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First ride: Bowman Cycles Palace aluminium racer

We get the Palace aluminium frame built and take it for a spin

So the other week new British brand Bowman Cycles popped into the office to show us their new bikes, and they left us a Palace frame to test, which was very nice of them. We’ve sent the frame to regular bike tester Stu to build it up with the new Shimano 105 11-speed groupset for the purposes of passing verdict on the frame.

Bowman Cycles are based in Kent and the Palace is the first frame from their range, with more models in the pipeline. The Palace has been named after the popular weekly crit race held at Crystal Palace in South London, and so it has designed for racing or at the very least, riding hard and fast. Bowman Cycles are fans of aluminium as a frame material because it produces a bike with competitive weight (even compared to carbon), and desirable stiffness and comfort - yes, really - and all at a decent price.

The frame features a 6069 triple butted aluminium tubeset with custom shaped tubes, a short head tube, slightly sloping top tube, external cable routing and geometry aimed at providing a pretty aggressive position. A 56cm has a 560mm top tube, 165mm head tube, 73 degree seat and head angles, 405mm chainstays and a 70mm bottom bracket drop.

There's a PressFit86 bottom bracket and a 27.2mm seatpost, to provide a bit more comfort, and if you want even more comfort then you'll be pleased to know the frame will accommodate 28mm tyres. The frameset, that’s the frame, carbon fibre fork and headset, costs £650. It's available in five sizes, 50 to 58cm - this 56cm frame weighs 1,200g, which we think you’ll agree is very impressive, and compares favourably with the Cannondale CAAD10 and Kinesis Aethein frames.

Stu has built up the frame with the Shimano 105 11-speed groupset that he reviewed recently, with a race-ready 53/39 chainset and hill-friendly 11-28 cassette. He’s currently rolling on Miche SWR Carbon wheels, but will be trying other wheelsets in the frame during the test period. Mounted to the rims are Michelin Pro4 23mm tyres (Stu is stubbornly refusing to embrace the trend for wider tyres, but we’re working on that).

He’s gone with a full Deda finishing kit, comprising an alloy Zero 2 stem, RHM 02 handlebars in 42cm width, and an RSx02 seatpost. Solidly dependable and stiff parts, perfect for crit racing. The saddle is an oldie, a Flite with titanium rails.

Want to have a guess at the weight? Wrong! It’s 18lb (8.16kg) on the nose, and that’s including the Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals too.

Stu has so far only logged a few installation miles. Here are his initial impressions:

“I've just got back after taking it for a short bedding in blast, its really tight when you push it hard with quick handling, it feels like a proper crit bike,” say Stu. “Stiff but not overly harsh to, can't wait to give it a really good long blast.”

“Oh yeah,” he adds, “the geometry is really good as well, the short head tube lets you get really low which is great for descending. You feel as if you are sat right over the bike and you can change your line with just a small shift of body weight.”

That all sounds very encouraging. We’ll give Stu a couple of weeks to ride it and get plenty of miles under the wheels and then we’ll get his review online, which we reckon a lot of people will be interested in. There’s certainly a lot of interest in aluminium frames at present, with the recent advances in aluminium pushing the material into a place where it’s a credible alternative to carbon. Will the Palace be a CAAD10 slayer? We'll soon find out.

More about Bowman Cycles at http://bowman-cycles.com

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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19 comments

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mtbtomo | 9 years ago
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Yeah, ok, just the one comment about "winter bike" on this thread but there were similar queries on the Kinesis Aithein thread and almost every time there is some new alloy frame on tbe block.

+1 for comparisons on alloy race frames, there are one or two others out there Raleigh Militis alu version, Specialized Allez (the smart weld version)....

I'm riding my carbon bike for winter and keeping my Aithein and TCR SL for summer crit racing  3

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the_steve_ | 9 years ago
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Stu, I'll be following this review with interest, i'm currently looking at building up a crit-specific bike - and the Bowman looks ideal for it.

I think you've captured the spirit of a crit bike perfectly (i'd be using Deda zero 1 & 105 too) and the parts bin approach again, is spot on.

I'd really like to hear your feedback on how this bike performs in a crit (if you get chance to do one) - or even better than that, a crit bike shootout;
Bowman Palace vs Kinesis Aithein vs Cannondale CAAD10 - as i'm sure there are other self-funded racers out there mentally comparing the three.

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stuke replied to the_steve_ | 9 years ago
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the_steve_ wrote:

Stu, I'll be following this review with interest, i'm currently looking at building up a crit-specific bike - and the Bowman looks ideal for it.

I think you've captured the spirit of a crit bike perfectly (i'd be using Deda zero 1 & 105 too) and the parts bin approach again, is spot on.

I'd really like to hear your feedback on how this bike performs in a crit (if you get chance to do one) - or even better than that, a crit bike shootout;
Bowman Palace vs Kinesis Aithein vs Cannondale CAAD10 - as i'm sure there are other self-funded racers out there mentally comparing the three.

I own an Aithien and have access to a CAAD 10 so there will definitely be comparisons between the three.

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mtbtomo | 9 years ago
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18lb? Thats a full pound heavier than my Kinesis Aithein with 5800 105?

With comparable frame weights, where is that extra 1lb lurking??

My Aithein has a carbon post and Cero 50 carbon wheels but "only" a Charge Spoon and Deda alloy bars.

And why, every time there's a review of an alloy race bike, does everyone immediately think "winter bike...."???

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Iamnot Wiggins replied to mtbtomo | 9 years ago
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mtbtomo wrote:

And why, every time there's a review of an alloy race bike, does everyone immediately think "winter bike...."???

I don't think my solitary comment relating to winter bikes constitutes "everybody" does it.

Would I ride my S-Works, or any high end carbon bike for that matter, through the crap of East Sussex during the winter? No, hence why an alloy bike is used for that purpose!

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crikey | 9 years ago
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ALL bike reviews should include how wide of tire can be squeezed into the frame. Should be a standard testing metric...

...or you could simply ask the manufacturer if you are investigating a purchase, if you're not too busy...

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mattsavage | 9 years ago
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ALL bike reviews should include how wide of tire can be squeezed into the frame. Should be a standard testing metric...

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stuke replied to mattsavage | 9 years ago
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mattsavage wrote:

ALL bike reviews should include how wide of tire can be squeezed into the frame. Should be a standard testing metric...

28mm tyre width is the max

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Iamnot Wiggins | 9 years ago
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Is there a weight limit on the frame as I'm 1 whole stone over that of the Athein and would this work as a winter bike frame? I like my winter bikes to be reasonably quick!

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Neil @ Bowman replied to Iamnot Wiggins | 9 years ago
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HI, regarding the weight limit.
There isn't one. Its that simple, so if you're just outside the weight limit for the excellent Aethein, you'll be good for the Palace frame.

If you, or anyone else has any queries, there is a contact form on the website linked in the article, and we are more likely to be able to get the answer to you quickly there.

Thanks for the feedback everyone to.

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truffy | 9 years ago
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It's nice to see such neat welding on a aluminium frame. At the risk of being a 'hairdresser' untidy welding is really off-putting, especially on more expensive frames.

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gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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Lovely looking bike, but who decided on the silver chainset??!!  39

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stuke replied to gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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gareth2510 wrote:

Lovely looking bike, but who decided on the silver chainset??!!  39

I used what was in the spare parts bin  4 I'll tell you how it rides and you can spec it how you want and yes if it was mine I would put a black group set on it

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LarryDavidJr | 9 years ago
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Nice looking frame. But own a frame named after Crystal Palace? No effin chance!

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john wells replied to LarryDavidJr | 9 years ago
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I am with you on that one!

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Claud And I | 9 years ago
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Nice.
Bowman are also sponsoring the Team22 Women's Race Team this season. Which puts them up a couple of notches in my books.

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crikey | 9 years ago
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When the hairdressers have finished...

It looks like the perfect UK and elsewhere race bike, tough enough to chuck in the car/van and crash and carry on. 105 is good enough, alloy frame is sensible, no equipment related excuses...

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Shamblesuk | 9 years ago
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Ack, who put ugly 105 silver on this? Black would have looked a million times better. Beautiful frame though, I'm really enamoured with it.

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Vejnemojnen | 9 years ago
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Would have mentioned Canyon Ulti AL SLX frame as well. BTW, geometry -wise it's like a classical racer, from italian breed. Certainly a good point for the frame!  1

Would be pleased with a decent paintjob in yellow or green, or even red. Fed up wth black totally. I'd build it up with 10spd Centaur red-black with craboncranks (Fulcrum UT). Should shave off some grams compared to 105.

With a lighter finishing kit, ofc.  1

Looking forward to the review.

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