First Look: Vielo V+1

We’ve now had the chance to see the new Vielo V+1 road plus bike in the flesh for the first time and we have to say that we’re pretty excited to try it out some time over the next few months to see how it rides.

We first showed you the V+1 this time last week, and Vielo swung by the road.cc office this morning with one of the prototypes and two final versions.

The seatstays are wide and flat – really flat, like a leaf spring – and there's no brake bridge between them. Put your hands on one of them and you can make it flex slightly with pressure from your thumbs.

We’re guessing that translates into a smooth ride over rough roads – that’s certainly what it’s designed for – although we’ve yet to try out the bike to see how well it works.

Up close, you can see that there’s great attention to detail here.

You get stainless steel bashguards to protect the frame and fork from the disc rotors when fitting/removing the wheels, for example, and another one fitted to the chainstay, right next to the chainring (chainring singular; this is a bike designed for a 1x drivetrain).

As a bike designed specifically for UK conditions, the V+1 features mudguard eyelets on both the frame and fork. They’re positioned so as to attract the minimum of attention when not in use. 

The cabling is UK specific, designed to work neatly with the rear brake operated by the left-hand lever. None of the cables touch the frame so you’re not going to get any wear to the paintwork caused by rubbing.

As well as bottle cage mounts, you get bosses on the underside of the down tube for fitting a toolbox and on the top tube for a bento box (for bars and gels, for instance).

The pre-production bike (some of the details, such as the cabling, aren't quite right on this version) with a camo wrap is fitted with a dropper post that you operate via the left hand shifter (there’s no need to control a front derailleur, this being a 1x bike). It’s a really neat feature, the cable running internally.

If you don’t want a Sram system, you can go for Shimano with Dura-Ace/XTR components.

Standard spec is with a 42-tooth chainring and a 10-42-tooth cassette, but Vielo will swap it to a 38-tooth chainring if you prefer lower gears. You can also choose the crank and stem length and the handlebar width.

The frame has a claimed weight of 890g (medium) with the complete bike coming in at 7.9kg. That’s really impressive for a bike of this kind.

The V+1 frameset, including the fork, headset bearings, axles and small parts, is priced at £2,999. Complete bikes start at £5,299. Vielo reckons its size range covers everyone from 5ft 3in to 6ft 7in.

Vielo expects the first delivery in February with availability through a small number of dealers soon afterwards.

For more info go to www.vielo.cc.