ALLOY ASSAULT
There’s a temptation when reviewing premium alloy bikes to suggest they’re particularly good ‘for a metal bike’, the subtext being that we all know carbon is inherently better. Carbon makes sense for high-performance bikes because it’s infinitely tuneable. It lets designers target stiffness, strength and flexibility exactly where they want it by using different types and arrangements of fibres and clever lay-up methods.
Metal, by contrast, can be manipulated to a high degree, with elaborate butting, forming and heat-treatment techniques, but you can’t fundamentally alter the mechanical properties of the material with such ease because it’s not a composite. The truth is, none of this matters when the bikes are this good.
The two on test here challenge conventionally-held assumptions about aluminium, offering performance and specs that go head-to-head with similarly priced carbon.
Our contenders from Bowman and Cannondale sit in the two-to-three grand bracket and have
