CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

EBC add Revolution carbon bike to their 2014 line up

(17 posts)
  • Started 10 years ago by LaidBack
  • Latest reply from le_soigneur

No tags yet.


  1. LaidBack
    Member

    Got the new EBC yellow catalogue. No recumbents yet of course ;-)

    However at the higher (middle!) end of the market is the new Revolution Wraith. This seems to be aimed at Halford's Boardman bike - a common site in Edinburgh as the most amount of carbon you can own inside the Halford equivalent of Cycleschemes £1k limit .

    Both the Wraith and the Boardman are £999.
    They both weigh roughly around 9kg.
    Compact gearing on both with EBC using Sora STIs and Halfords using Tiagras.
    EBC use FSA Vero Compact chainset. Halfords use FSA Gossamer Compact PF30

    Wraith has integral cable routing and is ready for Electronic shifting - not sure about Boardman.
    Wraith uses own branded rims / wheels with Halfords using Mavic CXP-22S rims. Both use Formula hubs.

    Anyway enough tech talk.. what I really wondered was which one (if any) would the panel buy? Has anyone got either or are people more sold on cross bikes like the Croix de Fer and copies?

    And finally what about Hoy bikes? I have only seen them in Evans showroom. This is Chris's home town so you'd expect to see more. i know that wheelsets and equipment are the things people look at in the DF sector as bikes can be very similar and often made in same factory. Graphics do count in this sector of course and one reason why EBC has re-done logo.

    I wonder if Dave can get hold of one for a review?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. SimonS
    Member

    This is my first post so be gentle!

    As someone who has recently bought his first road bike for twenty+ years I can give my view.
    I was looking for a bike to get fit. I am just over 50 and about 10kg overweight hence my desire to get a bike. My budget was up to £2000. As I have enough weight of my own I was looking for a light bike so I did not have that penalty too. On paper I looked at:-

    Boardman team Carbon, Pro Carbon, Pro SLR and the 2013 elite SLR's that they are selling off cheap.
    Specialized Roubaix
    The top 5 from the BOTY.
    Revolution Wraith
    Bianchi Impulso (I like the blue colour!)

    I reality I decided that I was not going to pay an extra £900 or so to save maybe 500g in weight so the final choice for me came down to the Boardman TC or the Wraith. Both are £999 although the Wraith is £849.15 this weekend and you can get 10% off the Boardman if you are a British cycling member.
    What made the decision for me was that despite both frames being virtually the same weight the complete TC is 850g lighter than the wraith, is 20 gears rather than 18 and has a 12-28 cassette rather than 12-25 - I need all the help that I can get up hills.
    I actually prefer the look of the wraith - there's something about the curve of the top tube and the stealth paintwork that appeals but looks won't get me up a hill!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. SRD
    Moderator

    And? Is it fun to ride? Where've you been on it?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. LaidBack
    Member

    That's a good point about gearing. 10 speed allows you a 28 without intervals becoming a problem. Didn't realise the Wraith was 18 speed. I suppose neither retailler will sell frame only. Higher end market has more potential for people kitting up bikes to their own tastes.

    Both these bikes though will appeal to those getting their heads down into the land of road biking.
    Sure there will be other contenders that I haven' t heard of.

    Oh... welcome to the forum!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    "As someone who has recently bought his first road bike for twenty+ years"

    Welcome.

    Is the first bike of any sort for 20 years?

    Might like to add to this thread.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. Kenny
    Member

    which one (if any) would the panel buy

    Yep, a yellow book fell through my door and I spotted the wraith too. No contest for me - if I was to choose between these, the Tiagra equipped, Mavic adorned bike wins.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    EBC salespatter: "If you have been making do with metal-framed bicycles up till now . . ." Ha!

    I also think you made the right choice. The Boardman is lighter, better equipped and imo looks better.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. PS
    Member

    I'm not sure being ready for electronic shifting is a key selling point at that price.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. kaputnik
    Moderator

    If you have been making do with metal-framed bicycles up till now

    I think both my metal road bikes would tip the scales at around the same as the Wraith...

    I make do with them.

    If I need to shift some weight from them I'll eat a few less cakes and drink a few less bears and cycle a few more miles.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. Arellcat
    Moderator

    My yellow book arrived the other day, too. I also spotted the new amazing carboniferous bicycle.

    My carbon bike trike weighs about 70lbs.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. Nelly
    Member

    @k "drink a few less bears"

    :-)

    Made me laugh !

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. Dave
    Member

    When I built my aluminium Strava bike I geeked out and weighed each component as it went on.

    It's 8.3kg total on a 1466g frame.

    Both the Wraith (9.45kg) and Boardman Team Carbon (8.6kg) weigh more.

    Considering that the Wraith frame is only 1020g it makes me wonder where all the rest of the weight can be!

    IIRC I spent well under a grand building mine. I guess I spent some of the savings from the Alu frame on lighter parts.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. Dave
    Member

    PS - is bike weight all that important?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. crowriver
    Member

    Speaking of metal-framed bikes, last year's Revolution Audax (carbon forks, CrMo frame) is now only £340!

    You could buy three for the price of a Wraith: one for commuting, one for 'serious' riding, and a spare for a friend or as a backup.

    Oh and they come with mudguards too.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  15. le_soigneur
    Member

    Bike weight isn't all that important. Bike stiffness, however, is. That depends on the wheels, fork/headset and frame so a metal-framed bike could be stiffer.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  16. chdot
    Admin

    "Oh and they come with mudguards too."

    Which is more than can be said for most EBC bikes!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  17. le_soigneur
    Member

    That Wraith is a freewheel so that is another place they saved money and then you find out about it on a rough road miles from anywhere in 2 years time.
    Who would spend £850 on this, with a view to loading up with £1500+ of Di2 later?

    Posted 10 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin