New bikes from KTM, Stevens and Merckx

Today we bring you a second installment of tech coverage from Eurobike's media preview camp. For those who missed yesterday's coverage, here's where to catch up on the latest kit from Scott, Cannondale, Cube, GT, Marin and more!

KTM Revelator Prestige

Austria’s KTM unveiled an all-new version of its race-ready Revelator frameset. French team Marseille 13 is racing the current Revelator for 2015, but they’re expected to switch to the new chassis shortly.

The new frame features Shimano’s new direct-mount standard for fork and the rear brake. The rear brake caliper is now tucked under the chainstays behind the bottom bracket. The loss of a brake bridge allowed KTM’s designers to re-profile the seatstays to induce a little comfort-giving flex. The company also switched to a manufacturing process that allows them to make the stays in single piece, optimizing the carbon layup to allow more flex. That combined with the completely-new seatpost clamp, which is integrated into the frame, just forward of the seat tube, leaves plenty of room for the 27.2mm carbon seatpost to flex, providing further comfort enhancement.

Comfort is a priority with the new Revelator Prestige

The geometry is the same up front as the previous Revelator (73 degrees) and a 160 mm head tube (on the 55cm model). The wheelbase is around a metre and it’s combined with short 405mm chainstays to make the bike nice and responsive in the handling stakes. KTM has steepened the seat angle (75.48 degrees on a 55cm) which it claim this allows for better power transfer as the rider is more ‘above’ the cranks. The frame weight is claimed to be around 950g. KTM told us the company prefers to build frames around strength, rather than chasing the lightest weights, as that seems to be the fashion for 2016.

The Prestige bike has a target price (all will be confirmed by Eurobike) of €6,999 for the top flight Dura Ace Di2 model, with the Prime Di2 (Ultegra Di2) €3,999, and the Prime (Ultegra) €3,199, no UK, AUS, or US prices have been set.

Revelator Sky

Sky is the name KTM have chosen for its new disc equipped Revelator, it shares the same design features as the Prestige but with the obvious addition of thru-axles front and rear. The front end is a little taller than the Prestige (by using a longer fork) they say to make this bike more appropriate for Gran Fondo or Sportive riders. The disc version also has clearance for wider 28mm tyres (the standard bike is limited to 25’s). We had chance to take the Sky out on a hot and hilly 3-hour ride and came away impressed with how the bike rode. Its sharp handling, and the braking from the 785 hydro units is impressive, and the added stiffness from the thru’ axles meant no vibration or noise even on a fast alpine descent.

The comfort levels are good (mainly thanks to the big volume conti tyres) but we have ridden smoother bike of its type, though we liked how exciting an experience the Sky disc is. We have to say that we are looking forward to getting our hands on one for a much longer test period.

Stevens Sniper

Germany’s Stevens had on show the oh-so-cool camo Sniper CX bike. It’s a special edition of its highly regarded Prestige cross-made for current Dutch under 23 champion Mathieu van der Poel.

The bike gets its name from Van der Poel, and his a reputation of always knowing the ideal point in a race to pull the trigger for a devastating attack. Like pretty much all of the bikes at the Preview show pricing details were thin on the ground, and availability too. We expect more information at Eurobike in late August.

Merckx Gravel

The Merckx brand’s reinvention is continuing apace with this latest addition to the expanding line-up. It’s called the Strasbourg ’71 carrying on the theme of naming bikes after famous Eddy victories (which gives a lot of room for plenty more models). It's named after a race which finished its final few kilometres on a purely gravel surface, with Merckx taking victory.

The bike itself will be around €3,000 (no UK, US, or AUS prices yet) and is based around a premium alloy frame, with plenty of clearance for big tyres (it comes fitted with huge 32mm Continental Gransports). The frame also features both fender and rear rack mounts aiming this squarely at the commuter arena, but capable of so much more. It’ll be running full Shimano 105 complete with Hydraulic brakes stopping 140mm rotors.