The square-section chain stays perfectly balance those skinny seat stays to offer a direct power transfer which doesn’t disappoint. I wouldn’t call the bike ‘lightning-quick’ under acceleration, but it didn’t lack any stiffness and certainly never felt like the bike was holding me back. These longer rides also highlighted that the long integrated seat post (ISP) offered a good level of long-term comfort at the back end, and without any feeling of fragility that I had initially feared on the basis of the ISP and seat stays being quite skinny. Combining this with considered geometry, the front end always felt well sorted and the bike was very well mannered as a consequence. Longer outings further affirmed that initial feedback. The Curve disc brake forks spec’d on this bike tracked beautifully and seemed to pair well with the solid build of the frame at the front end without any feeling of being overly stiff (I had feared the bike might feel overbuilt on account of the front end appearing quite stout). The bike was solid under power without being jarring whilst cruising. The first outing on Alpha 3 – a Shimano Ultegra Di2-equipped build with accompanying hydraulic disc brakes and Curve wheels – was a short, sharp shakedown around some local hills, which enabled a brief glimpse into what the bike had to offer on some very familiar terrain. Initial impressions suggested a smooth ride, despite obvious front end stiffness. On that basis I would never have any concerns about the quality of a production version of one of these machines – I’m quite a perfectionist and I thought the finish was lovely. The sample we were sent was their ‘Alpha 3’ test bike. All the time we were arranging the review, Ben at Bastion was highlighting to me how we should ignore the finish quality of this bike as it was not up to standard. It is an approach that is quite logical for custom lugged bikes, though, as the lugs can be created at the desired angles and ready to attach the correct tube diameters without the need for separate, costly molds and without the need for the time-consuming welding and shaping of Ti lugs ready to attach the carbon tubes.Īll of the tech aside the lug shapes, dropouts, finishes and variations in tubing thicknesses being produced by Bastion result in striking-looking bikes that you cannot help but fall in love with. They’re beautiful – and I say that as someone who, as a general rule, doesn’t like the aesthetics of road bikes with disc brakes. Mixed material carbon and titanium bikes are nothing new, but the processes being used for the titanium lugs particularly certainly are – in the bike industry at least.ģD printing (or Layer Additive Technology) has been used by a few companies before – in 2013 Charge Bikes produced the dropouts of a Titanium cyclocross prototype using this method and Moots are now using in on the rear dropouts on their Routt RSL model – but it is yet to be used to this level or on so many key structural parts of the bike frame. Technology and art have always combined in bicycles. One man’s treasure is another man’s poison but whether your treasure is a hand-built lugged steel machine draped in 8-speed Campagnolo or SRAM eTap hanging off a bang-up-to-date creation, the beauty, and elegance of a bicycle are indisputable.īastion Cycles are taking this perfect marriage up a notch by – according to their own strapline – ‘Engineering a New Art Form’. They sent one our way for a brief dalliance. We drooled over it as we pulled it out of the box, then clocked up some miles to see what it was all about.īefore we get into the bike itself, who are Bastion and what are they doing, for those who don’t know? Without diving headlong into the technical detail, Bastion are combining 3D-printed titanium lugs with filament-wound carbon tubes.
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