BilE* test Kinesis Racelight TK2
or one-bike owners, it's at
around this time of year that
you start to feel guilty about
wheeling your pride and joy
out for another ride on winter roads
covered in a blackbile of accumulated
salt, gdt and the petrochemical drool
Frame Kinesium 6000
from motor traffic.
If full-length mudguards are not
STls Tiagra 10sp
fitted, your poor bike will be subjected
to an assault of a winter cocktail that
attacks all moving parts, but most
damagingly the drivetrain
components, which are almost
directly in line with the wheels.
Expensive chainrings, derailleurs
and chains all suffer accelerated
decay. Alloy rims and brake blocks
also wear out faster, and on salted
roads even anodised components
can become pitted with unsightly
corrosion. Summer tyres with thinner
casings are more susceptible to cuts
and will inevitably puncture more
often, especially when the tread is
half-worn.
Regular washing, lubrication and
an annual freshen-up of affordable
consumables like the chain, brake
blocks and cables may prolong the life
and looks ofyour one and only best
bike. But ifyou ride all through the
year on that bike, it will lose its shiny
looks and snappy feel pretty quickly. A
couple ofhard years could also wear
out a chainset and a pair ofwheels,
major parts of the bike which may cost
hundreds to replace.
Rear mech Tiagra 10sp
Warming solution
What we've got here, in the Kinesis
Racelight TK2 with Shimano Tiagra
2012 groupset and full-length
mudguards, is a win-win solution to
the one-bike conundrum. Put simply,
the answer to the one-bike problem is
two bikes: your best bike and an
affordable number-two. Imagine
number-one bike as the prima donna
while number-two is the humble
understudy with the same looks and
build, and ready to stand in every time
the star goes down with the sniffles.
Kinesis's new-for-2012 TK2 is
much more than a winter hack, which
you'llbe relieved to hear, given that
it's priced at !1,099.99 (complete
bike). For half the money, you could
buy a budget sports bike, stick
mudguards on it and have a perfectly
but it would not be
competent rig
light, and the components, especially
the wheels, would be shagged out
after a few months of winter riding.
That's not to say you couldn't kick it
back into shape for further abuse, just
that a hack bike will never be much
more than a plodder on grotty roads.
For a grand, the TK2 offers a whoie
new order of bike, with an aluminium
frame and carbon fork designed for
UK roads and branded Shimano
Tiagra groupset and Shimano wheels.
Using 6000 series aluminium tubes
(claimed 25 per cent stronger than
6061) with aero and oversized
sections in all the usual places, it's
-
series aluminium alloy
(1,4kg in 54cm)
Fork carbon DC07 (5509)
Chainset Tiagra 10sp
172.5mm cranks,
50/34 rings
Front mech: Tiagra 10sp
Cassette Tiagra CS-4600
10sp 12-28
Chain KMC 2-9000
Brak€s Tektro R-519
Black
Wheels Shimano R500
Iyres Kenda Kriterium
25c Black
Saddle Selle San Marco
Ponza Power Lux
Seatpost K-UK Alloy 222
Bal
FSA Vero
Compact
11.8 420mm
Stem FSA 0S 190
come. It's also a relief to see Shimano
wheels, albeit a'cooking'pair of
R500-series hoops, but perfect for
winter work nevertheless. FSA Vero
compact bars and a San Marco Ponza
Power Lux saddle round out the
quality brand names sprinkled over
the TK2. Tektro provides the brakes;
ah well, you can't win them all, and
they work perfectly well.
Full-length mudguards with
mudflaps should keep the crud at bay,
and the quality of the kit will last
longer and operate better than
cheaper stuff. Remove the mudguards
for summer, and you could carry on
using it, saving your best bike for most
important rides in the best weather.
Owning a second bike like a TK2 is
a win-win scenario that could see you
halving the mileage you do on your
best bike. More importantly, the
Kinesis would become a muchloved
rig for those winter epics.
Bar tape Black Cork
Headset FsA 0rbit
Colours Black cheny
metallic/off white or
steel grey metallic/tech
white
Sizes 48.5L,54,57,60,
63cm
Contact www.
kinesisbikes.co.uk
incredibly neatly welded and not
unattractive, with curved seatstays
designed to soak up road vibes better
than straight tubes.
There are ample clearances and
drillings for mudguard eyes, plus a
rack and double bottle cages. You
could go touring on a TK2 with
panniers or saddlebag, for which it
would look the part and tick another
box on the TK2 to-do list.
Comfort is what the TK2 does best.
The head tube is taller than before,
and the optional DC07 carbon fork
with mudguard eyes on the alloy
dropouts is a worthwhile upgrade to
the aluminium blades. Frame and fork
(carbon) arejust under 2kg, so it's no
lightweight, but there's a real quality
feel to the build and finish of the TK2.
In white and grey that a battleshiP
would be proud of, it's no head-turner.
Would sir like to try the metallic
cherry and oflwhite option instead?
At the helm
There's nothing to scare the horses
when it comes to riding the TK2.
Steering rewards a positive turn of the
bars and weight-transfer to the inside
of the bike. but the resulting curve is
smooth and ultra-stable. On faster and
narrower tyres than the 25c fat Kenda
Kriteriums, you might win back some
Iiveliness, but for winter riding
rock-solid handling and big tyres work
just fine.
Kinesis has put together a build kit
that is hard to fault, with the 10-speed
Tiagra compact system offering
Shimano's seamless gear-changing,
which you know wiil stay in
adiustment for thousands of miles to
www.upgradebikes.co.uk
trFF-ROAD DEtrISIDN
Kinesis Maxlisht XC130
€339.99 (framE only)
For about the same price as the road TK2, you couLd
bui[d up one of Kinesis's mtb f rames and open up
a whoLe new wortd on chunky tyres. Kinesis UK
reaLty knows the British market, and aLL its f rames
are designed for our roads and traiLs. The XC1 30
is a hardtaiI frame, so you coutd opt for a rigid or
suspension fork. Winter riding on an mtb is a Lot of
fun, on or off road, and in the summeryou can roam
dusty singletrack and del.ight in the sotitude of
off-roading. A tricky decision. Can I take both?
MARCH
2012 CYCTII{G ACTIVE
33