This month the team over at Inside Sport reviewed our Vantage Endurance 3.0 - here is what they think about this road racer:
First Impressions
Reid have made a quick transition from humble beginnings, to having a range of road, mountain, cyclocross, commuting and leisure bikes. Now they are available via Reid’s own stores, and of course online.
The range of bikes on the market is constantly growing, as are the range of people interested in them. Which is good, as many long-term cyclists might be too closed-minded to consider a Reid, or suggest one for a friend who was looking for a great value bike. Until looking at the range more closely recently, I would easily have fallen into the same trap.
The muted grey appearance of the Vantage Endurance should suit both the understated purist, super-commuter and urban warrior. Bright colours look fantastic but there is a lot of upkeep involved. The matte grey looked great all test, with barely a wipe down.
The frame tubing has had a lot of thought put into it. From the tall, tapered head tube, which butts against the large down tube, to the heavily shaped top tube that narrows to a quarter of its size by the time it reaches the seat tube. The seat stays are flattened and a narrow diameter, and the Reid’s chain stays are tall to provide stiffness out of the saddle - and to allow clearance for wider tyres to enhance ride comfort and traction.
Best of all, the Reid has adopted through-axles front and rear. These should be de rigeur for a bike with disc brakes, as the stiffer interface helps minimise disc rub, while also being stronger, stiffer and more reliable. Basically, they tend to make a bike ride better. Changing a wheel at ‘race pace’ might suffer a little bit but that’s not a concern for this bike.
The group set mix on the Reid is solid, with Shimano Ultegra 6800 optimised with Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and an FSA compact crank set – notably running a full-compact 34/50 as opposed to a semi-compact 36/52. Combined with an 11-32 cassette out back, this gear range is immense, and it will cater to the variety of uses the bike can meet. Best of all, the jumps between gears felt really good. A die-hard racer might like a smaller range with closer gaps between gears – but that’s not the intent of the Vantage Endurance.
I picked this bike up in person from Reid’s store and it was well-built. That’s a step that many often feel is overlooked when purchasing online or from value outfits like Reid. In this case, when I inspected the bike on my workstand, no real issues came up. The front derailleur shifting and trim were spot on, there was no disc rub, the bars were at the right angle and the tape was neat and tidy. The back end did need to have the low limits set and tension re-adjusted, but overall it was a pretty good outcome, if not a gold star report card.
There is no avoiding the fact the bike isn’t light. At 9.58kg without pedals or any spares, it means you will be moving over 10kg of bike around with you. But given the price and quality of equipment, I see that as an investment in durability. You could change some parts down the line, but really the Reid is a bike you can get on and ride a lot without the need for extra investment.
To find out what else Inside Sport have to say about the Vantage Endurance 3.0, you can read the whole review here