Verenti Insight 0.3 road bike

Verenti's Insight 0.3 offers a carbon frame and fork with a Shimano 105 groupset for just under £1000 . It provides superb handling, a good turn of speed and a comfortable position that makes it ideal for long rides and sportives.

How does it ride?

The Insight 0.3 rides superbly. It isn't just good for the price, its ride feel rivals much more expensive bikes.

It's very stable at a range of speeds and isn't easily unsettled on rough roads. The handling is well balanced, the steering providing good feedback making it easy to handle at a range of speeds.

Its easy to achieve a good, comfortable position, with the higher bar making it a comfortable bike for any longer rides you have planned.

The carbon frame and fork balances stiffness and comfort well. It's responsive when you push hard on the pedals yet the frame doesn't pass on too much vibration over rougher road surfaces.

When you pedal really hard, say in a sprint to the coffee shop against your mates, or just trying to get up a local climb a bit quicker, it feels stiff and very efficient. What we're trying to say is it transfers your energy into forward motion very well.

It's a very competent road bike. It's not the most exciting bike we've ever tested, but nor is it lacking in capability or potential, because it scores highly in both regards.

Who is this bike for?

Anyone wanting a well-priced carbon fibre road bike for tackling sportives, long rides in the countryside or fast Sunday blasts in the sun. You could even race it too, though it's not as pointy as a fully fledged race bike.

There's a lot of performance on tap. And that applies equally if you're a complete beginner recently inspired to take up cycling, or you've been cycling for a few years and want to make the leap to a carbon road bike.

Even experienced road cyclists won't find anything alarming about the performance and handling. It really does put a few more expensive bikes to shame.

Will it fit me?

It should. Verenti offer six sizes from XXS to XL, so there should be a size for everyone. If you're unsure of the size you need, there's a helpful size guide on the wiggle website.

I'm 5ft 11in and happily fitted the size medium, which has a 565mm top tube. That combines with a 175mm head tube which ensures the front of the bike isn't scarily low.

The handlebars are a generous width (42cm) and nicely shaped and the 110mm stem is a good length for the size 56cm we tested, so it's very comfortable whether you ride in the drops, the tops or in the hoods. You might want to fit a shorter or longer stem depending your reach preference, but as it stood it never felt overstretched.

Verenti have given the Insight 0.3 a short wheelbase (990mm) similar to many race bikes and that creates an engaging bike that is happy to be moved energetically around the road and through the turns. It didn't lack any stability compared to bikes with longer wheelbases really.

What's the spec like?

The Insight 0.3 has most of Shimano 105 groupset. Often at this price you often see own brand brake calipers to keep the costs down, but Verenti manage to make it a full 105 except for the Shimano non-series chainset, Tiagra cassette and KMC chain. That's a forgivable bit of skimping.

Gears shift with the lightness and crispness we've come to expect from Shimano. Brakes are solid and very reassuring. The compact 50/34 chainset and 12-28 cassette will see you up any mountain climbs without fear of running out of gears.

The Insight 0.3 rolls along on a nice set of Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels. Not the lightest wheels in the world, but they feel stiff when you push them hard with just a bit of give to help smooth out the road. They match the frame and fork nicely. They've also been very reliable, and previous experience with Fulcrum wheels on other test bikes suggest they should throw up no surprises.

Tyres are Continental Ultra Sport 23mm. They're the German company's more affordable offerings and don't have the same level of rolling resistance, speed and grip in all weathers of their more expensive offerings, but they're competent and provide decent performance. There's certainly no need to whip them off the moment you get the bike out of the box.

Never heard of 4ZA, the logo adorning the saddle, seatpost, stem and handlebars? It's a Belgian company, actually owned by Ridley so it's all good quality kit derived from lighter and racier components.

I was impressed with the saddle. It's fair to say I am fussy about saddles, but this one proved comfortable and suitably padded for longer rides.

The 110mm stem and 42cm handlebars are a good combination providing a comfortable reach, and the bars are nicely shaped with an not overly generous drop.

What's it weigh?

On the road.cc Scales of Truth it's a very reasonable 8.89kg (19.59lb). Weight is an one of the main areas where you really do get what you pay for. A heavy bike can feel sluggish and unwilling, and be a handful on the hills.

The benefit of the carbon fibre frame and fork at this price is you're shedding quite a bit of weight compared to a bike with an aluminium frame, and you will notice that difference on the hills. Or at the end of a 150km sportive. A lighter bike feels faster too, and feeling faster is always good.

Any downsides?

That you can only buy the Insight 0.3 online will put some people off. You can't simply walk into a local bike shop and look it over first. To combat this however Verenti lets you have a 30-day test ride on a new bike and if you don't like it, they'll refund you. That's a pretty appealing prospect and helps to overcome any fears you might have off buying a bike online.

Verdict

Great handling carbon road bike with a great build for the money but it's not a looker