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Always offering a good deal, Wiggle's done it again. Your eyes will pop out of your head when you see the price tag on this one.Wiggle is no stranger to the concept of cutting out the middle man, to 'home grow' a range of accessories offering outstanding value. Bikes are a different kettle of fish, though, and other top UK bicycle retailers have ventured down this road with mixed success. That's not to extinguish Wiggle's fire before it's been lit, in fact, quite the contrary. If the first incarnation, the Kiron Scandium (pronounced 'Kigh-ron') that's just landed in our office, is anything to go by, it's making all the right moves.It's an Easton tubeset, scandium forming the front triangle, coupled with an Easton EC90 carbon rear end. The fork is an Easton too, the EC90 Superlight carbon, so this is no heavyweight. The groupset is a mix of Shimano 105 and Ultegra with a Dura-ace front mech – odd, but not to be sniffed at. It has an Easton finishing kit throughout, even the bar tape, suggesting no corners have been cut. So at this point if you're anything like us, you'll be waiting to hear the big but... so here it is.But.. it's only £999.
Staggering, considering the total cost of the components alone, come to nearly as much. I like that big but, and I cannot Lie.
Kiron (pronounced "Kigh - Ron") is the latest exclusive brand to be distributed by online retailers Wiggle, and thus far there's just one model in the range - this Scandium-tubed road bike. If Wiggle are hoping to attract buyers away from mainstream brands, they're certainly going about it the right way with a killer price and impressive list of components attached to the frame. The frame is built using Easton's Scandium Race tubeset coupled with Easton EC90 carbon seat and chainstays. It's a fairly modest looking frameset, with a teardrop shaped top tube, ovalised down tube and flared head tube. Otherwise it's a straight-forward and good looking frame. The red and black paint finish with reverse decals looks smart due to its simplicity. A good first impression is made. The Easton theme is continued away from the frame with an EC90 SL carbon fork complete with carbon dropouts and CNT technology that weighs 349g. Easton is arguably one of the foremost companies specialising in producing carbon fibre components and this experience shows in the fork - it's one of the highlights of the complete package. The use of Easton-branded parts doesn't end there, with the company's EA50 range supplying the wheels, bars and stem and an EA30 seatpost clamping a Selle Italia saddle in place. The wheels, while at 1,697g not the lightest around, look great matched with the bike and ride well. It's a well built set of hoops that needed no attention during the test period. Any potential purchaser would find no complaints, but a set of lighter race wheels for Sunday best, with the EA50s reserved for normal duty, would be an attractive option that could be considered. All drivetrain components are Shimano, with a mix of 105, Ultegra and, in a somewhat odd move, a Dura-Ace front mech. Buyers will be able to choose between a compact (50/34) or double (53/39) chainset. Finally, Wiggle has fitted a pair of Pariba Provolution tyres to the wheels, not a brand that RCUK has experienced [oh yes I have - ed.]before but which offered a fast and supple ride. Wiggle offer the frame in four sizes, from 52cm to 58cm. The 56cm tested featured a head tube angle of 72.5° and a 73° seat tube angle, with a 16.5cm head tube, the numbers varying in accordance with the frame size. So far, so good. But how does it ride? Very competently is the answer.Scandium-aluminium alloy is a great material to build a frame with and in its execution here, choosing a well known tubeset supplier, seems to have a winning formula. It's light at a claimed 17.3lbs for our 56cm, which is noticeable lifting the bike out of the box and pedaling it up the first hill. Having hopped off the Scandium-tubed Kinesis GranFondo just before testing the Kiron, it was interesting how, despite very similar tubesets, the ride differs greatly. The ride quality is sportingly firm but never harsh, but noticeably harder riding than the Kinesis. It does remain well composed over a good cross-section of UK roads, though just occasionally became a little choppy on the roughest roads. Away from the rough and onto the smooth the character of the Kiron can be enjoyed. It's fast handling, the steering particularly quick with the result being any inputs are immediately turned into decisive action. Climbing, descending, hard cornering; it revels in all situations. The only hurdle the Kiron faces is drawing potential buyers away from more established brands (even including Wiggle's Focus Cayo bikes). But its jaw-dropping price tag and top spec may just do that.
The design of the bike is excellent and the execution first class.
Ignorance can be bliss, but if you want to rediscover what's been missing from the old days of steel, you need to swing a leg over this Kiron, available from online retailer Wiggle for just under a grand. Those missing qualities? A certain springiness combined with a higher frequency buzz reaching back through the bars and saddle, their perception coloured by the lovely metallic tone emanating from the bike. Our own personal benchmarks include; '87 Eddy Merckx Super Corsa Columbus SLX; '76 Ron Cooper in Reynolds 531 with incredibly steep angles, a San Marco 101 from California frame builder Dave Tesch, and more recently the present day all-aluminium Caad series from Cannondale. You could easily accuse us of old skool bias leaning heavily towards race-worthy machines, and we'd be guilty as charged. They were all endowed with what amounted to a special blend of geometry, materials, components and colour schemes. We're now adding the Kiron to the list.Although many have tried and failed before, this one hits the bulls eye: more alchemy than magic, more chance than careful rehearsal, it's one of the few dual material frames to actually live up to its promise. We're genuinely excited about this bike and the way it feels. Part of that is due to a preference for 'wysiwyg' frames; with metal, what you see is what you get, with less chance of a nasty surprise lurking in the wings, or having to scrap your bike after a crash or careless handling. But the main appeal is the scintillating ride. At a feathery 1163g, the Kiron's Scandium aluminium main frame and unusual Fiesta red and black graphics really stand out from the crowd. An Easton EC90 fork weighing just 334g up front is balanced by a bonded Easton carbon rear end featuring elegantly tapered stays. The whole package is nicely tied together by no-nonsense finishing kit consisting almost entirely of Easton EA30 components. Although generally highly functional, the slightly narrow bar meant less out of saddle leverage than is required for the nearly neutral geometry. More successful is the EA50 aero-section wheel set, which draws on traditional round stainless spokes, yet it is thoroughly modern. At the heart of the group set is a proven Shimano 105 compact drive train embellished with an Ultegra rear mech and a Dura-Ace front derailleur which worked in well rehearsed unison thanks to correctly placed external cable routing.While some of our test rigs weren't as exciting to ride as they looked, the Kiron's ride and handling characteristics hold the promise of unlimited potential (if you ignore the saddle and overbuilt seatpost). The downhill 'screaming trees' section of our test course could be taken with abandon, helped by the surefooted grip of the Pariba tyres. With just a bit of torsional flex in the upper end of the fork blades, and a smidgeon of wheel twist from the rear stays at high speed, the Kiron doesn't mind being pushed really hard. A massively stout box section bottom bracket and diamond shaped down-tube make this bike really fly on the hills, with the light front end wanting to left with every pedal stroke. On smooth surfaces, a wonderful hum emanates from the bike at speed, while small ripples and bigger impacts produce a taut 'ping' akin to a steel drum; this may not be any use at a Mardi Gras parade, but it's a constant reminder of how you're in possession of a small piece of metallurgical magic.
At a staggeringly good price of £999.99 for the Kiron Scandium, you get a seriously good package based around a ground breaking frame that captures the zing and excitement of the best steel legends. Plus the wheels are super sexy.
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