Ever since Portal pretty well laid down the gauntlet for how the genre should be done it seems impossible to avoid comparisons of some kind when any new title in the same general vein arrives. Thanks to our sponsors HUUB, Lazer, 100% and Garmin for their support in making Bike of the Year happen.First-person physics-based puzzle games have always been of some interest to me. Our 2022 Women’s Bike of the Year contenders are: To win the Women’s Bike of the Year category, we were looking for a bike that not only plastered a smile on our faces, but also didn’t leave us feeling cheated out of our hard-earned cash. With a wide range of price points represented, from £1,749 to £5,699, value for money was key to the test, rather than solely assessing how the bikes performed. The gradual climbs and steep ramps of the southern Cotswolds and Mendip Hills enabled us to put the bikes’ climbing prowess to the test, and similarly assess their handling on the descents. The roads, lanes and a few unpaved tracks around Bristol were the testing grounds for the Women’s Bike of the Year, trialling the three bikes on rides ranging from short, pacy blasts and all-day endurance rides. It’s worth emphasising, of course, that many brands offer an improved range of unisex bikes, too. That includes Liv, a brand offering truly women’s-specific bikes from the frame up, based on women’s fit data, and Cube and Scott, who offer women’s-specific builds.
While a number of major bike brands have moved away from women’s-specific models, our 2022 test focuses on three brands that continue to produce women’s road bikes. I couldn’t hide my disappointment when I first saw the bike, after reading about the fun-sounding ‘Sparkle Lilac ´n´ Black’ colourway. Where a lot of bikes are now geared towards racing, I’m glad to see the Axial reasonably geared for everyday riding and hillier terrain, which is something I would personally opt for.įinally, there’s the aesthetics. The wide range of gearing helps to offset the greater weight of the bike on the steeper climbs a little, and I was certainly glad of the 34/34 on Coxgrove Hill heading out of Bristol. So while it may not be the nippiest on the climbs, the Axial WS Race is still a really fun bike that’s fit to serve a variety of riders. There’s no denying that at 9.59kg without pedals or bottle cages, it’s far from the lightest road bike around, but at this price other elements are prioritised: comfort, handling, reliability and most importantly, affordability. The 235g weight is also fairly reasonable for a budget saddle with CrMo rails. Russell Burton / Our MediaĪs is the case with saddles, it certainly won’t be suitable for all women, but it’s a great starting point. Cube Axial WS Race geometryĬube’s women’s-specific Natural Fit Venec Lite saddle is a great choice. This means fitting fixed mudguards for winter riding or commuting should be much simpler, and can boost your year-round bike-riding enjoyment.Ĭube also offers a sleek set of black mudguards specifically for the Axial and Attain bikes, the Cubeguard Attain Disc (£39.95). It’s also worth noting that the Cube Axial WS Race has mudguard mounts, a feature that’s often omitted on higher-priced, racier bikes.
Tyre clearance isn’t too generous here, so if you’d prefer to run chunkier 32mm tyres for comfort and stability over rougher ground, then you might want to look at endurance road bikes or road-adjacent gravel bikes instead. The tan sidewall, which seems to be very in vogue these days, makes them look a little narrower though. That’s to be expected at this price point though.Ĭontinental Ultra Sport III SL Kevlar tyres have been chosen, in a 28mm width, measuring up at a wider 29.7mm when fitted. If you’re set on running your wheels tubeless, then this might not be the bike for you, or at least you’d need to consider switching out the wheels, because these are not tubeless-compatible. Continental’s Ultra Sport III Kevlar tyres sport an on-trend tan sidewall Russell Burton / Our Media
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