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TECH NEWS

Raleigh launches new track bike

Aluminium Equipe is priced at £600

Raleigh has signaled a return to track cycling with the launch of its new Equipe track bike.

The Equipe is made from double butted 6061 aluminium tubing and it comes with various track-specific features: horizontal dropouts, a fixed gear and no brakes. We had a very quick look at the bike when we visited Raleigh’s annual Heron show in Nottingham last month. 

As well as a 50-tooth chainring and 15-tooth sprocket for sprinters, it comes with 49-tooth and 45-tooth chainrings and a 16-tooth sprocket for endurance riders. You also get a chain whip, hex wrench, chainring bolt tool for swapping between them, along with a gear ratio chart to help you get what you’re after.

The Equipe is built up with a Raleigh carbon-bladed T1 track fork, an FSA Orbit headset, KMC Z5 chain and Vittoria Zaffirio tyres. The other components are from RSP, Raleigh’s in-house brand, including the TC 1.0 wheels.

It is available in 45cm, 50cm, 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm and 60cm frame sizes at £600.


The Equipe has been a long-term goal for Raleigh’s product development team and adds another model to the company's growing range of performance cycling bikes.

“We're recognising a big growth in velodromes and track racing in the UK at the moment, especially with two new cycling tracks on our doorstep, so we've brought the Equipe out to help the stars of the future reach their potential," said Raleigh Product Manager Terry Blackwood.

“Our track specialists from Team Raleigh have helped shape the design of the Equipe. We’ve focused on getting the geometry spot on, looking for a design that handles well and gives rapid acceleration.

“The small rear triangle brings stiffness to the back end for maximum power and the short wheelbase means this bike really shifts when the power goes down.

“This is one of several specialist bikes I’ve been developing. We’ll have a few more in this vein within the coming months.”

For more on the Equipe go to Raleigh’s websiteThe Equipe can be ordered online or from any Raleigh stockist.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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othello | 10 years ago
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+1 for more track bike reviews on road.cc  1

Looks pretty good for the money and spec. Undercuts the Hoy track bike. Would be interesting to compare the two.

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