At Wiggle we have been working hard over the last 12 months to put together an awesome package as the first ever ‘Kiron’ bike.
The Kiron Scandium 2009 arrived in stock last week and we are literally standing right besides ourselves with excitement and chuff-ness. They are exactly what we aimed for: high spec, proven quality and unbeatable value under £1k. But I don’t want to let myself get too carried away bigging it up. We sent a few out to Cycling Plus and Cycling Weekly and their first impressions are below. Test results should follow shortly so keep an eye on the mags!
Cycling Weekly:
“Always offering a good deal, Wiggle’s done it again.
Your eyes will pop out of your head when you see the price tag on this one. Wiggle is no stranger to the concept of cutting out the middle man, to ‘home grow’ a range of accessories offering outstanding value.
It’s an Easton tubeset, scandium forming the front triangle, coupled with an Easton EC90 carbon rear end. The fork is an Easton too, the EC90 Superlight carbon, so this is no heavyweight. The groupset is a mix of Shimano 105 and Ultegra with a Dura-ace front mech… It has an Easton finishing kit throughout, even the bar tape, suggesting no corners have been cut. So at this point if you’re anything like us, you’ll be waiting to hear the big but… so here it is. But.. it’s only £999.
Staggering, considering the total cost of the components alone, come to nearly as much. I like that big but, and I cannot lie.”
and we gave one to Cycling Plus too:
Boyd by the success of the Focus Bikes it’s been selling from its site for three years, Wiggle is to start its own machines this autumn. ln a move reminiscent of its introduction of the dhb branded clothing and accessories, the Portsmouth-based internet-only retailer is now offering its Kiron branded, road machine.
The first bike to hit the a virtual stores by the time you read this is the Kiron Scandium, which should prove pretty tempting at a price of £999 complete. Any doubts that potential buyers might be getting anything less than a high quality machine would be alleviated by scratching beneath the bike’s paint job. Underneath the Kiron branding, you’ll be getting what is essentially a bought-in machine built by component experts Easton.
The frame uses Easton Scandium tubes, married to the same company’s EC90 carbon tubing on the seat and chain stays. The Easton theme continues across the bike, and the frame is coupled with EC90 SL forks. On their own these retail at over £200 and when we tested them we gave them an impressive nine out of l0. You’ll also get hand-built EA50 wheels and Easton stem, bars, seatpost and even bar tape. The drivetrain should provide few worries as it’s a combination of tried-and-tested Shimano 105 and Ultegra.
As for the name? Well, according to Wiggle, Kiron is its derivation of Chiron. Chiron was, as all you Greek mythologists will know, a sensible centaur. Does this mean the Kiron Scandium a sensible bike? We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve tested one.
Buy or subscribe to the magazines for the full write-up or read more and buy the Kiron Scandium at wiggle now!
Wiggle has signed an exclusive deal with Lightweight Wheels, one of the world’s finest manufacturers of carbon wheelsets.
