Pearson Forge 2024

The Pearson Forge is a do-it-all performance road bike with a geometry suited to riders with a normal level of flexibility. It's quick and punchy, and Pearson's laser focus on fit means you can ride it comfortably for hours at a time.

> Buy now: Pearson Forge for £6,199 from Pearson Cycles

Don't call the Forge an endurance bike. Pearson is very insistent on this. What it is, according to the London-based brand, is 'the most data-driven piece of bike design ever created', and that's a huge part of its story. In fact, Pearson's belief that most road bikes are built to geometries that don't suit the majority of riders is the whole reason for the Forge's existence. It has developed a new O-Series geometry that generally results in a shorter reach than normal and a taller front end, but we'll come back to that in detail in a mo. First, how does it ride?

Pearson Forge: Ride

Talk of adjusted geometry and a higher front end does make the Forge sound a lot like an endurance bike, but that's far from the full picture. The Forge is hard to categorise because it has a foot in different camps. Yes, the front end is a touch higher and closer to you than on most other road bikes, but it still feels extremely performance minded.

For a start, it's pretty light. Our complete bike hit the road.cc Scales of Truth at 7.69kg and Pearson claims a size 3 (equivalent to a medium from many other brands) frame weight of 890g. Let's not get too caught up in talk of the weight, though.

Out on the road, the Forge feels nimble and reactive. It climbs beautifully whether you're in the saddle or standing up on the pedals, and you're rewarded with a surge of speed when you dig deep.

> Buyer’s Guide: Best road bikes 2024

Some taller bikes can feel flexy up front when you get out of the saddle and chuck them about, but that's not at all the case here. Everything is taut when you haul on the handlebar and the steering is precise when you're throwing yourself into tight bends, giving you the confidence to take things just a little bit quicker next time. You certainly don't feel that performance has been compromised for comfort here. Not even slightly.

It's when you're on flat or rolling terrain that the Forge really comes into its own. Unlike a lot of bikes, it allows you to get down on the drops and hold that position comfortably for long periods without any nagging back or neck aches. You might well find yourself using the drops more than usual, and the Forge has a calm assurance about it as it efficiently eats up the miles, but it's still bang up for a town sign sprint at the end of it, feeling fast and punchy with tons of stiffness around the bottom bracket.

It's an unusual mix, then. If you want to sum it up, the Forge behaves like a sleek, thoroughbred race bike, but built to a slightly more relaxed geometry.

Pearson Forge: Geometry

About that geometry, then... It might not be the most exciting topic in cycling – it's not why you got into riding, is it? – but the geometry is vital to your comfort, efficiency and control when you're on the bike, and it's at the heart of Pearson's Forge concept and design. I'm not here to act on behalf of Pearson's marketing department, but let me explain the idea.

Based in East Sheen, London, Pearson has been around since the dawn of time. Well, it has been building bikes since 1860 – it's the oldest bicycle business on the planet, with a Guinness World Record certificate and everyfink – so it's not short of experience.

Pearson has sold a lot of bikes from a lot of brands, and it has performed a zillion rider fits over the years – okay, over 2,000 – and all of the bike fit data it has collected has led it to develop the Forge's new O-Series (Optimised Series) geometry.

Essentially, Pearson has taken the saddle height and reach figures from all of its customers and stuck them all on a graph. It has then looked at the geometries on offer from what it calls 'mass market road bikes' and concluded that there's a better way to cater for the majority of everyday riders like you and me. Pearson believes that, according to its data, 'as many as 55% of cyclists start riding bikes with less than optimum geometry or component sizes to ideally match their fit'.

What's the issue? In short, Pearson says that most road bikes are based on those the pros race and are too aggressive for regular riders. The bike industry takes its cues from the peloton and enthusiasts want to ride the same bikes as the professionals – or, at least, ones that look similar – so a lot of people end up on bikes that don't fit, or bike fitters end up adding loads of headset spacers or speccing an extreme-sized stem to get a rider into a decent position.

Also, Pearson says, most brands develop their medium bike first and then scale the rest of the sizes up and down from there. However, its data suggests that bodily proportions vary with height, so XL-sized bikes, for example, tend to be too long for most people of the relevant height.

As a result, Pearson argues that the geometry of many mass-market road bikes isn't a million miles away from where it needs to be in the most common sizes, but that the difference from typical to optimal gets larger for shorter and taller riders. In other words, the further you are from medium sized, the more likely you are to be on a bike that doesn't fit well.

This has led Pearson to develop its own geometry that's designed to be right for the majority of people – to fit right down the middle of its reach/saddle height distribution graph. Generally, the O-Series geometry results in a shorter reach than normal, and a taller front end. There are five different sizes and Pearson reckons they cover 85% of the market with considerable overlap between them, so there's no need to fit stems outside of a band from 70mm to 110mm – 120mm at a push – or to add more than 20mm of spacers (plus the collar) underneath the stem.

Some people – that other 15% – have the dimensions and flexibility required for a more aggressive race bike geometry. If that's you, go for your life, but if it's not, Pearson reckons it has a solution.

Shorten the top tube and bang a bit more height on the head tube, then. Bish, bash, bosh, job's a good 'un. It's actually a bit more nuanced than that.

The idea is that the geometry has been adjusted subtly. So, for example, the top tube sweeps upwards slightly towards the front end to add a little height without the bike looking like a complete gate, and there's quite a lot of space underneath the fork crown to give another boost without the need for an exceptionally long head tube. In terms of looks, you can make your own mind up as to whether you think Pearson has succeeded. To me, it has managed to hide some of that extra height.

Bear in mind that I've been riding the size 4 Pearson Forge with a stack of 610mm and a reach of 383mm. This bike has a 194mm head tube. If you want that kind of stack height on a Giant Defy, to take one random example, you're looking at a considerably longer head tube. The XL-sized Giant Defy Advanced has a stack of 615mm, for example, and a 215mm head tube. The reach is considerably shorter on the Pearson Forge too: 383mm versus 402mm.

In an ideal world, you'll visit Pearson for a bike fit where they'll get you on the right-sized bike with the correct components. That's what I did, Nas Karimi taking me through the process in detail. This is something that Pearson includes in the cost of all bikes it sells. (Jamie wrote a feature last year about having a bike fit, if you need convincing.)

You know when you go for an eye test and you're asked 'is it better with this lens or without?' by the optician? Pearson's bike fit is a bit like that in parts, only with saddle and handlebar height, reach to the bar, and so on, until you gradually hone in on the best position on the static bike.

For instance, Nas finds the extremes by putting the saddle so high that you're reaching down with your toes, and then so low that it feels ridiculous, and then gradually moves things between those extremes until you feel comfortable, stable, powerful, no aches... all that kind of stuff.

You unclip one foot and pedal backwards, you take your hands off the bar while maintaining your body position (not sitting up in the saddle as if you're riding no hands) – all kinds of tricks and downright sorcery to get you into the best riding position. Then all that data is used to set up your bike for you. It's an involved process, but worthwhile.

Like I said, that's the perfect scenario, and chances are that you'll learn something if you do it. If you can't get down to Pearson's place, it can take data from a bike fit you've had elsewhere and build your bike up from that and, of course, it publishes a full geometry chart on its website. 

Pearson Forge: Finishing kit

You can configure the Forge to your own taste via Pearson's website. First, you choose your frame colour (the correct answer is the blue we had for our review bike; it's gorgeous) and size, then you pick your groupset (the Forge is compatible with both mechanical and electronic groupsets) and wheels, and Pearson will build up your bike for you in the workshop that's just around the corner from its shop.

Our review bike came fitted with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset (compact 50/34T chainset and 11-34T cassette) and Pearson's own Hoopdriver Tooth & Nail carbon wheels.

Shimano Ultegra shifts fast and the brakes are brilliant. You really can't go wrong. Check out our review if you want the details but, in short, it performs just like top-level Dura-Ace while being a chunk cheaper.

The Tooth & Nail wheels (which would cost £1,400 if bought alone) are eye-catching, largely thanks to their wavy rims – a little like designs from Zipp and Princeton, but different. We measured them at between 41mm and 47mm in depth.

The idea of the variation in rim depth is to improve aerodynamic efficiency while reducing the impact of crosswinds on handling. I couldn't tell you how these perform in the wind tunnel but I never felt they were too much of a handful even in blustery conditions.

The wheels come with Novatec ceramic bearing hubs and Sapim XC-Ray straight-pull spokes. At 1,650g, they're not especially light, but they're certainly stiff. I was riding this bike in some truly atrocious weather in December and January, and after a bit of spit and polish (not literally) they're still looking pretty much as good as new, and are perfectly round and true.

Our wheels were set up tubeless with Pirelli Zero Race TLR tyres. These are fast rolling and provide an excellent level of grip even in wet conditions, while the 30mm stated width – which we measured at 31mm – complements the rest of the bike perfectly. If you want to run them at lower pressures for a bit of extra squish, that's not a problem. A great choice for a bike that combines speed and comfort.

If you want to go wider, the frameset will take tyres up to 35mm without mudguards. If you do want to fit guards, you get inconspicuous mounts on the frame and fork, and the option of adding a bridge between the seatstays. You can fit tyres up to 32mm with mudguards.

Talking of mounts, there are sets for two bottle cages in the usual places – including three positions on the down tube, though you'll only be able to use the lower position if you forgo a bottle on the seat tube.

There's also a third set under the down tube, though it really isn't the type of bike that needs them.

Pearson Forge: Value

Our review bike retails at £6,199, but you don't necessarily need to pay that much, with complete Forge builds starting at £4,649. For that price, you get a mid-level Shimano 105 Di2 groupset and 30mm-deep alloy wheels from DCR.

If you're flash, you could go for a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset (including a power meter) and the Tooth & Nail wheels that we had. That setup will set you back £7,199.

I'd perhaps go for the Tooth & Nail wheels with a 105 Di2 groupset for £5,599, but you can make that call for yourself.

As I've explained, the Forge is a different proposition from most other road bikes in terms of geometry, and Pearson will build it up especially for you, and that doesn't show up in a straight spec sheet comparison. If we put this to one side, though, a Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0 with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, a Giant Power Pro power meter, and a Giant SLR 1 36 Carbon Disc WheelSystem is priced at £5,999.

Emma Silversides recently reviewed the Liv Avail Advanced Pro 0 for us, the women's equivalent of the Giant Defy mentioned above, built up with mostly the same components. She concluded that bike was well priced at just under £6,000.

A Trek Domane SL 7 with IsoSpeed (Trek's tech that's designed to smooth the ride), a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset (no power meter), and Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37 carbon wheels is £6,025, so Pearson isn't out of line with these big brands.

The Forge is Pearson's design and it owns the moulds; it hasn't just taken a generic open mould design and slapped logos on the side, so it has the same costs to cover as those larger brands.

Pearson Forge: Summary

Overall, the Pearson Forge is a high-performance road bike in a geometry that's designed to cater for the vast majority of everyday riders. It's quick and punchy while allowing you to ride in a position that doesn't put a ridiculous amount of strain on your back and neck. It's reactive and comfortable at the same time. If that sounds like a winning combination, this is a great option.

Verdict

Fast and reactive road bike in a regular-rider-focused geometry