC520 is not the lightest bike by any means, with a frame that comes in at over
02:59 1,700g, a fork that's nearly 700g and a wheel set that tips the scales at a claimed
03:05 2,300g.
03:06 However, when we look at the bike as a whole, and considering the ride it provides is pretty
03:11 smooth and stable, it represents itself as a great value purchase in the sub £1,000
03:17 category, which is why we gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
03:21 All we would recommend doing is upgrading the tyres to further improve ride feel, braking
03:25 performance and grip.
03:33 Pinarello is entering 2024 with a completely fresh line-up of bikes, compared to the one
03:38 it entered 2023 with.
03:41 Its road offering is now split into two pillars, the F-Series and the X-Series, with the former
03:47 being a racer's choice and the latter being the endurance rider's pick.
03:52 Both pillars of bikes are led by range-topping Dogma models, but the bikes that sit below
03:57 provide many of the same characteristics, but for a better price.
04:02 One bike stood out to us, that being the F7.
04:05 The F7 plays host to an Ultegra 12-speed Di2 groupset, some carbon wheels, a carbon cockpit
04:11 and the brand's famous Honda fork.
04:14 The carbon fibre used to construct the frame is just one step below what's used for the
04:18 Dogma model, so you're getting a lot of the same performance, but for a much lower
04:23 price.
04:25 We would never say that £7,000 is cheap.
04:27 It's of course a large amount of money to spend on a bicycle, but if you are after the
04:32 kind of performance that the Dogma F provides, but don't want to pay for it, the F7 could
04:37 be for you.
04:39 We found the bike provided a pretty smooth, dynamic and playful ride feel, however we
04:44 would recommend upgrading the tyres to something a little bit more high-end to help you extract
04:49 the most of what this bike has to offer.
04:51 Although the new Cannondale Lab 71 bikes look stunning when ridden in the mountains
05:02 of the Tour de France, the five-digit price tag is higher than the peak of the Kolder
05:06 Tourmalet, but you don't have to spend a massive chunk of change to get a good value
05:11 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.
05:24 The Optimo 4 is an entry-level aluminium road bike that offers good value for those making
05:28 their first foray into drop-bar bikes without committing thousands up front.
05:33 As the only rim brake bike on this list, you can rest assured that the Optimo has plenty
05:38 of other attributes which make it a worthwhile choice for those wanting a nippy road ride.
05:42 Unsurprisingly, a lot of your money will be going towards the frame itself.
05:47 The ride it provides is one which is stable and predictable, but retains the dull road
05:51 feedback that is so characteristic of aluminium frames.
05:55 The 8-speed Claris gearing isn't quite as impressive as the components you'll find
05:59 on the Triban RC520, but this bike is much lighter.
06:03 So, if you're after a lighter-weight road bike suited to faster-paced riding, but want
06:08 a great value option at around the £1000 mark, then this poses a very good choice.
06:21 Another brand to grace this list from the monolith that is Decathlon is Van Rijssel.
06:26 Back in spring of this year, a new range of bikes were unveiled at the Sea Otter Classic
06:30 Show by the French brand, and one of the new models was the Van Rijssel RCR.
06:36 Known to be the official ride of Team AG2R Citroen, this bike looks to be a do-it-all
06:41 racing machine.
06:43 The reason why we're particularly excited about this bike is because pairing the good
06:46 value of a Van Rijssel with world-tour performance could create an irresistible combination for
06:52 consumers.
06:53 Van Rijssel says it's the perfect balance between lightness, stiffness and aerodynamics,
06:59 and looking at the bike, it's easy to see where it's coming from.
07:02 The sculpted tube shapes and claimed frame weights, hovering around 800g, could be a
07:06 real recipe for success.
07:14 Back in February, Cannondale released the fourth generation of its much-loved Super
07:18 Six Evo.
07:19 The race bike, which holds quite the climbing reputation, saw an aerodynamic redesign,
07:25 as well as frameset hierarchy changes.
07:28 The introduction of the Lab 71 framesets, which dethroned the High Mod as the range-topping
07:32 build option, made headlines with a price tag of $15,000, or £12,500.
07:39 In recent years, we have seen a trend of lightweight bikes becoming more aero, and aero bikes becoming
07:44 more lightweight.
07:46 After completely remodelling the Super Six from its previous generation, the new Super
07:50 Six Evo has continued down a more aerodynamic path, receiving some serious revamping for
07:56 2024.
07:57 However, there's a good reason why we awarded the latest generation our Climbing Bike of
08:02 the Year award, because during our period of testing, we found that the bike retained
08:06 its snappiness when put under pressure riding uphill, but it still floated a sweet balance
08:11 between being a fast-handling bike, without being overly skittish on the descents.
08:17 We also liked that the bike has reverted to a threaded bottom bracket, has clearance for
08:21 tyres up to 34mm in size, and has cleaned up its method of internally routing cables
08:26 in the head tube.
08:28 It's clear that the fourth generation is far more refined than its predecessor, and
08:33 has been successful in rediscovering some of the Super Six's climbing DNA.
08:37 Happily, the new generation is available in a multitude of different builds, spanning
08:42 an incredibly wide price bracket, making this one of the more accessible platforms to get
08:47 onto.
08:54 The Factor 02 VAM is a road bike that has looked to captivate the weightweenie audience,
08:59 instead of going all out with aero claims.
09:02 Debuting at the 2023 Tour de France, the new 02, with its claimed frame weight of 730g,
09:08 is clearly right in the Superbike category.
09:11 But how does it ride?
09:13 We knew even from our first ride of the Factor 02 VAM that this bike was a real contender
09:18 in the Superbike space, and it has continued to impress us ever since.
09:24 If you're in the market for one of the best road bikes, then the Factor 02 VAM should
09:27 definitely be making your shortlist.
09:30 We really like that the tried and tested geometry has remained largely the same, bar a small
09:34 increase in stack height, and we also just enjoy how light the bike is.
09:40 The 02 we had on test came in at 6.33kg, resulting in a bike which is incredibly responsive and
09:46 playful.
09:47 The area this bike is let down in is its flatline speed.
09:51 It's simply not an aero bike, or even a do-it-all race bike, meaning if you do live anywhere
09:56 particularly flat, you will be missing out on some wind slicing properties.
10:00 But for those who spend as much time riding up hills as they do going down them, then
10:05 the 02 could be for you.
10:09 Let us know down below, which of these bikes would you pick?
10:12 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
10:16 content and we will see you again very soon!
10:18 [Music]
10:27 (whooshing)
10:29 (whooshing)
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