Bicycle Quarterly Bike Tests:
(scroll down for a list of bikes tested in Bicycle Quarterly)
© Vintage Bicycle Press, 2009
Our tests and reviews of bicycles, components and other equipment go far beyond those of other magazines. Every bike gets ridden by two testers. We test every product for several weeks, becoming familiar with it as an owner would. We usually ride each bike at least 300 km (185 miles) on roads we know well. Being on familiar roads, we have a reference, knowing how other bikes feel over the same stretches of road. Furthermore, we replace tires, front wheel, saddle and pedals with our "reference" parts, so that these components do not affect the way the bike feels. (Especially tires influence the ride of a bike more than anything, and we want to test bikes, not tires.) Usually, we also take the test bike and a "reference bike" on a ride together and switch bikes several times during the ride. This quickly highlights differences between the bikes. We compare the experiences of both testers to come to a more objective evaluation. Once we have completed the tests, we measure geometry, weight, etc. We do this after the test to prevent prejudices due to our personal preferences. Every test report includes a diagram of the bike's geometry, as well as a sidebar with the second tester's report. The builder/manufacturer's comments on our tests are published as a sidebar as well. Click here to read a sample test report (pdf file, 500 kB). Builders/Manufacturers: Click here for our guidelines for submitting a bike for testing. Bikes tested in Bicycle Quarterly: (Click thumbnails for full-size images) |
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| 2007 Ant Basket Bike (Vol. 5, No. 3) |  |
| 2004 Berthoud Epervier (Vol. 4, No. 1) |  |
| 2007 Bilenky 650B Randonneur (Vol. 6, No. 1) |  |
| 2009 Boulder Bicycles Randonneur (Spring 2009; Vol. 7, No. 3) |  |
| 2009 Box Dog Pelican (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) |  |
| 2009 Boxer Randonneur (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) |  |
| 2009 Breezer Finesse (Vol. 8, No. 1) |  |
| 2006 Breezer Uptown 8 (Vol. 5, No. 3) |  |
| 1957 Cinelli Supercorsa (restored; Vol. 5, No. 4) |  |
| 2007 Coho Randonneuse (Vol. 6, No. 3) |  |
| 2004 Co-Motion Nor'Wester Co-Pilot (Vol. 3, No. 3) |  |
| 2007 Crumpton Carbon Randonneur (Summer 2008; Vol. 6, No. 4) |  |
| 2006 Ebisu All-Purpose (Vol. 4, No. 4) |  |
| 2008 Frances Smallhaul (Vol. 7, No. 2) |  |
| 2006 Gaansari Van Cleve (Vol. 4, No. 3) |  |
| 2007 Goodrich Randonneur (Vol. 6, No. 2) |  |
| 2008 Grand Bois/Toei Urban Bike (Vol. 7, No. 1) |  |
| 2004 Heron Randonneur (Vol. 3, No. 1) |  |
| 2007 Jamis Commuter 3.0 (Vol. 5, No. 3) |  |
| 2006 Kogswell Porteur/Randonneur (Vol. 5, No. 2) |  |
| 2008 Lyonsport Randonneur (Vol. 7, No. 2) |  |
2007 Pereira Randonneuse (Vol. 6, No. 2) Click here to read the test report (pdf file, 500 kB). |
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| 2008 Rebolledo Randonneur (Vol. 7, No. 1) |  |
| 1974 René Herse Démontable (Vol. 3, No. 3) |  |
| 2005 Rivendell Quickbeam (Vol. 3, No. 4) |  |
| 2007 Specialized Hotrock 16" (Vol. 6, No. 2) |  |
| 2009 Surly Long-Haul Trucker (Vol. 8, No. 1) |  |
| 1980s Jack Taylor (Goéland) trailer (Vol. 7, No. 1) |  |
| 2007 Terraferma Race (Vol. 5, No. 4) |  |
| 2008 Toei Randonneur (Vol. 7, No. 4) |  |
| 2009 Tout Terrain Silkroad (Vol. 7, No. 4) |  |
| 2006 Trek 2100C (Vol. 4, No. 4) |  |
| 2006 Tournesol 650B Sportif Titanium (Vol. 5, No. 1) |  |
| 2007 Velo-Orange Randonneur (Vol. 6, No. 1) |  |
| 2005 J. P. Weigle Randonneur (Vol. 4, No. 2) |  |
| To subscribe to Bicycle Quarterly or order back issues, click here. | |
| Components tested in Bicycle Quarterly: | |
| Berthoud leather saddle (Vol. 7, No. 3) | 
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| Brooks Team Professional Titanium saddle (Vol. 5, No. 2; updates in Vol. 6, No. 1; Vol. 7, No. 3) | |
| Bruce Gordon titanium toeclips, pump (Vol. 4, No. 1) | |
| Campagnolo Chorus dual-pivot brakes (Vol. 3, No. 3) | |
| Campagnolo gum brake lever hoods (Reproductions; Vol. 5, No. 4) | |
| Cane Creek SCR-3L medium-reach dual pivot brakes (Vol. 7, No. 2) | |
| Grand Bois handlebars (Vol. 7, No. 2) | |
| IRD Defiant freewheels (Vol. 5, No. 2; updates in Vol. 5, No. 4; Vol. 7, No. 3) | |
| IRD B57 medium-reach dual pivot brakes (identical to Tektro 521AG) (Vol. 7, No. 2) | |
| Velo-Orange Retro Bottle Cage (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Paul Neo-Retro cantilever brakes (Vol. 2, No. 4) | |
| Paul Racer centerpull brakes (Vol. 3, No. 3) | |
| Shimano Ultegra medium-reach dual pivot brakes (Vol. 3, No. 3) | |
| Shimano PD-A520 Touring Pedals (Vol. 6, No. 2; update in Vol. 7, No. 3) | |
| Lighting tested in Bicycle Quarterly: | |
| Danolite XP Helmet Light (Vol. 6, No. 2) | |
| Hub generator comparison test (Vol. 3, No. 4). Click here to read the complete test (jpg). For a pdf, click here. | |
| Lumotec Fly IQ LED headlight (Vol. 7, No. 1) | |
| Lumotec IQ Cyo LED headlight (Vol. 7, No. 4) | |
| Lumotec IQ Cyo R LED headlight (Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Schmidt Edelux LED headlight (Vol. 7, No. 1) | |
| SON 20 R generator hub (Vol. 7, No. 1) | |
| Supernova E3 LED headlight (Vol. 7, No. 1) | |
| Tires tested in Bicycle Quarterly: | |
| Avocet Fasgrip Duro 700C x 28 mm clinchers (Vol. 6, No. 1) |  |
| Challenge Parigi-Roubaix 700C x 29 mm and Triathlon 700C x 24 mm handmade clinchers (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) | |
| Continental Ultra Gator Skin 700C x 23 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1). | |
| Deda Tre Giro d'Italia 700C x 24 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| Grand Bois tires, all sizes (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) for a pdf of this article, click here | |
| Michelin Megamium 650B x 32 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| Michelin Pro2 Race clinchers, 700C x 20, 23, 25 mm (Vol. 5, No. 1). | |
| Mitsuboshi Trimline 650B x 38 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| Panaracer Col de la Vie 650B x 38 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| Rivendell Maxy-Fasty 650B x 34 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| Rivendell Nifty-Swifty 650B x 34 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| Schwalbe Marathon Racer 700C x 30 mm clinchers (Vol. 6, No. 1) | |
| Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 700C x 25 mm clinchers (Vol. 5, No. 3) | |
| Racks, fenders, bags tested in Bicycle Quarterly: | |
| Acorn Boxy Rando handlebar bag (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) |  |
| Acorn Roll Bag (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Arkel handlebar bag (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) | |
| Berthoud handlebar bag (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) | |
| Fenders from Honjo, SKS, and Berthoud: aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, carbon; comparison test (Vol. 2, No. 1) | |
| Guu-Watanabe handlebar bag (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) | |
| Nitto M12 front rack (Vol. 4, No. 3) | |
| Ortlieb handlebar bag (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) | |
| Ostrich handlebar bag (Summer 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4) | |
| Pass-and-Stow porteur rack (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Rivendell Mark's Rack (Vol. 4, No. 3) | |
| TA front rack (Vol. 4, No. 3) | |
| Velo-Orange Decaleur handlebar bag quick-release (Vol. 5, No. 1) | |
| SOMA Crystal water bottle (Vol. 4, No. 4) | |
| Zimbale 7 Liter Saddlebag (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Zimbale 2.3 Liter Seatpouch (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Clothes tested in Bicycle Quarterly: | |
| Bicycle Fixation Knickers (Vol. 6, No. 3; update in Vol. 7, No. 3) | |
| Gore Bike Wear Arm and Leg Warmers (Vol. 6, No. 1) | |
| Gore Bike Wear Oxygen IV jacket (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Gore Bike Wear Xenon jacket (Vol. 5, No. 2) | |
| Ibex Dash Hybrid Wool Tights (Vol. 6, No. 1) | |
| Ibex Energy Wool tights (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| OR Rain Mitten gloves (Vol. 3, No. 2; Vol. 4, No. 1) | |
| Pass-and-Stow porteur rack (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Patagonia Merino bottoms and tops (Winter 2009; Vol. 8, No. 2) | |
| Patagonia Spraymaster jacket (Vol. 5, No. 2) | |
| Rainlegs (Vol. 6, No. 2) | |
| Wabi-Woolens Long-Sleeve Jersey (Vol. 6, No. 3; update in Vol. 7, No. 3) | |
| Woolistic Six-Panel Wool Shorts (Vol. 6, No. 1; update in Vol. 7, No. 3) | |