80 / /June 2019
BIKE TEST EXCLUSIVE
bikethat’smoreofa cruiserthana speedster.That’s
nottosaythetwoset-upsareworldsapart– inthis
lowpositiontheHVRTis stillmoreaggressivethan
mostendurancebikes(theCannondaleSynapsehas
a 610mmstackand393mmreach).
Forourfinalday’sridewetrythe‘road+’set-up(low-
axleand650btyres),aswe’reintendingtospendthe
threehoursonthebikedoinga spotofsightseeing.
Inthisguise,theHVRTis a differentbeastagainwith
a ridefeelsofarremovedfromthefirstday’sexperience
it’shardtobelieveit’sthesamechassis.
Whatbecomesclearfromallthisis thattogetthefull
versatilityoutoftheHVRT,youneeda secondsetof
wheels.Tohelpwiththat,RondogivesHVRTbuyersa
discountvoucherwiththeirwheelpartnersHunt,soyou
cansave15%onthealloyhoopsseen here (dropping
themfrom£319to£271.15).THREEBIKESINONE
SincetestingtheHVRTinCypruswe’veshippedit back
home and have been experimenting with it on morefamiliarroads.Evenwithoutthedramaticterrainand
sunnyweather,it’sstilla hugelyimpressivemachine,
onethatdoesa decentjobofbeingthreebikesinone:a
fastaerobike,anendurancebikeanda gravelbike.Yes,
atoversixanda halfgrand(whenyoufactorinthe
secondsetofwheels)theHVRTCF0is expensive,but
you’regettinga lightweight,aeroroadbike,equipped
withDura-Aceandrange-toppingcomponentsfrom
thelikesofFabricandEaston,nottomentionexcellent
wheelsandallthatversatility.
BeforeridingtheHVRT,we’dhavearguedthat3T’s
Explorooffersa similarlevelofversatilityata
significantlylowerprice– £4,200(whenbuiltwith
SRAM’sForce1).ButtheExplorois muchmorebiased
towardsgravel(asthe1xdrivetrainandits650b
wheelsetspecsuggests).TheHVRTis a roadbikeat
heartbutonethat,witha fewslightalterations,canbe
madetohandlealmostanyterrainsuperbly.If wehadto
takeonebikeona ridingholidayortrainingcamp,it’d
betheHVRT.OrGodforbid,if weonlyhadroomforone
bike in our life, it’d be hard not to choose the HVRT.“It’s still a hugely impressive
machine,one that does a
decent job of being three
bikes in one: a fast aero bike,
an endurance bike and a
gravel bike”