Online retailers Wiggle have been developing their own range of road bikes, and they've given us a sneak peek.
The bikes will carry the name 'Verenti' – apparently this has its origins in the French word 'verité' and Latin 'veritas', meaning 'Truth' – and the first production spec models have just arrived at the company's Portsmouth HQ.
There will be five bikes in the initial line-up – the full-carbon Rhigos.01, .02 and .03, the alloy/carbon Millook and the aluminium Kilmeston – pitched firmly at the sportive market.
They've been designed for Wiggle by Marc Edwardson, who previously worked for Condor, and are said to offer high performance, meticulous attention to detail (especially in terms of components, colour schemes and finish) and great value.
Rhigos
The Rhigos is named after one of the most challenging climbs on the Verenti Dragon Ride sportive, set to take place in June (see below).
The flagship .01 model comes with a full SRAM Red groupset, Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels, and parts from 3T and Verenti's own 'Me' range. Even the barrel adjusters are carbon on this £2,899.99 ride.
The .02 gets white lugs instead of red, SRAM Rival and Me kit, plus Mavic Elites, and comes in at £1,799.99, while the £1,399.99 Rhigos.03 gets black lugs, SRAM Rival and ME kit, plus Mavic Aksiums.
Cycling Plus editor Rob Spedding has ridden a pre-production Rhigos.02, and he told us: "I was impressed. The Rhigos was a really comfortable but nicely responsive machine. We’ll be reviewing the full range ASAP."
Millook
The Millook, named after a punishing climb on the Verenti Cornwall Tor sportive (see below), has a triple-butted 7046 alloy mainframe with 3K carbon stays and a full-carbon fork. It comes with SRAM Rival and Me kit, plus Mavic Aksiums, for £1,199.99.
Kilmeston
The Kilmeston is named after a peaceful Hampshire village that Verenti's director Paul Bolwell cycles through on his training rides – "the tranquility and lack of cars sums up why I love riding so much," he says.
For £899.99 you get a 7005 aluminium frame, full-carbon fork, SRAM Rival and Me kit, plus own-brand Verenti wheels.
We'll bring you more on these bikes as soon as we can, including reviews. To help launch them, Wiggle will be hosting 18 sportives across the UK this year. More details will be released soon, but for now here are the dates:
Verenti Official Sportives 2010
- 28 March: Cheshire Cat (Crewe)
- 16 May: Cornwall Tor
- 6 June: Verenti Dragon Ride
- 13 June: The Magnificat
- 20 June: Kiron 100km Sportive at Mountain Mayhem
- 27 June: Flatout in The Fens
- 5 August: Wild Edric (Shropshire)
- 3 October: The Rut (Rutland)
- 30 October: Tour Of The Peak
Wiggle Super Series Sportives 2010
- 18 April: New Forest Spring Sportive
- 25 April: The North Downs Dash (Dorking)
- 2 May: Jurassic Beast Road (Dorchester)
- 30 May: The Sussex Scramble (Pulborough)
- 26 June: The Long One – 200K Epic (Chichester)
- 11 July: Mega Meon (Waterlooville)
- 1 August: Haywards Heath Howler
- 3 October: The New Forest 100 Sportive
- 24 October: The South Downs 100 Sportive
