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Vielo V+1

8
£5,499.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Formidable road plus/adventure/gravel/gnarmac bike with speed, comfort and lovely handling
Weight: 
8,540g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The V+1, a road plus/gravel/adventure carbon bike from new brand Vielo, is a triumph of design. It offers a highly impressive ride: smooth and composed, fast and fun, and bristles with smart details that make it as practical as it is intoxicating. At £5,499 it's not cheap, but if you've got deep pockets and want a versatile and highly capable bike for taming rough roads and going wild in the back of beyond, you're in for a real treat.

  • Pros: Smooth, comfortable, fast, versatile, very capable, looks great
  • Cons: Very expensive, reserved paint jobs

Vielo is a new brand founded by father and son duo Ian and Trevor Hughes, who between them boast an impressive 35 years of experience in the bike industry. After years of promoting other bike brands they've decided to bring together everything they've learnt into their own offering, and in the V+1 have produced a bike that really is of the moment. There's space for wide tyres, geometry intended to work well on and off the road, versatility baked into the beautiful carbon frame... it's an exciting new offering in a crowded marketplace.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

Ride and handling

What's it like to ride? In a word – or rather, three – it's fast, exciting and fun. The way it responds so lightly to your input at the handlebar and the awesome cushioning effect of the fat tyres give you the first hint that the V+1 is something special even before you reach the end of the road.

Vielo V+1 - riding 3.jpg

The pretty horrendous weather that accompanied my time with the Vielo meant that I mainly tested its 'road plus' capability, since all my local off-road routes resemble a quagmire at the moment, and nothing short of a tractor is going to cut through that gloop. I hope to be able to swing a leg over the bike again in the summer when the trails dry out to really put it through its paces on a wider mixture of terrain and challenges.

Even confined mainly to the roads, and a few harder packed off-road tracks, the V+1 still shone. Think of it as an endurance bike on steroids and you're pretty much there.

Vielo V+1 - riding 2.jpg

It's clear the V+1 has its sights set on the Open UP, one of the foremost bikes in the fledgeling but rapidly expanding gravel and adventure bike market. So it's useful to draw some comparisons, since I spent a good deal of time aboard the UP and it's one of the standouts of all the test bikes I've reviewed in the last couple of years.

First of all, let's look at the numbers. The V+1 comes in a better spread of sizes, five in total, compared to four for the UP, from XS to XL. The medium test bike I rode has a 71-degree head angle, 1,026.9mm wheelbase, 48mm fork offset, 52.5mm bottom bracket drop, 150mm head tube and 380mm reach and 554.2mm stack.

> Bamboozled by bike speak? Read our A-Z jargon buster

Compared to the Open UP, the V+1 is slacker, longer and lower. Those differences, though slight, are noticeable on the road. The V+1 displays a superb stability: show it a fast descent and it carves easily through the bends; rough roads don't unsettle its composure; loose surfaces don't shake and rattle your confidence. Vielo has clearly achieved its stated aim of producing a bike for the road cyclist fed up with being shaken to pieces on poorly maintained tarmac.

There's clearance for wide tyres and the big 38mm Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres, inflated to about 45-50psi for my 65kg bodyweight, combined with the slender tube shapes of the frame, intended to enhance compliance, really help to deliver a satisfyingly smooth ride. It simply glides over rough patches of broken tarmac. Nothing fazes it. Potholes, cracks, cattle grids, sunken drain covers – it handles them all so well.

Vielo V+1 - fork clearance.jpg

Those small dimples all over the G-One tyres enhance traction in bad conditions. Rain-soaked and mud-covered lanes are their forte. They give you a good sense of just how much traction there is to play with on the road, making you feel safer travelling at speed. Add in the tubeless setup, and the peace of mind is fabulous. But mud tyres they are not, so if you plan to venture far from the road at this time of year you might want to consider a tyre change first. Or wait until the mud dries out. Vielo offers the meatier G-One Bite tyres if you want to venture off-road more frequently.

Don't for a second think those big tyres trade speed for comfort, though, because boy are they fast. Get moving and the effort required diminishes and they zip along the road at a decent pace. It was little slower than an endurance bike on 28mm tyres. The V+1 has the feeling of speed and comfort usually expected of an endurance bike but with the comfort dial turned up to 11.

Vielo V+1 - rim and tyre.jpg

It's a lot of fun to ride too. As you can tell so far, the V+1 is highly adept at smoothing out poorly surface roads and providing a very stable and composed ride, but throw loads of rapid direction changes at it and the bike comes to life, showing an agility and sprightliness that makes it a really enjoyable bike to ride. Slow and pondering it's not.

Frame design

For its first frame, Vielo has pulled a blinder. It's an impressive accomplishment. There's a high level of design and attention to detail on display, with the years of experience really shining through. It brings a lot of features and design cues that are increasingly common on such bikes, with a couple of extra ones that are often omitted.

Vielo V+1.jpg

As you'd hope for the money, it's one very light frame. A claimed weight of 890g for the frame and 400g for the fork is competitive with the new Open UPPER and it's much lighter than the 3T Exploro. It's in the same ballpark as endurance bikes like the Cannondale Synapse.

As is common with bikes of this sort, it's designed to accommodate 700C x 42mm or 650B x 2.1in wheels and tyres, allowing the bike to be tailored to the requirements of any rider and terrain. With thru-axles and disc brakes, you could easily have two sets of wheels to suit different requirements: fat slicks for road riding, chunky gravel or mountain bike tyres for off-road exploits. The supplied tyres lean towards a road preference with some off-road capability provided it's dry and hard-packed ground.

It's a lovely looking frame, with squashed oval tube shapes and a slender elegance to the way the tubes all come together. The profile of the top tube, down tube and stays is aimed at providing the best balance of stiffness and compliance, with the down tube increasing in size as it heads towards the press-fit bottom bracket. I'd wager that bottom bracket will lose it some fans, but it presented no issues during testing.

Vielo V+1 - seat tube junction.jpg

An oversized head tube accommodates a tapered steerer tube and a fork with curved round blades and a lack of bulk compared with some fork designs. It's all very pleasing on the eye, as is the paint job and reserved graphic treatment.

Vielo V+1 - fork.jpg

The frame is brimming with neat details. The front brake hose is routed inside the fork. The rear brake hose and derailleur cable enter one of two available ports on the flat down tube. There's even internal routing for the dropper post, an optional extra on this bike, with the left gear shift lever put into action to activate the RockShox Reverb seatpost. The seat clamp is tucked away inside the seat tube and accessed below the top tube, and a rubber seal around the seat tube opening prevents mud and water ingress.

Vielo V+1 - rear.jpg

Protecting the expensive carbon fibre are small metal plates on the chainstay, both behind the crankset and also near the disc brake, the latter to prevent accidentally dinging the brake rotor into the frame when installing the wheel.

Vielo V+1 - crank.jpg

There are all manner of bolts across the frame and fork for attaching racks, mudguards, bottles, tool boxes and food pods. SKS mudguards can be fitted easily, there's an extra bottle cage mount on the underside of the down tube for those rides when the standard two inside the front triangle aren't enough, or for adding a tool keg, and there's a bento box top tube mount.

Vielo V+1 - underside bosses.jpg

I'm less convinced of this last one (pictured below) simply because there don't seem to be that many bags/boxes designed around this two-bolt fixing, but there are loads of strap-on top tube bags from the likes of Alpkit, Apidura, Miss Grape and so on. The V+1 will even take a Tubus rack if you prefer to go against the trend for bikepacking bags and fit some panniers. It has all the bases covered, perhaps except a dynamo routing in the fork, but that's straying away from what this bike is designed for. Though it would be an ideal bike for a ride like the Transcontinental Race.

Vielo V+1 - top tube bosses.jpg

A common sight on adventure bikes are 1x11 groupsets. The simplicity, extra mud and tyre clearance, one less thing to go wrong, and wide-range cassettes making up for the reduced chainring number, are all very appealing on bikes designed to duke it out on any surface. Vielo goes a step further than most brands and has designed the frame entirely around a 1x11 drivetrain; there is no provision for a front mech at all. Freed from the constraints of having to accommodate a front mech, it allows the seat tube and bottom bracket to be better optimised in the pursuit of frame stiffness.

Vielo V+1 - crank 2.jpg

Naturally, it's a disc brake only bike, with 12mm thru-axles and post mount brake fixings and the option to fit a 180mm disc rotor on the fork. There's nothing wrong with post mount, all mountain bikes still use this standard, but the road market, because of Shimano's might, is largely moving over to flat mount. It's smaller, neater and lighter, but that aside there's no great advantage. Still, I'd hazard a guess that riders might prefer flat mount on this bike rather than the ability to fit a 180mm rotor, something I see no evidence of in the gravel and adventure bike market. Maybe that's the next big trend and Vielo has simple future-proofed the frame... But do you really need more power/heat management than a 160mm currently offers?

Vielo V+1 - front disc brake.jpg

Much has been made of the bike's UK focused design, but many were quick to question precisely what that means. In the case of the V+1, it's in regard to such details as the cable routing, intended to suit our preference for moto-style brakes (front brake right) and the addition of mudguard eyelets, something that is missing on several high-end carbon gravel and adventure bikes in the market. Whether that's enough to warrant the UK specificity is open to debate, but there's no denying mudguard eyelets and neater cable routing are a good thing.

Equipment

You can buy the V+1 as a frameset (£2,999) or the complete bike in the same build as the bike tested here for £5,499, or without the RockShox Reverb seatpost for £5,299.

SRAM is enjoying a lot of exposure with its single ring groupsets on bikes like the V+1, and the Force 1x11 is a natural choice here: powerful hydraulic disc brakes with a mechanical rear derailleur presiding over a wide-range 10-42t cassette, and a choice of 38 or 42-tooth chainrings up front. It all works as seamlessly as usual, but top marks to Vielo for making the shifting extra silky, smoother than I've ever experienced with a SRAM Force or Rival groupset. What's your secret Vielo?

Vielo V+1 - dirvetrain.jpg

A solid and dependable list of equipment is a prerequisite on a bike like this, and the DT Swiss CR 1600 Spline 23 wheels are a prime choice. This wheelset comes straight out of DT's cyclo-cross and gravel range and combines proven DT Swiss 350 hubs with the company's star ratchet freehub, straight pull spokes and a 22mm internal width, tubeless-ready rim.

Vielo V+1 - rear hub.jpg

Weighing in at 1,720g they're not the lightest wheels but durability and strength trump such concerns on a bike designed to take some abuse. These wheels are certainly strong. If you're feeling flush, Vielo will happily upgrade to some Lightweights...

I've already mentioned the tyres, which are superb on the road, but if you do plan to embark on more off-road riding, Vielo will supply 38mm Schwalbe G-One Bite tyres, which offer a bit more, erm, bite in slippery conditions. The 38mm Schwalbe G-One Speeds are just fine for predominantly road-based action. You can read a review of these big-chamber tyres here.

Vielo V+1 - tyre.jpg

As well as developing its own frame, Vielo has also designed its own handlebar and stem to complement the frameset. While the stem is made from aluminium, the handlebar is moulded from high-modulus carbon fibre and has a 65mm reach, 120mm drop and 8-degree flare, and weighs a claimed 200g. It's a really comfortable shape when riding on the tops, and the flared drops provide a little extra control when descending.

Vielo V+1 - bars.jpg

The RockShox Reverb seatpost allows you to drop the saddle down out of the way, handy when tackling steep descents that have you off the back of the bike. It's neatly controlled by the redundant SRAM front shift lever, neat because the Reverb is normally activated by a hydraulic push button. For road riding it's of little use, and I'd steer towards the regular carbon seatpost if you don't plan to stray too far off the road, but if you have desires to really get adventurous then the ability to lower the saddle is a boon.

Vielo V+1 - saddle and dropper post.jpg

The saddle in question is a Fabric Scoop Shallow Race with carbon fibre rails. It's very comfortable. Enough said.

All that little lot adds up to 8.54kg (18.82lb) on the scales.

Rivals

The Vielo V+1 is pitched into the same space that's currently occupied by the likes of the Open UP/UPPER and 3T Exploro, two very high-end, highly capable and highly accomplished adventure and gravel bikes. And like the Vielo, they come with correspondingly hefty price tags. But the Vielo does enough, and more, to hold its head high in such company.

> Buyer's Guide: 18 of the best 2018 gravel & adventure bikes

I haven't ridden the Exploro, but I have the UP, extensively, and in my view the Vielo just nudges ahead. It's noticeably smoother than the UP on rough roads, the handling feels more natural on the road, and it's more versatile with the addition of mudguard eyelets, a godsend for UK cyclists.

Conclusion

The new Vielo V+1 taps into the growing appetite for bigger tyres and increased versatility, with a beautifully designed and lightweight carbon frame and fork that provide splendid handling and performance. It's fast and smooth and can be considered an alternative to an endurance bike as it's no slower but the comfort is noticeably better, yet it has the potential to be taken off-road with the right tyre choice.

Vielo V+1 - riding 4.jpg

Verdict

Formidable road plus/adventure/gravel/gnarmac bike with speed, comfort and lovely handling

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Vielo V+1

Size tested: 55cm

About the bike

State the frame and fork material and method of construction. List the components used to build up the bike.

SHIFTING - SRAM Force 1

REAR MECH - SRAM Force 1 long cage 11 speed

CHAINSET - SRAM Force 1 42T 30mm axle

CASSETTE - SRAM XO1 XG-1195 10/42 Black

CHAIN - KMC DLC 11 Diamond Black 271g

BB - Stainless Double sealed PF2BB30

AXLES - Vielo A2T alloy QR fast thread 145gm

BRAKES

DISC - SRAM Force hydraulic 170mm

ROTORS - Front, 140mm Rear

WHEELS

DT SWISS - CR1600 Spline 23

TYRES - Schwalbe G-One speed 700x38C

CONTACT AREAS

BAR - Vielo High Modulus Carbon fibre 8 Degree flair, 65mm reach, 120mm drop, 200gm

STEM - Vielo 3D Forged 7 degree 133 gm

BAR TAPE - Fabric Silicon

SADDLE - Fabric Titanium Scoop Shallow Race

HEADSET

VIELO - Premium double sealed with lower bearing protection / Push-n-turn fork expander

VIELO - Carbon bearing cap with 2x10mm / 1x5mm carbon spacers

SEAT POST/ CLAMP

VIELO - Carbon 30.9mm 206gm

INTEGRATED - Alloy seat clamp

OPTIONS (NO COST)

STEM - 80mm, 90mm, 100mm, 110mm, 120 mm

BAR - 40cm, 42cm, 44cm, 46cm

CRANK LENGTH - 170mm, 172.5mm, 175mm

CHAINRING - 42T, 38T

TYRES - Schwalbe G-One speed 700 x 38C / Schwalbe G-One Bite 700 x 38C

OPTIONAL UPGRADE (EXTRA COST)

WHEELS - Lightweight Wegweiser

SEAT POST - RockShox Reverb Stealth 30.9mm

SADDLE - Fabric Carbon Scoop shallow

A2T AXLES - Custom Vielo Carbon 59gm (pair)

Tell us what the bike is for

Vielo says:

The Vielo V+1 has been a long time in the making - a product of ideas, theories and extensive know-how gained from thirty years working with some of the world's most coveted ultra-performance cycle brands.

Designed for British cyclist, the V+1 has not suffered compromises to meet the demands of global markets. Instead we have single-mindedly engineered the V+1 for riding on rough British roads plus off-road gravel tracks.

We think of it as a go anywhere speed machine. But in reality, it's much more than that.

The V+1 is an exercise in painstaking attention to detail. A quest to find the perfect combination of compliance, stiffness and acceleration that helps British riders go where they want, as fast as they want

Frame and fork

Overall rating for frame and fork
 
7/10

Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?

Super high quality.

Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?

UD Carbon Fibre 870 gm

Size scaled performance and geometry

Passive rear suspension

Integrated stainless scratch guards

Replaceable rear mech hanger

UK specific internal cable routing

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

Provides good handling on and off the road, stable in a straight line and on the rough, but lively through the bends.

How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?

Good, compares well with other bikes.

Riding the bike

Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.

The V+1 provides an astonishingly smooth ride.

Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?

Couldn't detect any flex, tricky with such wide tyres at such low pressures, of course.

How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?

As efficient as it needed to be.

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so

None.

How would you describe the steering? Was it lively Lively and lovely.

Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?

Very easy handling, stable and composed.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?

I'd swap the dropper post for a carbon setback post if I was mainly using it as a road plus bike, and save a bit of weight at the same time.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's stiffness? would you recommend any changes?

Impressed with the wheels and the tyres.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's efficiency? would you recommend any changes?

There's nothing I'd want to change, it's all top notch kit.

Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for acceleration:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for sprinting:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for high speed stability:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for low speed stability:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for flat cornering:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for climbing:
 
7/10

The drivetrain

Rate the drivetrain for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the drivetrain for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the drivetrain for weight:
 
6/10
Rate the drivetrain for value:
 
7/10

Wheels and tyres

Rate the wheels for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels for weight:
 
6/10
Rate the wheels for comfort:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels for value:
 
7/10
Rate the tyres for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the tyres for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the tyres for weight:
 
6/10
Rate the tyres for comfort:
 
9/10
Rate the tyres for value:
 
8/10

Controls

Rate the controls for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the controls for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the controls for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the controls for comfort:
 
8/10

Your summary

Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes

Would you consider buying the bike? If I had the money, yes.

Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes

Rate the bike overall for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the bike overall for value:
 
7/10

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's a delight to ride and is packed with useful features that will make it immensely versatile for blurring the line between road and off-road riding and yes, it's expensive, but it's cheaper than the 3T Exploro and Open UPPER.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 31  Height: 180cm  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, touring, mountain biking

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

Add new comment

19 comments

Avatar
hairyderriere | 5 years ago
0 likes

"It all works as seamlessly as usual, but top marks to Vielo for making the shifting extra silky, smoother than I've ever experienced with a SRAM Force or Rival groupset. What's your secret Vielo?"

Likely the fancy KMC chain, with chamfered inner and outer links. I might try one.

Avatar
ex_terra | 5 years ago
0 likes

Love the look of this bike and by all accounts it rides really well. I won't buy one as it's got a press fit BB which are completely hopeless in british weather, and also doesn't have any option for a front mech which limits its scope as a go-anywhere do-anything bike.

Hopefully if they do a second version these might be points the designers will consider.

 

 

Avatar
Jimthebikeguy.com | 5 years ago
0 likes

I don't like being critical of new brit startups,in fact i love reading about and supporting brands like bowman, mason and fairlight. In this case i wish them well, but i do feel the price is just pushing it too hard.

Avatar
hopster | 5 years ago
0 likes

I love what this bike is intended to offer but I too feel its overpriced, but it's not just them. You can find custom carbon frames for not much more money and so why would you buy an off the shelf made in Taiwan/Chinese frame?

All the big brands are offering carbon framesets for stupid money and for me I would never consider one when I could look at a custom built frame for less money.

Specialized offer the s-works tarmac at £3250 and you could buy a custom built frame for £3500 from a brand such as Filament. Made to measure, tuned for your riding style, etc... for £250 more. I know which way I would go.

Avatar
mostly | 5 years ago
0 likes

one could purchase a terra, pretty good all road bike, circa 2.3 k and a cipollni build. Or 3 and ahalf disc tcrs. Clearly one for the fair weather cyclists.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
0 likes

No it isn't the same as comparing a Pagani Zonda to a Ford, utterly ridiculous, the components which make up a massive portion of the bike are of lesser quality on the Vielo, so your 'Pigani Zonda' is fitted with Fiat Panda spec internals down to the engine wheels and tyres. the shell is not bespoke, it's just another mould from a factory no-one knows about, it isn't a hand made by them carbon layup even though it may have their own specifications but then that's really the same way other companies instruct the factories to lay their product up.

yes one is making a handful and the other potentially tens of thousands but to say that the Vielo is a hand made in house 'zonda' and the Merida is a Ford and they are totally different hence why one is 50% more than the other is bullshit.

Avatar
Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
2 likes

BTBS - of course my point raised is relevant.

Isn't it obvious that a global manufacturer will have a reduced price per piece made, bigger buying power for tyres/groupsets/components, and, in turn, a lower cost per finished article over 2 people going it alone and knocking out a few thousand frames a year via a third party factory?  Come on, even you can see that.

 

Avatar
philhubbard replied to Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
1 like
Rapha Nadal wrote:

BTBS - of course my point raised is relevant.

Isn't it obvious that a global manufacturer will have a reduced price per piece made, bigger buying power for tyres/groupsets/components, and, in turn, a lower cost per finished article over 2 people going it alone and knocking out a few thousand frames a year via a third party factory?  Come on, even you can see that.

 

 

I think BTBS's point is that seperately the frame, groupset and wheels comes to £4400 without looking for discounts or using the regular discount channels. 

£800 would easily get you top end finishing components and tyres or you could upgrade to Etap HRD and still get decent finishing kit for their asking price

 

Avatar
Rapha Nadal replied to philhubbard | 5 years ago
0 likes

philhubbard wrote:

Rapha Nadal wrote:

BTBS - of course my point raised is relevant.

Isn't it obvious that a global manufacturer will have a reduced price per piece made, bigger buying power for tyres/groupsets/components, and, in turn, a lower cost per finished article over 2 people going it alone and knocking out a few thousand frames a year via a third party factory?  Come on, even you can see that.

 

 

I think BTBS's point is that seperately the frame, groupset and wheels comes to £4400 without looking for discounts or using the regular discount channels. 

£800 would easily get you top end finishing components and tyres or you could upgrade to Etap HRD and still get decent finishing kit for their asking price

 

To us, yes.  But we can't assume that Vielo are scouring the internet looking for these deals and then buying up everything they can from the retailer in order to build bikes up.  Mainly becuase they're not and are kind of tied to their suppliers prices.

Avatar
philhubbard replied to Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
0 likes
Rapha Nadal wrote:

philhubbard wrote:

Rapha Nadal wrote:

BTBS - of course my point raised is relevant.

Isn't it obvious that a global manufacturer will have a reduced price per piece made, bigger buying power for tyres/groupsets/components, and, in turn, a lower cost per finished article over 2 people going it alone and knocking out a few thousand frames a year via a third party factory?  Come on, even you can see that.

 

 

I think BTBS's point is that seperately the frame, groupset and wheels comes to £4400 without looking for discounts or using the regular discount channels. 

£800 would easily get you top end finishing components and tyres or you could upgrade to Etap HRD and still get decent finishing kit for their asking price

 

To us, yes.  But we can't assume that Vielo are scouring the internet looking for these deals and then buying up everything they can from the retailer in order to build bikes up.  Mainly becuase they're not and are kind of tied to their suppliers prices.

 

From their previous experience they've spend their time as working as distirbutors, it's also a lot easier than you would imagine to get a trade account with either of the national Sram distros

Avatar
philhubbard replied to Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
0 likes
Rapha Nadal wrote:

philhubbard wrote:

Rapha Nadal wrote:

BTBS - of course my point raised is relevant.

Isn't it obvious that a global manufacturer will have a reduced price per piece made, bigger buying power for tyres/groupsets/components, and, in turn, a lower cost per finished article over 2 people going it alone and knocking out a few thousand frames a year via a third party factory?  Come on, even you can see that.

 

 

I think BTBS's point is that seperately the frame, groupset and wheels comes to £4400 without looking for discounts or using the regular discount channels. 

£800 would easily get you top end finishing components and tyres or you could upgrade to Etap HRD and still get decent finishing kit for their asking price

 

To us, yes.  But we can't assume that Vielo are scouring the internet looking for these deals and then buying up everything they can from the retailer in order to build bikes up.  Mainly becuase they're not and are kind of tied to their suppliers prices.

 

From their previous experience they've spend their time as working as distributors, it's also a lot easier than you would imagine to get a trade account with either of the national Sram distros meaning they will have a bit of margin to play with

Avatar
mrml | 5 years ago
0 likes

Looks like a classy bike, but it's difficult to not baulk at the price, "new British brand" notwithstanding.  For example, this looks like a bike with similar application at a little over half the price in the UK:

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/renegadeelite.html 

 

Avatar
Kadinkski | 5 years ago
1 like

This looks gorgeous. So nice to see understated, quality bikes without decals slapped everywhere.

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 5 years ago
3 likes

"Vielo is a new brand founded by father and son duo Ian and Trevor Hughes, who between them boast an impressive 35 years of experience in the bike industry"

35 years between them, well I'm sold on that alone (please note that no swear words were used in this arse licking support of marketing bullshit).

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BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
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£3k for the frameset and then £2.5k for the rest of it including some mid to low end bloaty wheels ...WTF! I'm sure it's great to ride but it's so overpriced even in todays market of insanely priced bikes that only a fool would part with that kind of money for something that isn't actually well specc'd, oh and no flexibility to go to a double set up if you fancy it.

When you can buy the likes of the Merida Silex 9000  http://off.road.cc/content/review/bikes/merida-silex-9000-gravel-adventu... for £3.5k which is lighter at 7.98kg and better wheels (1500g Fulcrum Red Passion 3 29ers) it puts into perspective how ridiculous the pricing is.

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Rapha Nadal replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
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BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

£3k for the frameset and then £2.5k for the rest of it including some mid to low end bloaty wheels ...WTF! I'm sure it's great to ride but it's so overpriced even in todays market of insanely priced bikes that only a fool would part with that kind of money for something that isn't actually well specc'd, oh and no flexibility to go to a double set up if you fancy it.

When you can buy the likes of the Merida Silex 9000  http://off.road.cc/content/review/bikes/merida-silex-9000-gravel-adventu... for £3.5k which is lighter at 7.98kg and better wheels (1500g Fulcrum Red Passion 3 29ers) it puts into perspective how ridiculous the pricing is.

You're comparing the buying & manufacturing power of one of the biggest bike firms on the planet against 2 people who've just set up a business.  Of course the prices will differ.

 

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
1 like
Rapha Nadal wrote:

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

£3k for the frameset and then £2.5k for the rest of it including some mid to low end bloaty wheels ...WTF! I'm sure it's great to ride but it's so overpriced even in todays market of insanely priced bikes that only a fool would part with that kind of money for something that isn't actually well specc'd, oh and no flexibility to go to a double set up if you fancy it.

When you can buy the likes of the Merida Silex 9000  http://off.road.cc/content/review/bikes/merida-silex-9000-gravel-adventu... for £3.5k which is lighter at 7.98kg and better wheels (1500g Fulcrum Red Passion 3 29ers) it puts into perspective how ridiculous the pricing is.

You're comparing the buying & manufacturing power of one of the biggest bike firms on the planet against 2 people who've just set up a business.  Of course the prices will differ.

 

Irrelevant, perception of value is huge, both bikes essentially do the same thing, one is over £2k cheaper and better specc'd so the price differential is absolutely massive! £3k for the frame is over priced, £2600 for the rest of it is worse than buying retail, the price will mean sales will be depressed even though they'll be selling as a niche product.

Good luck to them all the same.

 

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joules1975 replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
2 likes
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

£3k for the frameset and then £2.5k for the rest of it including some mid to low end bloaty wheels ...WTF! I'm sure it's great to ride but it's so overpriced even in todays market of insanely priced bikes that only a fool would part with that kind of money for something that isn't actually well specc'd, oh and no flexibility to go to a double set up if you fancy it.

When you can buy the likes of the Merida Silex 9000  http://off.road.cc/content/review/bikes/merida-silex-9000-gravel-adventu... for £3.5k which is lighter at 7.98kg and better wheels (1500g Fulcrum Red Passion 3 29ers) it puts into perspective how ridiculous the pricing is.

That's a bit like saying oh, Ford, or Audi, or Merc do some fast cars, all of which have the same (or often more) kit, functionality and practicality as a Pagani or Lambo, and all go the same speed (at least leagally), for much less money, and yet Pagani and Lambo seem to be doing pretty nicely.

And what about Omega or Rolex and the like. They make fantastic watches, but why buy one when a £30 timex is all you ever need given that all any of them do is tell the time.

Newsflash - the value or quality of something can sometimes be beyond the tangible, and differences cannot always be explained by camparing numbers on a chart.

If you want to compare based on spec sheet alone, fine, you'll likely keep more money in your wallet, but you might also be percieved as a little shallow.

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Jimthebikeguy.com | 5 years ago
1 like

I love it, but $$$$$$$

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