BIKE TEST EXCLUSIVE
Astheaveragegradientincreases,theHVRT’srigidity
ensuresallofoureffortscount.
We’reridingwitha groupandwheneverwesitinand
grindawayonthebike’slowest 36 x 28gear,thecomfort
affordedbyitscleverrearendandclassyFabricALM
Ultimatesaddleis verywelcome.Theclimbsalsogive
usa chancetoconsiderthewheels,animpressive
collaborationbetweenRondoandBritishwheelbrand
Hunt.The50mm-deepcarbonrim(witha wide21mm
internalwidth)they’vecomeupwithdoesn’tfeellike
thesortofwheelthatshouldworkonclimbs.Butthe
1,487gcombinedweightis prettymuchclass-leading
andtheyrespondaswellaswheelshalftheirdepth.
Whenourgroupreachesthehighestpointontheride,
weenjoya welcomecaféstop,duringwhichourguide
Kyriacos,a CypriotXCMTBchampionandself-
confessedclimbingaddict,tellsusthenextchunkof
ourrideis fastanddownhillwithplentyoftightturns.
Aswe’vetakena turnbacktowardsthecoast,thewind
haspickedup,sothisis goingtobea decenttestforan
aerobikewithdeepcarbonwheels.
Thefirstfewkilometresarefullofhairpins.The
Dura-AcediscbrakeswiththeirIcetechrotorsgeta big
workouthereand,justastheHVRThandleswith
pinpointaccuracy,thehydraulicbrakesoffera similar
levelofcontrol.TheHuntwheelscopewellwithgusting
crosswinds,neversnappingorjarringsidewaysbutonly
ever succumbing to them with a feeling of sidewaysWhetherridden
inthedramatic
Cypriotlandscape
oronSomerset
trails,thisbike
performs beautifullypressurethat’seasytocounter.Atthebaseofthe
descentwe’restillaboutanhourawayfromhome.
Theroutefromhereis mostlyflatandgentlydownhill
butwe’rerunningoutofdaylightsoourgroupforms
intoa chaingangandwetaketurnspullingtokeep
theaveragespeedcloseto45km/h.Duringthisfinal
stretch,theHVRTfeelseveryinchtheracebikethat
Kobylinskiintendedit tobe,andwhenwearriveback
we’resurprisedthata bikethat’sas versatile as this
hasn’toncefeltcompromised.GRAVELGRADING
Forthesecondday’sride,weswitchthe50mm-deep
700ccarbonHuntwheelsfora setofalloy650bwheels
withballoon-like47mmWTBHorizontyres.Our
groupheadsoutonthesamebearingastheprevious
daybuttakesa graveltrailthatleadsoffthe
rollercoasterroaduptoa monastery.Andit’shere,
onthered,loose,rockydirtthatwe’reexpectingthe
HVRTtofeeloutofplace.
A dedicatedgravelbikemaybebetterforcomfort,
buttheHVRTis thrillingtorideontrailslikethis.
Withbig-volumetyresabsorbingtheworstofthe
trail’simperfection,wefindourselvespayingfar
moreattentiontoourlinesthanwewouldon,say,
ourCannondaleSlateorKinesisTripsterATR,both
ofwhichareequippedwithsuspension.It’s
very much like the difference between riding