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review

Singular Osprey Frame and fork

7
£710.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Classic looks and a planted ride from the new traditionalists at Singular
Weight: 
3,150g
Contact: 
www.singularcycles.com

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It's a lovely looking thing, the Singular Osprey. More than likely you'll buy it on the strength of those looks, hoping it'll build up into a comfy road bike for some classy and leisurely miles. And you won't be disappointed: the frame and fork gives you a nice traditional steel ride with the geometry and overall weight making it more of a long-distance cruiser than a speed machine.

This is as near to a traditional lugged, gate-frame road bike as it's possible to buy off the peg right now, I reckon. Our 60cm test bike (it's actually the prototype but identical save for the missing rack mounts) gets 73 degree head and seat tube angles, a 190mm head tube and a 595mm top tube. I was going to say 'effective top tube' there, but no need. It's as flat as week-old bitter.

There's two versions of the Osprey frame, and they differ only in that one has chrome detailing on the chainstay and dropouts. That'll set you back £710 for the frame and fork, with the non-chrome version £180 less. Ours was built up with a drivetrain best described as esoteric: Campag ten-speed shifters pushing an Ultegra mech over an eight-speed block. This is Sam from Singular's preferred mixed marriage of Shimano eight-speed durability and cost with his preferred shifting option, Campag. I was sceptical; it works just fine.

Other finishing kit includes alloy seatpost, and the choice of either quill stem and bars or ahead stem and bars depending on whether you go for a 1in threaded fork or a threadless one, (our was quill) with Brooks leather bar tape and saddle. The look, with an Athena alloy crankset, is undeniably classic, especially with the touring wheelset and hammered alloy mudguards. The Osprey is designed to take 28mm tyres with a mudguard; ours squeezed in 32mm Schwalbe Stelvios.

So to the ride. A fairly weighty frame (2.2Kg) with a dependable build such as this isn't ever going to feel like a race machine, so what I'd be hoping from a first ride would be that the bike felt planted and comfortable, and was easy to spin up to a decent lick and stay there. And that's exactly what the Osprey delivers. There's plenty of comfort and a familiar steel springiness from the frame that's evident even though the heavy wheel and tyre combo takes a while to get rolling.

At cruising speeds the Osprey is unflustered and requires very little input from the rider, with the neutral steering well weighted for longer rides. Point it down a hill and the bike goes where it's told; it doesn't have the razor-sharp steering of a Carbon bike with a beefy asymetric head tube but there wasn't any speed I could wind it up to where I didn't feel fully in control. At lower speeds and in traffic the Osprey feels a little sluggish on the turn but I'd rather have the compromise there than on a 40mph descent.

The Osprey feels relaxed and cruisy - is that a word? - but it isn't slow. I was averaging 15mph on loops where I'd normally expect to be doing 16mph on my normal bike (Genesis Equilibrium) or a bit more on a lightweight machine. That's an acceptable trade-off in my book, and it means the Osprey is plenty capable of a long ride, especially with a lighter build; in truth the speed differential is more likely down to the heavy wheels and tyres than the frame and fork.

Climbing on the Singular is a happy affair; sat down the bike is more Audax than race so it's set up well for spinning up a hill. If you do have to get out of the saddle then you can eke a bit of flex out of the frame but no more than I'd expect from a steel bike, and no more than my Genesis or indeed my old Raleigh Sirocco. The overall weight counts against it on really long or really steep stuff. But you can always fit a triple, eh. Talking of triples the production frames have rack as well as guard mounts if you want to spec the Osprey up as a tourer. It's definitely at the fast-handling end of the touring spectrum and we didn't try loading it up as ours didn't have rack mounts, but the option is there if you want it.

Overall the Osprey performed very nicely, thank you. It's at a bit of a price disadvantage over higher volume, non-lugged steel frames but it's a very well finished unit and definitely has appeal. The ride is planted and comfortable, and the geometry just right for getting the miles in in style. The £180 price hike for the chromed frame is a bit salty for my tastes, though. It does look lovely, no mistake, but a third of the frame price on top for the shiny stuff wouldn't tempt me. If it was my money I'd be going for the original version.

Verdict

Classic looks and a planted ride from the new traditionalists at Singular

road.cc test report

Make and model: Singular Osprey Frame and fork

Size tested: 60cm

About the bike

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

Double butted 4130 Cromoly

Tell us what the bike is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?

"Oh why don't they make road bikes like this any more? Lovely slim steel tubes, beautiful lugs, classic geometry, classic looks and a classic ride. Well they do - if you want to pay a couple of thousand for a lovely custom one and wait months if not years. We're trying to change that with the introduction of the Osprey."

Frame and fork

Overall rating for frame and fork
 
8/10

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

Very nicely built and finished

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

Double butted 4130 Cromoly

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

73/73 with a 595mm ETT

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

Roomy, especially with the long stem and bar combo

Riding the bike

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

Steel frame and forks plus big chamber tyres makes for a very comfortable place to be. A Brooks saddle helps, too

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

It's not built with stiffness as the primary concern but it's stiff enough.

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

Yes, no problems there

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so, was it a problem?

Not really an issue on a 60cm frame

How would you describe the steering? Was it lively, neutral or unresponsive? Neutral

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

It's a pretty laid back ride. That's not to say slow, it clips along just fine. but it's not nervous

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

Frame, tyres, saddle all helped

Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
 
7/10

Doesn't jump forward like a lightweight Carbon bike but it's fine

Rate the bike for acceleration:
 
6/10

One you wind up, not one that's quick from the off

Rate the bike for sprinting:
 
4/10

Like you'd bother

Rate the bike for high speed stability:
 
8/10

Feels very planted at speed

Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
 
9/10

Excellent cruiser

Rate the bike for low speed stability:
 
7/10

Stable but could be more manouverable

Rate the bike for flat cornering:
 
8/10

Goes where you put it

Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
 
8/10

And again, no problems. Godd feedback.

Rate the bike for climbing:
 
7/10

Not light but never really struggles

The drivetrain

Wheels and tyres

Controls

Your summary

Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes

Would you consider buying the bike? Yes, but I'd baulk at £180 for the chrome, I'd go for the cheaper version

Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes

Rate the bike overall for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the bike overall for value:
 
6/10

Anything further to say about the bike in conclusion?

Marking the one we've tested for value it gets a 6, the non-chrome version would be a higher score

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 190cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Genesis Equilibrium with SRAM Apex

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

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

 

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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5 comments

Avatar
sampaiode | 9 years ago
0 likes

what pants he wearing in pictures?

Avatar
Sam Alison | 12 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for the review David, glad you enjoyed the ride.

Just to clarify a couple of little things and answer some questions raised:

The production frames have downtube shifter mounts.

In addition to the threaded or threadless fork options, we also offer a 'low trail' fork, with 60mm of offset intended for when the bike is used with a front load to keep the handling sporty.

Those cranks are Record  1 - Though I should note the Ospreys are supplied as frame and fork only.

Jackh: Going through the Mercian online frame builder, to get a similarly specced frame to the standard Osprey (i.e. no chrome) it comes out at £1130, more than twice as much. I think it represents pretty good value for what it is.

Joemmo: There is also a threadless fork option available, and as mentioned above, production frames do have DT shifter bosses. What other 'modern features' did you have in mind? Always happy to get feedback and new ideas.

Rjw: you definitely should  1

If anyone has other questions feel free to post here or contact me directly by email or phone.

Sam Alison
Owner - Singular Cycles

Avatar
rjw | 12 years ago
0 likes

I probably ought to get one of these to go with my Firebird and Peregrine to complete the Singular triple  1

Avatar
joemmo | 12 years ago
0 likes

while I 'get' the whole retro / vintage styling trend, I wonder why it means fitting a threaded 1" headset and quill stem, but not for example, downtube mounted levers or other features that have been improved upon in recent years? Personally I prefer the modern-bike-with-vintage look that Genesis go for.

Avatar
jackh | 12 years ago
0 likes

Seems a little on the pricey side when Bob Jackson or Mercian will put together a UK built model for around £650-£850 depending on what type of steel you want...

OK, the base model is £530, which seems fair, but still...

Nonetheless, it looks like a nice bike.

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