2002 – Cycling Plus – PRO-AM

,
Ready to
Budget road bikes just kee
Richard Grigsby looks at t
born-again racers, leisure ri
t hat want something fun fo
T
he three bikes featured this mon th faU int o that catego ry
bet ween che ap a nd cheer ful ent ry-level machi nes and the finely
tun ed race bike. It's a category that is growi ng and the q uest io n
is - do the rapid developme nts in afford able ro ad bikes mean
that they are now worth considering by riders ot her than the
novice? Is it o nly those o n a tight budg et that need look at this
categor y, o r have manufact urers now op ened this highl y co m petit ive
£600 price po in t to bo rn -again racers o r time-r estr icted (by work O (
family) weekend warriors? Ad d itio na lly, sho uld the financially well off
leisure and fitn ess riders lo wer th eir sights (and per haps risk some loss
of status) by delving into this wo rld of budget ro ad bikes in th e process
freein g up cash for valuable upgrades?
Th e Hewitt Pro Am has a good spec alum ini um frame, carbo n fo rk
BIKESHOP
and Campagnolo Xenon components package (gro upset ). The Monoe Te2 is also made
fro m lOOO-series aluminium, this time triple-b utted, with Xenon groupset and carbon forks.
The Specialized Allez Alis based o n a compact (slop ing top tube ) aluminium frame, and
dev iates further fro m the other test bikes by having an alu fork and a Shimano Sora .
FRAME
Hewitt (;) Monoe 6 Specialized (;)
The Hewitt has perfect headtube alignment and good frame geometry giving ne ut ral steering
traits mea ning the back end follows the fro nt end and the rea r wheel sits squarely in the
fram e and is easy to get in and out. The Taiwanese carbon fork is also perfectl y aligned, but
both frame and fork weights are fairly high at 179 1g and 685g respectively despite having an
aluminium fork steerer tube. Frame is TI G ~ weld ed an d the paint job lively in ubiq uitou s
European budget alloy style.
Frame geomet ry is carried ove r from sma ller sizes, so th e seat ang le (74°) is prett y steep for
a mi ddle-sized frame . The top tube is marginally shorter tha n the seat tube, whic h is no rmal
for bikes from the Wo rld Bible of Pramebuilding (W Bf) . Fra me expert and Midlands bike
dealer Paul Hewitt stresses that he sets up every custome r on a jig before he recommends any
particular size. 'If the bike doesn 't fit, what's the point,' he says. Altho ugh he produces mid to
high-end b ikes, he can also cope with entry-level and the Pro Am is a goo d demonst ration of
this.
The Mo noc uses an oversize, centrally fat, down tu be, similar to some Bianchis. The tubes
are tri ple butted and T IG-welded with file-sm oothed joints. Co upled to a deep Azur blue
and sculp ted carbo n fork, the Monoe looks every bit the copyc at pro racer. The compact
frame version (unavailable at the time of our test) looks stunn ing for a £600 bike. Head tube,
rear triangle and for k were all perfec tly aligned on o ur test bike.
Left: The ITM
barsandXenon
levers are good
qualityfor a
£600 bike
56 ICYCLINGGlEl
'Paul Hewitt sets
up every customer
on ajig before he
recommends a
particular size'
April1001
Main bike test
The geometry is quite extreme for an entry-level
bike. Like the Hew itt, the seat angle has bee n carried
over from sma ller bikes an d this time is very steep at
75°- sim ilar to Triathlon and Time Trial bikes.The
73.5° head ang le is also steep for a sma ll frame,
red ucing trail to 56m m. We are in for med however, th at
the compact geometry is much more standard with
more relaxed seat and hea d angles.
The Allez is mad e from what Specialized call Al
Prem ium Aluminium, wh ich is probably 7000-series
alloy beca use it weigh s in at 187 1g, only ma rginally
more than the 7000-series Hewitt. Th e simple but
elegant frame is T IG-welded to the us ua l high
(Taiwanese) standar d an d paint ed blue and white in
team colours. Although the spec is a bit d ull, the looks
and name mu st gua rantee success for this well rep uted
brand.
The fork has aluminium bla des tha t are bonded to an
1 1/8in Cromo stee rer, pro bably expla ining the weighty,
but carbon fork stan dar d, 707g. Th e geometry is very
grown up for an entry-level bike with a healthily lo ng
top tube (57cm) for a medi um sized seat tube,
com pared to Giant's mediu m TCR. A seat ang le of 730
an d a head angle of 72 is also no t goi ng to upset
anyone, especia lly with a very low fo rk rake (37.5mm)
giving a generous 72mm of tr ail.
'The Monoe is aU
left: The
Monoc's ze ro
st ack hidden
headset
Aprilzooz
ready to race
from the crate but upgrade the
brakes first'
CYCLlNGI1!!lJ I 57
BIKESHOP
HANDLING
Hewitt <:} Monoc
6
Specialized (l)
Th e Hewitt's rid e is dominated by th e heavy wheel and tyre pac kage so
accelerati on was slow and hi ll work impeded. Subst ituting a lighter and
stiffer set of wheels would no doubt comp letely cha nge th e feel of thi s
bi ke as the ove rsize alloy fram e and ca rbo n fork are th e rig ht ingred ients
for spirited riding. This comment ca n be app lied to mos t chea p
aluminium frames: They all feel very 'dead'
The ride is stiff bu t unrewarding. Lacklust re compared to any steel
frame made from anything above the most bask Cromo rubeset.
My initial riding notes for the Monee read:' Bit vaguedown hills.
almost like it's got a rear puncture.' Looking at the steep (73.5°) head
angle coupled to 43mm fork rake and minimal trail (56m m) , it's no
wonder this bike felt a bit sketchy.
I am told that the Compact versions have more 'norm al' WBF
geometry. My no tes also said that it 'Sp rin ts like Merckx Flyer!' which is
highly complimentary. The tru th is that the Monee made you feel like
spr inti ng whereas the Specialized made you want to ride steadily and the
Hewitt loo k for do wnhill s.
Compare d to the ub iquito us carbon fork, the Allez's alu min ium alloy
fork act ually feels lively.When th is liveliness comes with some shock
absorptio n, it makes th e Allez a ser ious conten de r for longer di stan ces.
Specialized market th e A llez as being an all-rounder and I would agree
that th is bike could m ake a decent credit card tourer, chaingang chariot
and leisure bike. True, th e ride is not th at inspirin g b ut th is could be
per fect for begin ners who d on 't want any su rp rises.
58 ICYCLlNGI1!!Il
April2002
Main bike test
The rivals
ORBEA ASPIN £150
The Aspin is based on a JOOS-series
aluminium frame and aluminium
fork. It uses a Xenon groupset and
Mavic MA3 wheels. much the same
as the Hewitt and MOROC we tested.
Sizes run from 48 to 60cm in many
increments. and top tube is
horizontal A triple chainset upgrade
is aYailable for an extra 00 making
the range very versatile. A compact
Euskaltel (Orange/Yellow) team
colour with airbrushed paint finish is
available at £499 wrth a Shimano
Sora triple groupset. If you have a
bit more to spend, you could go up a
grade to the Naranco for £650. The
ertra money gets you a Zeus carbon
fork and a Mirage groupset. For
more details, contact East Coast
'ft' 01778 142 207
GIANT OCRlIlI69S/£lll
Voted budget bike of the year in
2001. the OCR has a very wide
appeal. As. a time trial bike the OCR
frame is stiff and reasonably light.
As an all-rounder the triple
WHEELS
Hewitt ti Monoe f) Specialized 0
The wheels on the Hewitt are iden tical to those on the Monee except for the
tyres. The Schwalbe Blizzard Pro tyres on the Hewitt have a m uch 'deader'
feel tha n the M ichelin Axial Pros on the Mo noc. True, th e Schwalbes have a
kevlar belt un de r the rolling sur face tha t ma kes t hem more winter-proof, hut
th is kevlar belt also gives a sluggis h response - because th e belt is resistan t to
bending so the ryres ro ll more reluctantly.
The Mon e e had a no isy rim joi nt that knocked the fron t brake on
descents. Th is is very un usual because Mavic mac h ine their braki ng sur faces
after welding the rim join t. Apart fro m this o ne-o ff problem . th e wheels are
race-quality, includ ing th e top Axial Pro rubber from Mi cheli n. T he hubs
have been u pgraded one notch to Ca mpagn olo Mir age and the spokes are
. doubl e b utt ed stainless.
Specialized fit the ba sic-looking Ritchey b rand ed hubs to Alexa rim s on
the Allez. Th e b lack-painted qu ick-release mec hanis ms are pa rticul arly chea p
lookin g. Spokes arc b lack painted, plain gauge stain less and the tyre choice is
from Specialized's highly rated but still u ncom mo n Turbo series. T his tyre
comes with a fold ing bead and kevlar belt under the rolling sur face.
April 1001
chainsets and adjustable stem put
this bike into the Specialized Allez
category. OCRl has a Shimano Tiagra
groupset and OCR] has the Sora
groupset, other than that there's no
real differences, apart from colour.
Sites are small, medium and large
with 53. 55.5 and 58.Scm top tubes.
Contact Giant UK 'Z!' 0115984 6000
www.giantbicycles.com
UMOND NEVADA OTY mo
The Nevada is made from Reynolds
525 Cromo steel wrth an alloy fork.
EQUIPMENT
Hewitt
~
Monoe
0
The gear shifters are Shimano's Sora
and there is a choice of either
double or triple chainset at no extra
cost. There is a full range of sites
from 47 to 61cm with the 47cm
being of interest to women because
it has a short, 5Ocm. top tube length.
When we tested the Tourmatet we
found the handling to be
particularly sweet and natural
making this bike a good choice for
beginners. Contact Trek Bicycle
Corporation 'Z!' 01908282 626
www.trekbikes.com
Specialized
0
The Hewitt uses the new Campagnolo Xenon groupsct - a welcome
newcomer to the Ergopower family. Whe reas all existi ng Campagnolo shifters
use multiple d own -clicks on the front changer. the Xeno n has two clicks only,
both necessary to derail the chain fro m the ou ter ri ng to the inn er. T he reaso n
seems to be th at Xenon combines th e double and t riple co mp atib ility o f ot her
Ca mpag gro upsets with th e fron t indexing us ually associa ted Shimano groups.
Fit a t riple and the change ind exes on on e click. Even as a double th o ugh we
th ink this d esign deviation is a goo d on e, becau se begi n ners will have less to
th ink about d u rin g th e fam iliarisation stage.
Th e gear rat ios on th e Hewitt arc th e same as on the Mo nee and sho uld be
su itable fo r all-ro un d cyclists unde r all co nd itions, apa rt fro m parti cularly
hilly terrain . If th is b ike was to be u sed for time t rials a 12-2 1 cassette woul d be
better t han th e 13-23 su pplied becau se it wo uld up th e top gear slightly and
close a few gaps within th e m id to low end o f the gear ran ge. Th e rest of t he
Hewitt's equip me nt is very well spccccd for a bike th at costs £600 with ITM
bars and stem, DiaCompe head set, Ritchey scat post an d Selic lt alia sadd le.
I'm sorry but r don't see wh y begin ner s or leisure ride rs shou ld have th eir
....
CYCLlNGI1!!Il 59
~
BIKESHOP
safety jeopardiscd by inferior brakes. The brakes on
all these bikes are poor. Yes, it does encourage
up grad es but thi s sho uld not be for safety reason s!
The performance of the no -name stoppers on the
Speicalized - which are the worst - might be no
surp rise, b ut th at of the Xeno n b rakes o n the Hewitt
and Mo nee is. Co mpared to higher-ran ge Ca mpag
calliper brakes,the Xenon dual-pivots are inadequate.
A change of brake blocks and cables may help (thoug h
better blocks made little difference when we tried
them), but again, why should it be necessary?
The Monee uses Xenon compo nents like the Hewitt
and it shares a criticism. The down-shift, from larger to
small sprockets,is a little slower than other
Carnpagnolo but this could be attribu ted to several
things - a stickygear cable makes a real mess of slick
shifts; cables that are too long or have excessiveS bends
in them don't help; any invisiblekinks or crimps will
also impede dean shifting. A sea of Monee-branded
compone nts meets the eye and it all seems very
acceptable. even on their £600 'Sport' model that shares
many components. The Ahead handlebar stem and
decent wide anatomic bars givea good, stretched out,
riding position. Monee's zero stack hidden headset is
made by Cane Creek and they use their own-branded
saddle and seat post. Gear ratios come from a 53/39
front end and a 13 to 23. v-sp eed cassette which should
be just right unless you are a massive gear pusher.
For a large company like Specialized, the Allez lags a
long way behind the Hewitt and Monoc in the
specification rankings. The Promax brakes were pretty
abysmal with a lot of force needed to stop. Other
equipment was generic or in-house, which is OK for a
competitively priced up-and-coming bike but
disappointing to see plain part s on a good-looking
frame like the Allez.
The Body Geometry saddle is a nice touch in an
oth erwise low-end offering. On the good side. the Allcz
comes with a choice of double or triple chainsets,
which givesbuyers a range of sporty or practical ratios.
If you are not worried about the slightly wider pedal
placing, I would go for the triple as the 52142/30 rings
givea good spread of gears compa red to the 53/39
double which is coupled to the same 8-speed 12 to 25
cassette.
The Sugino crankset looks characteristica lly
dura ble and the dera illeurs are Tiagra coupled to Sora
shifters which, having a Campagnolo-style shift, is a
good comb ination. 00
Triple-butted: Whereas
double-butted
originally meant that
the tube wall thickness
at the joined ends of
the frame tube was
double the thickness of
the larger central
section, tr iple-butted
gets used to indicate a
two-stage reduction.
Hence the 1.5mm or so
end wall thickness
reduces down to O.9mm
or SO before a further
reduction to O.6mm in
the central section.
7000-series alu: This is
the best range of
standard aluminium to
use on bicycles. It
displays better
machinability than
6000·series and is a
little lighter as well.
Steerer tube : The
steerer tube is the
elongation of the forks.
Nowadays, with the
popularity of Ahead
headsets, the steerer
tubes don't have to be
threaded as they pass
right through the
headset, rather than
being clamped into it as
with the old-style
screwed headset.
Steerers can be made
from steel, alloy, carbon
with alloy crown or
all-carbon fibre.
Plain gauge : A tube
where the wall
thickness is constant,
rather than tapering
down from the ends .
Aluminium versus the rest
All of the test bikes are made from
aluminium alloy, which is around a
third the weight of steel and
comes in chunky section tubes;
hence its popularity. The chunky
tubes aren't there just for show;
they go towards making a stiff
frame, which reduces the amount
of flex the joints experience.
This not only makes these bikes
good at power transfer and safe to
flick around corners, but it also
prevents them from fatiguing and
breaking. Aluminium is more
expensive than steel to produce
and to heat treat after welding.
Heat treating is necessary to
de-stress the frames and to reduce
brittleness in the joints, which can
60 I CYCLING" . ·fj
lead to cracks in the tube
immediately next to the welds. If
aluminium does crack it tends to
do so without warning, which is
not good for bike frames, hence
the heat treatment and oversi~ing,
A lot of people are sold
aluminium on the basis that they
presume, and the retailer often
goes along with this belief that. it
is light. Although aluminium is
around a third the weight of steel,
it only has around a third of steel's
strength so it needs beefing up in
order to survive the road shock
and repetitive loads from cycling ,
And, yes you guessed it, adding
three times the wall thickness
boosts the frame weight to
something approaching that of a
good-quality steel frame .
Steel is still favoured by many
custom builders although the
popularity of aluminium has put
quite a few of these either out of
the business or forced them to
concentrate on other materials.
Steel is generally less complex
to build a bike frame with and can
be joined by lugging and bra~ing,
with molten brass, brazed without
lugs or welded. Some steels even
exhibit almost magic qualities and
increase, rather than decrease.
their strength in the heat affected
zones around the joints. These are
called air-hardening steels, as the
frame must be allowed to cool
naturally after joining, rather than
quenched in water or oil.
Steel can build into a very light
frame but these tend to be
unsuitable for heavy or powerful
riders because they can be very
'whippy' due to the flex of the thin
tube walls .
Carbon fibre is a very
underexploited material in the bike
world. The ability to mould it and
add or omit layers means that
carbon fibre is much more flexible
than any other tube, But
manufacturers have not found an
economic way of moulding carbon
for use as a frame material,
although it gets used on most road
bike forks these days .
April 1001
Main bike test
CYCLING
VERDICT
Sil:fmtM:~Cm
SilrmtH:54cm
SiJrlntH: 58c m
Sil:nMibMt: Any size in lcm steps
l.imJ'fWoblt:Traditional- SO. 52. S4. S6.
SOtunilDlr.47, 50 , 52. 54. 56, 58. 61cm
weiptu mtM: 9.78Kg/21.6Ib no pedals
[equivalent standard seat tube heights
for non-compact frames)
WdPI .tI ttstfod:: 10.00Kg /22.0Ib no pedals
foR:carbon wI alloy steerer
sacm. Compact - 45. SO. 5S.SCmcentre
tctop
Wript iU tfIttt 9.26Kg/20.4Ib no pedals
f~ triple butted 7005 aluminium
Fort wti(ht 68Sg / 1.5Ib
m- WtiPt 1704g/18Ib
m- WriPt 18n
Fcwk carbon wI alloy steerer
Fott: aluminium
fon: wtipt 592 /13lb
fed wtiPt: 707 /l.6Ib
m.: 7000 serie s aluminium
r,.. WtilIlI:: 1791g/191b
SlKE DIMENSIONS
,
m..:Specialized Al Alumin ium
.
,
0
g/ 4.1Ib
Top tlk S4cm/ 2l3in
l(·t~ SJ.Scm/21.lin
St.,*
Top tuk S4cm/2Hin
109tllilt: S7cm/21.4in
Sut tubt (e-l):S4cm/21.3in
SrJl·I(·t~ 49cm/19.3 i n
ChiiM~40.Scm/1S.9in
CJmnsbys:
WIIffIbtir. 97cm /38.1in
W1wfIbaw. 97cm/38.2in
~ 99cm /39 i n
Itnd tuH 1lIc1f: n'
Sti' tWt lIlC'r: 74'
for' offwt: 4.1cm/1.6in
Hradtllb unclt: 73S
HrH I.
Srittubr .
sm tubrilIIC1r: 73'
Fork offlrt:4.3cm /l.7in
ron. ofhtt: 17Scm/l.5in
TRlt 6.1cm
TrJi~
Trill: 7.2c m
8Ibhti(ht:27cm/l0.6in
StindOftr hript 80.6cm/31.7in
~
Stilldomhrichl: 80 .7cm/31.81n
StilMlowrr hrilht 79.8cm/31.4in
BmHnc none
&rlu-ons:2x water bott le
Brllt-Onl: 2x water bottle, rear mudguard
Itl!id tubr.Pe rfect
Hrld tuk Perfe ct
Rm tr~"I1r. Per fect
RNI
fllrk:Perf ect
fort:Perfect
40.SCm/l5.9in
7S"
5.6cm
hriJlrt: 26.7cm/l0.5in
~ 4 0.5cm/1S.9in
lIIIlr: 72'
Blbilrirfrt: 27Jcm/lO.7in
FRAME ALIGNMENT
triina:1r: Perfect
Campagnol0 Mirage. 39-53T,
RNI
triinCIr. within 2mm
Fork: Perfect
•
TRANSMISSION
(~insft.
lINdtubl!: Perfect
CUinwt:: Ca mpagn o lo Mirage , 39-SlT,
OWMtt: Sugino RD3000. 39-S2T.17Smm
170mm
17Qmm
IottolIbridrt: Shimano LP28
Iottornbm bt Campagnolo Mirage
1ott0lll brdrt: Campagnolo Mirage
,rrmtttt: Shimano HG5012-1l-14-1S-17-19-
fFftWtlMt: Campagnolo 13-T4-15·16·17·18·19·
FmwbrtI:Cam pagnolo . n-1 4·1S-16-17·18-
21-23'2S T
21-23T
19-21-23T
0.. Shimano
t:Nin:Campagnolo (9
DmilIN1.: Campagnolo xerco
Cba: Campagnolo C9
Dmillfln: Campagnoto Xenon
'wInrn:Campagnolo Xenon
P$ls.:none
GNr Imn: Campagnolo Xenon
-
""'" nooe
GEAR RAnO liN):
iDii mmmlllllJ m
r[l)lmmmmmlll mm 1[1)1
a na
!611
81 ; 75I 70[ 661 62I sal 5' ISOl 46
81 175 170 1661 62 1sa IS\ ISO 1461
1~ 1DI 1l0 1029\ 189 184 180/71 168 62
102195 189 84 180 75 68
Omillrun: Shimano TIagra
'"' '-n: Shimano Sora
....~nooe
-
mmmmmllJ mm
I[I)I BB I 81175 170 162 III ISO146I 42H
1m 117 108'100 94
83 74 67 61 156
I
FI'OII &rw: 32H Mavic MAl rims on 32H
Campagnolo Xenon hubs w/ sta inless
frMt &rtir. 31H Mavic MA3 Campagnolo
fI'OfIt&1ftr. 32H Alex DA22 rims on Ritchey
Mirage w/ st a inless double butted
hubs wI black stainless plain gauge
double butted spokes
spokes
spokes
Tyns:Miche lin Axial Pro, 700x2lc
'~ Spec i a l i zed Turbo 700x2k
W1lrtt wtirtrt:f; 12sag; r: 186 2g
'prJ: Schwalbe Blizzard Sport 700x2k
Wllttl wri&bt: f: 1304g; r: 178Sg
<0
HiIldIrhrllrtll:lTM. 120mm
H~
ITM Super 330, 4lScm
Hodsrt:Dia-Compe Aheadset
SaddIr: XO by Se lle rtaua
Sntpolt: Ritchey
8nkt:ltt Campagnolo Xenon
AC(fSSOrJrs: Water bottle cage
April 1002
WIltel wtiCtlt:f: 1221g; r: 1640g
<0
KmdIrbir 11ms: Monoc. 110mm
Mandli!hm:: Monee, 44cm
Hridsrt Monac zero stack
Saddlr. Monoc
Sritpost Monoe
Bnkmt Campagnolo Xenon
A«ruorirs: no ne
OTHER COMPONENTS
HindIrtwsttrn:unbranded, l1Smm
Kalldltbirs:Ritchey, 46.SCm
IINdlrt:Ritchey Aheadset
iaddlt: Specialized BG
Srnpost unb randed
&ibsrt: unbranded
A((fSlorits: no ne
I
Allthese bikes would shine on the
club run, long leisure rides or as a
first road bike. Only one, in our
opinion could be raced straight
from the crate - and only then
with a brake upgrade . but they all
need that. Leisure riders would be
best off choosing the Specialized
Alle:r. with a tr iple chainset . The
alloy fOR is very comfortable
(unlike most carbon fORs) making
it ideal for longer rides.. In this
case. actual Kores are not totally
relevant for those seeking an
all-rounder,
The Hewitt is a completly
different kettle of fish and would
make a much more serious bike
given a few upgrades. The wheels
are just too dull and would
benefit from some livelier rubber
at the barest minimum , if not a
set of Campagnolo's Factory -built
Siroccos , which would add on
another £lS0. Whereas the
Campagnolo Xenon shifters are
perfectly suited to born-again
racers o r leisur e riders, r reckon
the upgraders would want the
more comprehensive shift
mechanisms found on the
existing range - even if it means
just going up to the Mirage.
The Monoc is ready to race but the brakes should be
upgraded to Centaur, as should
the Hetw itt's . The wheels are also
an upgrade option for those with
money burning a hole in their
pocket but th is bike does feel
yery exciting as it is. True, it has a
£7Sadvantage oyer its test mates
but this is mainly spent on the
lovely-looking carbon fork .
Although this price differential
makes the Hewitt very good
value for money, The £600
Monoc 'Sport' would still give
this bike and the Specialized a
run for their money. ~
HEWIn ti
Great potential budget racer in
need of decent tyres and brakes
and possibly a wheel upgrade
MONOC ti
Fine pedigree. poor brakes . See
the compact version before
deciding which is for you. Doesn't
descend as well as the other two.
SPECIALIZED ~
Slightly disappointing for a big
name , although all-rounder
appeal is still good
CYCLlNGI1!!lJ 61