Onix launch Rob Hayles Signature bikes

Onix are releasing two new carbon-framed road bikes in the spring: the racy Onix Black RH Pro and the sportive-friendly Onix Black RH. The RH refers to Rob Hayles, the former track world champion and British road race champion who is now the development tester for the Preston-based brand.

As you might have guessed, the Pro version has the higher spec. It’s made from Toray T800 unidirectional carbon while the straight Black RH is T700 in a 3k weave. The Pro version also has a more aggressive geometry.

The Pro model comes with what Onix are calling a ‘Flow’ chainstay design. They say the wide chainstays flow outside the seat tube and into the down tube to provide a stiff surround for the BB30 bottom bracket. The rear dropouts are carbon and the cables run internally.

Onix give an unpainted frame weight for the 48.5cm model (the smallest one in the line-up) of 960g. Anything under a kilo falls into the ‘pretty darn light’ category.

The Onix F01 straight-bladed fork is full carbon – that includes the steerer and dropouts. It weighs in at 380g, again unpainted.

The Onix Black RH Pro will be available in four sizes from 48.5cm to 57cm. The 54cm model comes with a 550mm top tube and a 145mm head tube. If you work in reach, it’s 394mm while the stack height is 545mm – so it’s a racy setup.

Onix are one of those brands that allow you to choose the spec yourself from a wide range of options. The frame and fork, which come with a two-year warranty, will set you back £1,399.99. Then you pick from Shimano, SRAM or Campag groupsets, then the wheels and finishing kit you want.

The Black RH is built to a less aggressive, more sportive-friendly geometry. Again, it comes in four sizes, but they range from 52cm to 59cm. The 54cm model has a 155mm head tube, a 391mm reach and a 553mm stack height so, as sportive bikes go, it’s towards the racier end of the spectrum. That’s still a pretty performance-orientated setup.

Like the Pro version, this one has a BB30 bottom bracket and it gets the same fork too. It’s just the rear brake cable that runs internally, though, not the gear cables, and the smallest frame size weighs in at 1,030g.

The frame and fork cost £1,199.99 and, again, you get a two-year warranty. You have the same build options as with the Pro.

For more info go to www.onixbikes.co.uk.