Stevens Izoard (2013)

From its second outing onwards the Stevens Izoard was casually referred to as 'Fast Eddy'. Eddy Izzard, right? Okay, I know, the Col D'Izoard is a famous alpine climb, and I'm happy to acknowledge my vintage by saying I was lucky enough to be spectating at the roadside when Lucien Van Impe crested it first in the 1976 Tour de France, but the double entendre is appropriate for a bike that conspired to temporarily switch my ride settings from vague meanderer to marathon man and depilate my legs for the first time in a decade.

Sticking with the abstract, a ride colleague ('Man in Black') insisted on calling the Izoard 'the hairdresser's bike' because of its colour scheme. Well, each to his own. I'm not normally a white bike person either, and would certainly steer well clear of white and yellow Lycra. I'm also not especially seduced by frames and forks covered in technoid graphics/acronyms. For those easily impressed the Stevens includes 'HMC High Modulus Carbon' on the top tube, 'System RC Reinforced Core' on the chain stays, 'SL Team Team Technology Stevens' on the seat stays, 'Carbon Monocoque 2 Tube Hybrid Technology' on the seat tube, 'tapered HEAD tube' on the head tube, 'M-Blade' on the fork, 'Pressfit BB86 Integrated System' on the bottom bracket and, on the down tube, a tidy 'Designed and Engineered in Hamburg' plus a big yellow Stevens graphic on the underside especially for photographers lying on the ground.

Fortunately the performance of the Izoard soon made up for any visual clutter qualms. From a purely personal viewpoint, it's unusual for a sub £2000 race-bred bike to instantly impress me as much as the Izoard did: I generally prefer road bikes with slightly slacker geometries and bigger treads than the 23mm offerings fitted here. But the Izoard chassis build and parts choices combine to provide a remarkably confident ride that feels far more compliant on rough roads than more costly race-bred machines while at the same time producing the potent speed squirts and sprightly handling that make race thoroughbreds stand out from also-rans. And it has room for slightly bigger treads if you wish. In fact, the only change I'd initially make would be to fit 25mm tyres that offer a smoother ride and a better grip in the wet than the Mavic Aksions fitted.

The test period was predominantly a two week stint riding out from Soller in Majorca. Anyone who's ridden from there will know that this means loads of climbing, with the heart, lungs, legs and bike performance being constantly challenged by the competitive surging of large German holiday groups riding similarly priced compatriot rental bikes from Cube, Focus and Merida.

Fortunately the Stevens showed itself to be pretty nifty up the hills, leaving only myself to blame for losing the occasional wheel-holding battle.

Obviously the Izoard's all-in weight helps: at 7.76kg (17.1lb) it's competing for bantomweight status with bikes that can cost you twice as much. That's pretty impressive considering the middle-budget wheels and lack of carbon finishing kit. Stevens uses a Triton Oxygen saddle and a house branded 'Scorpo' seat post, stem and handlebar to trim a few costs, leaving the performance, weight and build quality focus on the high modulus carbon frame and fork. A decent overall spec list includes Mavic's entry level but decent performing Aksium S wheels and tyre package and a near complete Shimano Ultegra drivetrain... the crankset is Shimano's non-group-tagged R565 50/34 offering.

It's not hard to see where the speed comes from in the frame design. A close look at the massively supported profile of the BB86 bottom bracket explains a lot about the instant drive power when sprinting and climbing. A tapered head tube and the 'M-Blade reinforced core' fork keeps the handling rock-steady on fast descents and rough surfaces while the skinny seat stays appear to add a little extra comfort to the slimline but well padded saddle. Obviously saddle or handlebar shape is always going to be down to personal preferences, but the two other riders who tried the Izoard both backed up my own feeling that few riders looking for comfort and performance would object to Stevens' choices.

Stevens is a German brand, distributed in the UK by Hargroves Cycles. The Izoard's claimed frame weight is 1100g (2.43lb) and it's the 'entry level' model in the carbon race bike range. There are plenty of cheaper carbon framed bikes on the market but not many that come this well equipped or this light for this price. The tube profiling creates an ideal blend of stiffness and comfort while the tapered head tube, a press-fit bottom bracket and carbon dropouts give it the air of a top end race bike without the inflated price tag that some boutique brands attract.

A few of the smaller details are worthy of mention too: internal cables are easy to thread, with a full outer to the rear brake sheathed through the top tube and gear inners emerging from the down tube under the bottom bracket. Stevens also fits rubber guards to protect the paintwork from cable rub and Jagwire gear cable adjusters, easy to turn with one hand while riding, where the gear outers emerge from the bar tape. A tough metal-foil guard on the chainstay helps to protect the frame from damage if you drop the chain.

The core beauty of the Izoard is that, while it's a well thought out package just as it is, the quality carbon frameset also makes it a superb basis for later heft trimming and performance enhancing upgrades. A classier wheelset could be enough to nudge its speed and handling potential up to pro race bike levels.

The test bike, listed as a 56cm (sizes range from 50-62cm), has a horizontal top tube reach of 55.5cm. While the short head tube suggests race breeding, there's an inch stack of steerer washers to play with and you could also flip the stem the other way up if you like a high bar position. The geometry is at the steeper end of the race bike spectrum, 73.5 degrees parallel, with stem length and bar width corresponding to frame size (110mm stem and 420mm bars on this 56). The crank arms are 170mm on sizes 50 to 58, 175mm on the two larger sizes.

You'll find a fair few better equipped bikes around this price, notably from the brands that sell direct to the consumer, but not many of them offer frames as good as this. A lot of full carbon bikes from the big brands have Shimano 105 based groupsets.

Verdict

Race-bred carbon machine boasting lively but confident handling, low weight and a very impressive turn of speed.