Just in: Hoy Bikes Sa Calobra 003

The Sa Calobra 003 is the £1,000 aluminium framed road bike from new brand Hoy Bikes, built with a Shimano 105 groupset and running on RS10 wheels and with an all-up weight of 9kg (19.84lbs). The Sa Calobra range extends to four models, this ibeing the second-tier offering.

Earlier this year, Evans Cycles and Sir Chris Hoy announced their plans for a range of road and city bikes. We’ve been covering the development since then, with a blog by designer James Olsen that gives a good bit of background to the design process. After a bit of a wait, we finally have our hands on a production bike for review.

The bike is named after the iconic Sa Calobra climb in Majorca which is a must-ride for any cyclists jetting to the island for a week of cycling, and has also been a frequent destination for Chris Hoy during early season training.

The bike is built around a 6066 T6 triple butted aluminium frame with clean tube profiles and few superfluous curves or shapes. There’s some profiling of the chainstays and seatstay and the head tube is tapered with a 1.5in lower bearing which, along with the one-piece carbon fork with tapered steerer tube, should keep the front end solid.

Cables are routed externally so servicing and replacing them should be a cinch, and the bottom bracket is an external threaded type. All in all, it’s a smart looking bike with a simple aesthetic and a subtle black/pewter paint finish and discreet graphics. The coloured rings on the top tube that emulate the painted lines on a velodrome is a neat touch too.

The bike is reasonably well specified for the price. Certainly the buying power of Evans Cycles has helped give the bike a competitive build. It has Shimano 105 shifters and derailleurs, an FSA Omega compact chainset (with size-specific crank arm lengths) and Tektro R540 calliper brakes. They’ve fitted 25mm Continental Ultra Sport tyres to the Shimano RS10 wheels for a little extra comfort.

The Hoy logo is found on the aluminium handlebar, stem, seatpost and saddle, all of which have a smart appearance. The  semi-compact shape of the handlebar feels good in the hands and as with the cranks, both the bar and stem are size-specific. That means shorter stems and narrower handlebars on the smaller size frames. That shows good attention to detail. There’s also a good stack of spacers for adjusting the height of the stem. They offer the frame in seven sizes from XXS to XL so most heights should be covered.

That’s Hoy’s signature on the stem.

Sir Chris says he wants the brand to make cycling more accessible to people of all ages: “Cycling has been a central part of my life from an early age and has helped me achieve so much. I want to help more people experience the power and enjoyment of cycling, as well as demystifying it and making it accessible to all. That's why I decided to create a brand that embodies this vision and my passion.”

We’ll find out if the bike lives up to that passion as soon as a road.cc tester takes it out on the road.