Ragley unveil new Cragg Vale road frame

Ragley dipped their toes in the (sort of) road water last year with the Rodwell CX frame and they obviously found it to their liking, because for 2011 there's a new road frame in the range, the Cragg Vale. Ragley will continue to make the Rodwell next year too.

And what is the Cragg Vale? Well, it's a winter trainer with a sportive-derived geometry. The frame is Aluminium, and it's mated with a Ragley Carbon fork with an alloy steerer. The frame, fork and headset package will retail for £349 and you also get mudguards specifically designed to work with the frame.

There's rack mounts on the seat stays so you can press the Cragg Vale into service as a tourer too, although the dropout only has one mount so you'll need to double up or use P-clips if you want a rack and 'guards, not that it's a major issue. There's a replaceable hanger for your rear mech and down tube cable stops with adjusters. All pretty standard stuff, and the frame looks nicely put together and finished.

What isn't standard is the sticker kit: the frame is electric blue and comes with Chevron graphics. All the decals are made from 3M Scotchlite so you won't have to add any extra stickers or tape to get great side visibility on those winter evenings: a nice touch. It certainly looks like it'll build up into a very capable winter trainer or tourer, and we've added it to our list of bikes we want to try, so we'll get one in as soon as we can.