Just in: Sabbath September

Titanium specialists Sabbath Bicycles have been producing a complete range of titanium road bikes since 2006, and the September we have here is their mudguard-equipped touring/winter/Audax bike. It’s available in various builds; this is the Shimano 105 specification costing £2,299.99.

We’ve tested the racier Mondays Child in the past but the September is better suited to the demands of riding at this time of year. Constant rain and roads covered in winter muck and dirt place emphasis on a bike designed to be comfortable and reliable with the provision for proper full-length mudguards and space for wider tyres for increased comfort. It’ll take up to 28mm tyres. 

The frame is made from 3AL/2.5V straight gauge seamless tubes with 0.9mm walls. The down tube is ovalised to create a better junction with the head tube and bottom bracket shell. It’s all very neatly finished, with cables carried under the top tube and along the down tube.

The head tube is 1 1/8in top and bottom and a Dedacciai Black Rain carbon fibre fork slots into the headset. The frame gets a classy semi-polished finish with sandblasted logo. A polished logo is an optional upgrade.

SKS ChromoPastic Mudguards come fitted, and there are also mounts for racks if you want to put the bike into commuting service, or have your eye on some summer cycle touring. It’s able to lug up to 25kg, claims Sabbath.

Sabbath offer various build options. We’ve plumped for a Shimano 105 spec. The chainset is a compact 50/34 and the brakes are non-series long reach callipers. The September rolls on Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels with Continental Gatorskin 25mm tyres.

Shimano’s PRO componentry brand supplies the aluminium stem, handlebars and seatpost, and we have a Selle Italia saddle.

Geometry, as befits such a bike, is a little longer than standard in the wheelbase and slacker in the head angle. Five sizes are offered, this being the large, or a 56cm. The effective top tube is 56.6cm with a 73° seat angle and 72° head angle. The head tube measures 17cm, so it’s still reasonably low at the front - it's certainly not a sportive sit-up-and-beg bike.

Frame weight is a claimed 1.6kg (3.52lbs) and on the road.cc scales the whole bike is 9.61kg (21.18lbs).

The first comparison bike that springs to mind is the Genesis Equilibrium Ti that we had in recently. On paper, the two bikes are very similar. The Genesis is a smidgen lighter but a bit costlier, and both are British brands. Both have very similar titanium tubesets. Stu, who is testing the Sabbath, also tested the Genesis so it will be very interesting to see how he compares the two bikes.

www.sabbathbicycles.co.uk