Style and substance? - rossinbikes.co.ukrossinbikes.co.uk/pdfs/press-cyp240 biketest.pdf · Cycling Plus f37 CIOCC MOKBA 80 £930F/F A homage to a bike ridden at the Moscow Olympics,

36 Cycling Plus bikeradar.com

Does retro styling mean compromising performance? We’ve been riding four bikes chosen for their looks alone, to see if they’re behind the times in function as well as form…

Style and substance?

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Cycling Plus 37www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

CIOCC MOKBA 80 £930F/FA homage to a bike ridden at the Moscow Olympics, the Mokba is a classy looking steel fixie. Our version, with Miche kit and wheels and Selle San Marco leather saddle, costs £1550.www.grupettoitalia.co.uk

PRINCIPIA EVOLVE £1099Danish design is famous for being subtle, laid-back and cool. And while this disc-equipped multicoloured hybrid is far from laid back, beneath the paint is a more than decent frame.www.principiabikes.co.uk

VIVA BELLISSIMO 7 £699.99Our second Danish design comes with a flavour of Copenhagen about it. And with its classic steel lugged frame, mudguards and hub gear it has a lot of practical touches to complement its looks.www.evanscycles.com

ELECTRA TICINO £859.99California cruiser cycling crosses the Atlantic in the shape of Electra’s retrotastic 16-speed Ticino. Sure, it looks the part, but is the Ticino more California Dreamin’ or nightmare?www.hotlines-uk.com

THE BIKES ON TEST

THE STYLEISSUE

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CIOCC MOKBA 80 FRAME 9 Lovely hand-made steel Columbus tubeset with elegant lugs and hand-stamped Ciocc logos. Chromed fork adds shiny retro bling.HANDLING 9 Fast, lively and smooth over even the roughest of UK road surfaces. Perfect for commuter sprints or café ambles.EQUIPMENT 7 San Marco saddle is perfect here, and shiny Deda kit is competent but inexpensive WHEELS 7 A little heavy but strong with it – though a set of silver fi nish Mavic Open Pros would have looked even better.

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS FRAME Columbus 27.2mm steel, chromed steel forkDRIVETRAIN Miche Primato chainsetWHEELS Miche Xpress track wheels with 18T fi xed/free ‘fl ip-fl op’ rear WEIGHT 8.68kg/19.1lb without pedals

“W ow, can I take a photo?” Well, this doesn’t happen often (actually ever). We’re sitting outside Look Mum No Hands, a new

bike-friendly café in the middle of London, during a photoshoot and a ‘fi xie-chick’ – skinny jeans, retro specs and expensive hair – is asking to snap one of the bikes we’re photographing.

The bike she’s interested in is the Principia Evolve, which boasts one of the most fl amboyant paint jobs ever seen on two wheels. We ask whether she’s thinking of buying one. “Mmm, not sure I’d ride it,” comes the answer, “but I’m getting a new tattoo and I really like the design on the top-tube.” Well, we did expect the Principia to attract attention.

Actually, we expected each of the bikes on test to attract attention. In fact we chose them simply because they attracted our collective attentions in the fi rst place. We wanted to see what happens when you pick a bike simply by its looks: can letting aesthetics rule over aerodynamics, or colour trump componentry lend itself to a good buying decision?

When it comes to creating a ‘stylish’ bike it seems fair to say that many manufacturers look to the past for inspiration. And when it

comes to choosing a stylish ride it seems that many of us want to hark back to how it used to be (or at least how we imagine it used to be…). And that’s why three of the four bikes on test have a distinctly retro feel.

Ciocc’s Mokba 80 Scatto Fisso – the last part of which is Italian for fi xed gear – actually wears its old-school leanings on its top-tube. The link seems to be a little convoluted but the essence is that this is a reissue of a replica frame that was fi rst produced in the early ’80s to commemorate a Polish rider’s silver medal in the 1980 Olympic road race. Which is fi ne, but the decade wasn’t all good, so will it be more miners’ strike than Moscow magic?

The Electra Ticino and Viva Bellissimo look like proper time machines – both have a distinctly 1950s look to them. Unlike the Ciocc, though, neither is based on bikes from the builders’ halcyon days – both companies were born in the past two decades so the retro stylings are just that.

The Principia Evolve’s paint job has a distinctly hippy-ish vibe, but underneath the acid trip graphics it’s the most modern bike on show. The lightweight aluminium frame, carbon fork and Shimano Tiagra shifting mean it’s also likely to be the most versatile to ride. It would be fair to say, however, that you may need to be rather fl amboyant to do its paint job justice…

Ciocc Mokba 80Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Allan Wells and a boycott are likely to be the only things most Britons remember of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. But what of Czeslaw Lang’s silver medal for Poland in the road race? He was riding an Italian Ciocc frame and shortly afterwards the fi rm brought out a commemorative replica; 30 years later it’s back as an exclusive – and very pretty – singlespeed road bike.

There are of course plenty of pretty

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THE STYLEISSUE

singlespeed/fixies around right now, but the Ciocc does manage to rise above most in terms of performance. It boasts the best qualities that only a butted steel frame can deliver – stiff, light and rewarding for traffic light sprints and commuter rivalry, but with the compliance and rough road bump absorption that is always so welcome on a bike you’ll spend most time sitting down on in fixed gear mode.

The butted Columbus Acciaio (this just means steel in Italian) frame has 27.2mm diameter tubing and elegant lugs. There are braze-ons for rear brake cable housing on the top-tube and a drilled rear brake bridge on the stays ready for a rear calliper if you’re not intending to run fixed.

We’re talking style here and on the whole the Mokba is top drawer. The frame is complemented by the tasteful crema colour – even plain, subtle shades sound exotic in Italian. The lovely Selle San Marco Regal saddle with a rough leather finish, big polished decorative studs and matching rails comes from the marque’s new Vintage range

Stiff, light and rewarding for sprints or commuter rivalry

and is wonderfully comfortable. The polished Deda Dritto handlebar, Quattro stem and Metal Stick seatpost chosen to match the chromed forks give a classy look too. For our part, we would choose silvered alloy wheels – Mavic Open Pros for example – and a leather-clad drop handlebar.

That said, although the wheelset – with the flip-flop hub providing freewheel singlespeed drive on one side and a fixed

imagine Jimmy Dean riding up in front of Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift and pulling off a cheeky little skid...

While the Ticino’s looks are old school, Electra, perhaps surprisingly, isn’t especially. The San Diego brand was established in the early 1990s. And it’s not even actually that all-American; the founder Benno Banziger is Swiss – Ticino is a canton of Switzerland – and he started the brand with the aim of encouraging Americans to use bikes for ‘fun and transport’.

If the Ticino is a typical Electra then it’s a definite success on the fun front – it’s a really enjoyable bike to ride. From the pictures we were expecting the Ticino to be a heavy old beast, but were pleasantly surprised by its lightness – overall weight is just 10kg. As a result, any expected sluggishness simply isn’t there and it’s easy to get moving and rolling along nicely.

The sit-up-and-beg position afforded by the high front end and swept back ‘Cyclo Tourist’ bar provides a stately, commanding view in traffic that’s better than most hybrids. This position has another added bonus – it encourages you to dawdle and enjoy the view.

The taking-it-easy approach is also aided by the Ticino’s ride – 6061 aluminium frames aren’t necessarily renowned for their shock absorbing qualities, but the long-wheel-based Ticino feels smooth and coped well with rough towpath stretches, helped no doubt by the wide saddle, steel fork and

gear on the other – isn’t a looker, the deep flanged hubs are good and strong. No amount of kerb hopping knocked them out of true, and if anything, the small amount of extra weight helped iron out rough roads.

The frame is 73 degrees at both head-tube and seat-tube, which explains the nicely nifty but not over-sharp handling – the Pista track bike in the range has a more upright head angle of 72.3 and no doubt a risk of toe overlap with the front wheel – something blissfully absent with the excellent Mokba.

Electra TicinoIf you were asked to draw your idea of a typical 1950s all-American cruiser bike, chances are you’d end up with something like the Electra Ticino. You could easily

ELECTRA TICINO FRAME 7 Surprisingly light, comfortable and lively. Relaxed angles make for relaxed riding. HANDLING 7 The big rake and swooping bar make for lazy steering, but it goes where you want it to. .EQUIPMENT 8 Reliable Shimano gearing plus pretty finishing touches including a classic looking crankset and mudguards.WHEELS 7 Chromed and reasonably light – they roll smoothly and are reasonably nippy.

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS FRAME 6061 Butted aluminium, Electra steel fork DRIVETRAIN Shimano 2300 16-speed STIWHEELS Electra Elite double wall alloy WEIGHT 10kg/22lb

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and the wraparound stays mean that they don’t rattle. We also liked the machined aluminium cranks which are reminiscent of classic TA Pro-5-Vis (Cyclo Touriste) models. The rear rack is small and only takes small or tapered bags as heel clearance is an issue with big ’uns. Quite a few of the Ticino’s components are tagged Cyclo-Touriste but we’re not sure that it’s a bike for epic rides, more like epic views that you should sit up and enjoy.

Principia Evolve Disc“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things” is a quote attributed to Sir Isaac Newton and it’s printed along the inside of the chainstay of the Principia Evolve Disc. Perhaps more famously Newton also said, “To every action there is always opposed and equal reaction…” and some of the observed reaction to the Principia’s bold pop art inspired looks fell distinctly on the ‘opposed’ side.

32mm tyres. The lazy steering – thanks to the long, extravagantly raked fork – adds to the relaxed feel.

For town riding and reasonable distance cruising, the Shimano 2300 group offers a decent enough range of gears, although the riding position does mean the Ticino isn’t

the fastest ascender of steep slopes as it really isn’t a bike for getting out of the saddle and honking. Whack it down into a low gear and continue to dawdle upwards, though, and the 2300 double and 8-speed SRAM 12-26 cassette is capable enough.

A few of the details on the Ticino are really pleasing though – this is, after all, a stylish bike. The classic hammered pseudo Honjo aluminium mudguards are very pretty

But hell, surely being stylish is about pushing a few boundaries, and the Danish Principia – a brand with a decent record of building classy road bikes – does that. Let’s be honest, put some of the current crop of flat-barred hybrids in a police line-up and you’d be hard pressed to pick out which one

The taking-it-easy approach is aided by the Ticino’s ride

PRINCIPIA EVOLVE FRAME 8 Garish, but light aluminium, nicely made and smooth rolling. Carbon fork adds comfort. HANDLING 8 A great commuting bike – sharp and direct but stable and predictable.EQUIPMENT 7 Tiagra is reliable, the Bengal Helix discs work fine and it’s all colour matched! WHEELS 7 Principia’s own wheels spin up nicely – solid and unspectacular .

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS FRAME Aluminium with carbon forkDRIVETRAIN 18-speed Shimano TiagraWHEELS Principia disc, Conti Ultra Race tyres WEIGHT 10.4kg/22.88lb without pedals

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was guilty of looking dullest.Ordinarily of course, Danish design is

associated with functionality and simplicity – we all love Arne Jacobsen’s Chair 7, don’t we? – and underneath its skin the Evolve is actually rather simple and functional. And we don’t mean that in a bad way – it’s a thoroughly decent, commuting-friendly bike.

With an all-in weight of 10.4kg, the 57cm Evolve on test isn’t the lightest alloy hybrid out there, but it isn’t necessarily outclassed. In fact it felt lighter than the scales showed – both when being manhandled and when being ridden.

On the road the Evolve impressed everyone who rode it – for starters, when you’re looking at the road you’re not looking at the frame. That’s made from Principia’s

rotors are painted white, while rack mounts on the rear and the mudguards add all-weather and all-year versatility.

While the reaction to the Evolve’s looks was mixed in the office, we’re pleased to report that the expected catcalls, wolf whistles and ‘hello sailors’ from burly builders failed to materialise. Which was a little disappointing… In fact, the wider public seemed to like it – few bikes have received quite so many curious looks and questions. Whether they’d buy and ride one, of course, is another matter. And then there’s the question of whether you want a bike, especially a town bike, to draw too many admiring glances…

But if you’re flamboyant, and security focused, the Evolve is a fine ride. We reckon that it wouldn’t feel out of place with a drop bar, and although the £1099 list price puts it tantalisingly over the Cycle to Work limit, it’s still pretty decent value. If a little garish.

Viva Bellissimo It’s easy to dismiss bikes like the Viva Bellissimo as anachronisms that don’t

VIVA BELLISSIMO FRAME 4 Nicely finished steel but the steep head angle creates a racy position at odds with rest of the bike. HANDLING 2 Fine in a straight line, but the toe-overlap means slow manoeuvring around town is horrible.EQUIPMENT 5 Shimano’s Nexus hub works well, but the one-piece bar and stem is incredibly uncomfortable . WHEELS 5 The chrome rims look lovely and Schwalbe’s Delta Cruiser tyres are good, but the wheels are weighty.

own triple-butted PMA tubing and this offered a smooth and fast ride. The comfort level impressed with the frame and Principia own-brand carbon fork and wheels doing a decent job of soaking up city centre potholes. Sharp, direct handling adds to the sorted feel.

The wheels are Principia’s own as well and spun up to speed quickly and stayed true despite plenty of towpath mileage. Bengal Helix disc brakes aren’t particularly well known or widely specced here in the UK, but they did a good job – plenty powerful enough and easy to modulate. The Evolve is also very well put together – look beyond the paint and the welds are neat, the bike feels solid, and everything is colour coordinated – even the centres of the disc

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS FRAME Lugged chromoly steel frame and forkDRIVETRAIN 7-speed Shimano NexusWHEELS Chrome rims with 28mm Schwalbe tyresWEIGHT 13.6kg/29.9lb

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ELECTRA TICINO

CIOCC MOKBA 80

Comfy, laid back and surprisingly light. Sit up and enjoy the view 7

Fast, fun and comfortable. It’s a pretty snappy dresser too 8

belong in the carbon fi bre clad 21st century or, perhaps worse, style accessories designed simply to make Nathan Barleys empty out the pockets of their skinny jeans for the latest two-wheeled look. Check out the excellent blogs Copenhagen Chic and Copenhagenize, though, and you’ll see what appear to be thousands of good looking folk riding around on good looking bikes like the Bellissimo. For cyclists, the Danish capital is by all accounts wonderful – miles and miles of cycling lanes, and priority for bikes over pedestrians and cars – and retro styled bikes aren’t retro styled bikes, they’re just bikes. Everyone’s got one!

So, should we make like the Danish? Well, as Evans Cycles is now stocking a large selection of Vivas, the ‘Copenhagenising’ of Britain’s high streets is a distinct possibility. On a purely aesthetic level we think the Viva urban range is one of the prettiest out there and the prices are competitive.

For this test we went for the 7-speed Bellissimo in powder blue and very fi rst impressions were good. The lugged frame looks lovely and it’s all fi nished to a high standard. It’s not light, but then it’s steel in combination with a Shimano Nexus hub gear and as soon as you add these to a bike the scales take a battering. On the fl ip side, you’ll likely get reliability and little need to get your hands greasy.

The Bellissimo has the look and feel of the café racer about it – the low bar giving you a slightly stretched out position. Sadly, something is lost in translation as the Bellissimo disappoints almost as soon as you start pedalling. The frame isn’t too bad – it feels like the simple steel number it is, neutral and rideable. In a straight line… But every tester quickly discovered the Bellissimo’s fi rst big fl aw: toe overlap.

While manoeuvring at low speeds – like one does when riding through town – toes were repeatedly clipping the loop-over mudguard stays. This soon became tiresome, especially as the natural reaction when toes hit ’guards is to backpedal, which on the Bellissimo simply engaged the coaster brake.

While that was disappointing, it was nothing compared to the ride. As we’ve said, the frame and fork seem fi ne. It’s hard to be sure, though, as the front end of the Bellissimo is possibly one of the harshest we’ve come across. The one-piece chromoly bar/stem appears to have no fl ex at all, so almost every road imperfection was transmitted to our hands. This was exacerbated by the low sporty position as the rider’s weight is forced forwards. We simply couldn’t fi nd a comfortable position and every tester ended up having to shake out their numbed hands after a few miles.

It’s a shame because we really wanted to like the Bellissimo, but we just didn’t – riding it for anything more than a couple of miles was simply too much of an effort.

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THE STYLEISSUE

PRINCIPIA EVOLVEIncredibly flamboyant paint scheme on a lovely commuter 8

VIVA BELLISSIMO

THE VERDICT

Whether something is stylish or not is, of course, a matter of personal taste. It’s fair to say though that all four of the bikes tested here have something in their appearance that sets them apart from other bikes out there. Principia’s Evolve is without doubt the most extreme example – its paint job is a love it or hate it affair and, to be honest, many people simply won’t be able to see beyond it. They should try, though, because this Danish hybrid is very good. It’s a more than capable commuter, which could easily be called on for longer riding. Perhaps a more restrained version is required.

Beautiful by name and looks but not so attractive to ride 4

Viva’s Bellissimo, on the other hand, is a big disappointment. It looks great and, on paper, should be a lovely choice for hipster types. But the toe overlap means it’s awful at slow speeds and the unforgiving stem/bar means it’s a proper chore to ride any distance. We’d like to try other Vivas to see if it’s a one off, as we love the looks.

Electra seems to have got a better grip on how to blend retro-chic and everyday usability with its Ticino. It’s a surprising bike – lighter than it looks and a heap of fun to ride. We challenge anyone to ride it without smiling – it encourages you to add a horn and wave gaily at passers by. Finally, Ciocc’s Mokba 80 isn’t the cheapest singlespeed around, but if you want an exclusive, attractive statement bike for shooting around town there’s not much to match its lively, exciting ride.

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Documents

Style and substance? - rossinbikes.co.ukrossinbikes.co.uk/pdfs/press-cyp240 biketest.pdf · Cycling Plus f37 CIOCC MOKBA 80 £930F/F A homage to a bike ridden at the Moscow Olympics,