Young British firm Radial offers a range of road, mountain and hybrid bikes that are sold directly to the UK market. We got our hands on its £1,299 Revere Carbon 1.1 road bike to see if this newcomer has a name worth remembering.
Firstly, there's a full carbon frame and fork, UK designed and produced in Asia. The frame is full of interesting shapes and avoids the generic look we've come to expect at this price point. Slender, curvy seatstays contrast proudly with the rest of the frame's oversized tubing, while the unusual clear coat finish is the sort that's hard to appreciate in a photograph.
The transmission consists solely of Shimano's much loved and suitably stealthy 11-speed 105 components. As far as braking is concerned, our bike came fitted with Tektro calipers rather than the 105 parts listed on Radial's website. All cables are internally routed.
The Revere rolls on Easton EA70 SL hoops, which feature a wider than usual 17.5mm internal rim width, providing a better profile for the ever-popular comfort driven movement towards wider tyres and lower pressures.
Slender seatstays contrast with an otherwise butch looking frame
The finishing kit is all own-brand gear and places function over form, exactly what we want to see at this price.
We weighed the Revere at 8.18kg (18lbs) complete with pedals, so it's a sub-8kg machine, too. We'll be putting some mileage into this one – stay tuned for a full review.
