96 �Cycling Plus

BIKE TEST

bikeradar.com

T he bike-loving Dutch are no

strangers to long-distance

travel, from their seafaring

past to the many cycle tourers

who now pedal the globe. You

might not instantly associate

the name Santos with that heritage, but

although relatively new to these shores,

it’s well established across the North Sea

with an impressive range of mountain,

road, city and, of course, touring bikes.

Its Travel Master, as tested here, is a bike

that stands out from that crowd because

it presents you with a plethora of

options. You can pick between a steel or

aluminium frame, 26in and 700C

wheels, Rohloff hub or derailleurs, and

custom or standard builds. There’s also a

palette of 24 different colours to choose

from, meaning it’s unlikely you’ll come

across your doppelganger on whichever

set of roads you choose to travel.

Our Cr Mo 2.6, as the name suggests,

sports a chromoly frame and 26in

wheels, making it ideal for the rigours of

expedition travel. Such steel frames are

comfortable yet resilient to bungling

baggage handlers and bus rooftops,

while 26in spares can be sourced the

world over. It also comes fi nished in a

no-holes-barred expedition build.

The Rohloff hub is well established in

touring circles as an expensive but

supremely effective system, encasing

delicate gears in a protective hub that’s

safe from dust and grime, limiting

external damage. A fi t-and-forget Chris

King headset keeps steering buttery

smooth, with longer lasting tungsten

carbide coated rims, Shimano XT brakes,

an adjustable stem, Ergon grips, a tough

SKF square taper bottom bracket, a

titanium nitride-coated chain, SKS

mudguards and top-of-the-line Tubus

racks making for a packed spec list. All

this fi nery is set off by an appealing baby

blue fi nish. The downside? An eye-

watering price tag of £3270, although

this also includes a bike fi t from

specialist MSG Cycles.

Frame-wise, the TravelMaster 2.6

comes riddled with eyelets and brazed

with mounts for every eventuality: that

means you can have four bottle cages, a

dynamo light, racks, mudguards

(including a Crud Catcher) and even a

wheel lock. Santos steers clear of disc

brake tabs for its touring models, but

you can choose between mechanical Vs

or hydraulic Magura HS 33s.

The quality of the fi nish is extremely

high and there’s some neat detailing. We

particularly like the fact that while the

custom Rohloff dropout and eccentric

bottom bracket make removing the rear

wheel easy, there’s also provision for a

derailleur hanger in case of emergencies.

As reliable as the Rohloff hub is (with an

impressive customer service reputation

to match), it’s reassuring to be covered

for every eventuality.

In terms of geometry, the chromoly

version frame is a touch shorter than the

aluminium one, giving a more upright

position. However, both sport similarly

long chainstays for pannier clearance

and lowered bottom brackets for

stability. Ours came with a matching

rigid fork and the frame is suspension

corrected for 80mm of travel too. There

are massive tyre clearances all round,

providing ample room for the Schwalbe

Marathon 2.25s that came fi tted.

Second only to a reliable frame,

decent wheels are also required for

touring while heavily laden. An added

bonus of the Rohloff hub is that it

enables a dishless build, which means

that despite the fact that it’s only 32

spokes (albeit tough, plain gauge

Sapims), it’s far stronger than a

traditional 36-hole wheelset – and

There’s provision for a derailleur hanger in case of emergencies – it’s reassuring to be covered for every eventuality

Santos Travel Master 2.6It’s sturdy and well specced, but can this baby blue tourer stand up to Cambodia’s roughest roads?

CYP224.santos 96 13/5/09 18:12:04

Cycling Plus �97

Santos TravelMaster 2.6

www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

With custom build £3270 www.santosbikes.com

WEIGHT 15.8kg

DRIVETRAIN Rohloff Speedhub

WHEELS Rigida Tungsten Carbide with

custom drilled eyelets

ACCESSORIES Tubus racks, SKS mudguards,

two kickstands, Santos aluminium water bottles,

Hebie chain protector

73˚

40.5cm

Photo

s C

ass

Gilb

ert

There’s a choice of

24 colours, so you’ll

always be able to

stand out from the

landscape

The TravelMaster swallowed

up miles of dusty back roads

in Cambodia with ease

Cycling Plus’s Master of Travel

and Santos’ TravelMaster

CYP224.santos 97 13/5/09 18:12:08

98 �Cycling Plus bikeradar.com

ROHLOFF SPEEDHUB

WITH ITS 14 evenly spaced gears housed in a

protective hub, the Rohloff is ideally suited to

long distances and hard travel, both on and off

the bike. The range is similar to a mountain

bike derailleur setup, with no dropped chains

or slipping gears to worry about. Gears one to

seven feel slightly less effi cient than the larger

ones, but this is easy to forgive since the hub

can tackle river crossings, thick mud and

layers of red dust without skipping a beat. The

eccentric BB proved easy to adjust, even when

coated with a thick layer of red dust.

BRAZE-ONS

THE SANTOS DOESN’T just come with eyelets

for four water bottles – perfect for hot

climates or journeys with limited water points

– but you can choose where to position the

bottles as well. You can also fi t (or include in

your custom build) racks front and rear,

mudguards (including a Crudcatcher) and

dynamo lights, plus a wheel lock.

CLEARANCES

THE ELEGANTLY CURVED, long chainstays

maximise clearances and prevent clipping

your heels on panniers or the frame. We ran

2.25in tyres with a rigid fork for our trip, since

we wanted a reliable, low-maintenance setup

for exploring Cambodia’s remote trails – the

larger volume tyres helped iron out the jarring

when we hit a section of the highway that was

in the middle of being levelled. Over a longer

trip, we’d go back to the heavier Marathon

XRs, although running an Extreme up front

would be ideal for a long, off-road tour.

ERGON GRIPS

THE TRAVELMASTER CAME specced with

Ergon grips and Cane Creek bar ends. The

grip’s paddle-shaped design spreads out the

force at the contact point and is great for

minimising tingly fi ngers. Likewise, the bar

ends fall nicely under the hands and provide

an extra position to ride in. Our route through

Cambodia was relatively fl at, but when we did

hit steep hills in the mountainous north east

of the country, the extra leverage was a real

bonus as well.

KICKSTAND

IT MAY BE heavy and ungainly, but we found

the kickstand made a big difference to

day-to-day practicalities in Cambodia, from

stopping to take photos to loading up the

bike. It also saves on pannier scuffs and wear,

and means you’re not constantly on the

lookout for a tree to lean your bike against.

The Esge kickstand that came with the bike

was tough enough to withstand heavy loads

and regular use. The front lowrider also

includes its own mini stand, providing extra

stability when the bike is fully loaded.

BIKE FIT

OUR BIKE INCLUDED a custom fi t from MSG

Bicycles (msgbikes.com), requiring two visits

to the shop: one when the bike was ordered

and another at collection. We asked for a

sporty but comfortable touring position and

the fi tting process was very comprehensive. In

fact, the bike required no further adjustments

– not even to move the seatpost. The true test

was Cambodia and, given the gruelling

terrain, we returned from the tour with only

minimal aches in our back, rear and hands.

you don’t need a cassette removal tool

either. Rigida’s tungsten carbide coating

means there’s little rim wear to worry

about, though you’ll need to run them

with ceramic-specifi c brake pads, so

carry spares.

On paper, it’s a seriously well kitted

out adventure-touring bike and a two-

week tour of the bumpy, dusty back

roads of Cambodia provided ample

opportunity to see how it performed in

the real world. In a nutshell, we were

impressed. Heavy-duty tourers are built

for the long haul and handling proved

reassuringly stable when loaded up with

30kg or more of cargo. Yet when lightly

laden, we felt a pleasing snappiness to

the handling that suits more involving

tracks and trails. For the dry, warmer

climes of South East Asia, we trimmed

some weight (and £150 off the price tag)

by removing the front rack, mudguards

and chain protector, replacing the

Marathon XRs for lighter, grippier

Extremes. The large tyre volume and

compliant fork helped take the edge off

pothole-strewn roads and we never felt

any hint of wallow in the frame. Long,

bumpy days in the saddle means

comfortable contact points are just as

important, but thanks to the included

bike fi t and comfy Ergon grips,

absolutely no tweaks were needed – not

even an adjustment to the saddle.

In fact, we can think of little to fault

this bike, bar its price tag. Thankfully,

there are more affordable options

available – a similar TravelMaster with

full XT and hydraulic brakes would set

you back £1900, while the entry-level

build costs £1350.

A solid frame, top-end components and a perfect fi t make this a benchmark tourer 9

CYP224.santos 98 13/5/09 18:12:09