Just in: Mango Bikes Point R road bike costing £719.99

We brought you a first look at the brand new Point R road bike from Mango Bikes a while ago, and now we’ve got our hands on one of the first production bikes so we can put it through its paces.

Featuring a smartly designed aluminium frame with smooth welds, curved tubes and internal cable routing, the appearance of the new Point R suggests high-end, even though the price tag suggests otherwise.

Along with a carbon fibre fork and own-brand finishing kit, the Point R is available in a range of builds, starting at £429.99 with Shimano Claris and rising to £619.99 for Shimano 105. That’s the bike we have for test here, but with the optional Vision Team 30 wheel upgrade pushing the price of the test bike up to £719.99. The Vision wheels are offered as a £99.99 upgrade on each build, along with a Continental GatorSkin tyre upgrade over the stock Kenda tyres.

The bike gets a Shimano 105 drivetrain with an FSA Vero compact chainset using an FSA square taper bottom bracket. Brake calipers are Tektro R315 and the handlebar, stem, seatpost and saddle are from Mango’s own Chasewood components brand. This bike comes with 25mm Kenda tyres - a Continental upgrade is available - and the frame will take up to 28mm tyres with mudguards, or 32mm without, which will please fans of wide tyres. 

On the scales this size medium comes in at a respectable 9.85kg (21.71lb).

Mango Bikes has built on the success of its original 18-speed steel fixed wheel and geared road bike, originally aimed at students wanting an affordable and customisable bike, with the development of the new aluminium Point R. It has the appearance of a race bike with the practicality of mudguard and rack mounts, making it ideal for sportives or daily commuting. The Point R was born from an ambitious brief "to develop the ultimate sub £1000 aluminium road bike, with all the features you’d expect from a bike twice the price.”

Mango has refined the geometry based on feedback from its customers and aimed to produce a bike that will appeal to newer cyclists looking to get into the sport. The frame is offered in three sizes, this medium has a 550mm effective top tube with a 530mm seat tube, a 160mm head tube, 1005mm wheelbase and 420mm chainstays. The head angle is 72.5 degrees and the seat angle is 73.5 degrees. The reach is 385mm and the stack is 570mm.

There’s a choice of four colours, this neon yellow (which has proved to be popular based on early sales according to Mango) and black, blue and white colours. Each model is refreshingly devoid of loud graphics, with just a head tube and seat tube decal. All very restrained. 

If you’re looking to spend £600-700 on a new road bike, you’ll find no shortage of decent options. For a bit more cash there’s the B’Twin Ultra 700AF with a similar aluminium frame and Shimano 105 groupset. Or there’s the Canyon Endurace AL 5.0, also with an aluminium frame, carbon fork but with a Shimano Tiagra groupset coming in at £699. The final comparison we’re going to offer you is the Specialized Allez Sport, currently discounted from £750 to £600, with an aluminium frame and Shimano Sora groupset. 

What those comparisons show is that on paper the new Point R is very well specced and competitively priced and fairs well against more established brands. Now it's just a matter of seeing how it performs on the road, so watch out for a full review soon. 

www.mangobikes.co.uk