Just in: Kinesis 4S Disc frameset, built up with new Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brakes

We've built up the new disc-and-calliper-friendly winter 4S Disc frameset from Kinesis with Shimano's new 105 hydraulic discs. And some other stuff.

There's not that many bike frames that you can build up with rim brakes or discs, depending on your choice, but the Kinesis 4S Disc is one such frame. It's a versatile winter/training/all purpose platform that you could use as the jumping off point for a number of different kinds of build. We've put ours together as a fast(ish) winter bike, using Shimano's new 105 hydraulic levers and flat-mount callipers.

Kinesis are good at making alloy bikes, and this 4S frameset uses their proprietary Kinesium tubing which they say offers "unrivalled comfort". Looking at the tube profiles, especially the massive down tube and the beefy stays, we're expecting it to be a pretty stiff beast too. Not that Kinesis have opted for maximum width at the bottom bracket: there are no press fits here, you get a standard 68mm threaded shell for whatever external bottom bracket takes your fancy. We're running a Turn Zayante 52/36 chainset on its dedicated bearings that give room for the 30mm oversized axle.

The 4S is internally routed, but it's a pretty simple beast to thread. The cable/hose ports have three different plates you can use, for cables, hoses or just to blank them off if you don't need them. Everything runs through the down tube and exits through two ports at the bottom; the rear mech cable runs externally from the bottom bracket along the chainstay, mech cable runs externally from the bottom bracket along the chainstay.

Calliper brake mounts are as you'd expect, and for discs, you get flat mount on both the frame and the fork. That means you can use Shimano's new minimal callipers, as we have, or post mount callipers using an adapter that Kinesis supply with the frame. Flat mount defaults to 140mm at the back; at the front a reversible plate means you can run the same or a bigger 160mm rotor. We've opted for the latter.

The rotors themselves are TRP's new Centerlock ones, and they're fitted to Kinesis' new Racelight 700c Disc wheels which are also in on test. Those wheels are tubeless-compatible so we've opted for 30mm Schwalbe S-Ones for some winter comfort and grip. We haven't fitted any mudguards yet; we will, though. Maybe even a rack, who knows. Kinesis reckon you can go up to 32mm tyres with full guards so we should be okay.

The colour-matched fork is a full carbon affair and it's fairly beefy, with as much clearance as possible while still being compatible with long-drop rim brakes. It's a standard 100mm QR rather than a through-axle, as there's not many through-axle wheels for a non-disc build. At the back, the dropouts are configurable for either 130mm spaced non-disc, or 135mm disc, wheels. Or even 130mm disc wheels, there's a few of them too.

Finishing kit is dependable alloy gear: Deda seatpost, 3T stem, Zipp bars. Stuff we had knocking about, basically. The Prologo saddle is at a little bit of an angle because that's the way Dave likes it. If you're a spirit-level-wielding rules acolyte, that may offend you. So apologies in advance for that. Prologo do the bar tape, too.

Out of the big box, the frame weighs in at 1,710g and the fork is 470g. That's for a 60cm frame. All told the fully built bike tips the scales at a reasonable 8.95kg. The frame and fork retail for £649.99. We'll be putting some winter miles in and report back soon.  More at www.kinesisbikes.co.uk