specific shapes TIME has given the
RXRS. The seat tube is aero and
sculpted with a massive cut out to
tuck the rear wheel under the rider.
The down tube flares considerably to
handle lateral loads from pedaling and
the top tube has triangular bracing at
the head tube for a rigid front end.
Fork Blades, Chain Stays
and 95%…
What is clear from the first few
miles on the TIME RXRS is it is
quite certainly the finest example
of tube and lug carbon on the road
today. It has a sparklingly and
dynamic ride quality well beyond
what has typically been associated
with this construction technique and
far beyond what we’ve personally
experienced with it. It responds with
energy and crispness that convinces
you that today the legs will be good.
A wheelbase of 99. 5 centimeters and
a head tube angle of 73 degrees put
even the most critical, high-paced
corners easily within your grasp. A
front center which is a touch longer
than other bikes with similar a
wheelbase ensures that handling is
never twitchy, just razor sharp.
A bit of a surprise that adds to this
feeling is the extremely stiff front
end. Give most of this credit to the
extremely robust straight fork blades,
they simply resist any flex, ensuring
the bike’s tight angles get to do their
job. However, the front of the bike
is stiff vertically as well. Very little
is done to dampen impacts as they
hit your front axel, but as they move
through the bike, they don’t sting
quite as much as you would expect
them to at the rear. That has to be
the Vectran fibers included in the
carbon braids. The feeling isn’t one of
perfect balance, but it is one of close
communication with the road surface.
As stated earlier, the bike is clearly
the best lug and tube bike on the
road, but how does it compare to the
elite monocoque, or tube-to-tube
bicycles? During power transfer, the
bike seems to get 95% of the way
there. Its acceleration is vigorous
and lively, but as the effort ramps
up, whether climbing or sprinting, it
seems to ask for a little more power
than some top pro-level racers.
Another concern for big riders may be
the chain stay length. We’ve long been
advocates of short chain stays, they
give you a connected sense of kinetic
drive. We’ve never met a chain stay
too short. Until now, that is. At 401
millimeters, we have met our match.
That is almost half a centimeter
shorter than some of the raciest bikes
in the peloton and can lead the rear
wheel to feel a little unsettled during
an aggressive jump out of the saddle,
or during a quick flick to the opposite
side of the train during a sprint.
The
Bottom Line.
time-sport.com
PRICE: $5,400 (frame, fork,
headset, bars, stem, and
CMT seat post)
SIZE TESTED: L (57cm)
GROUP: SRAM Red Black
WHEELSET: SRAM AL30 Gold
the nervous edge, unmistakable
aesthetics, and a soul that’s as close
to cycling’s tradition of handmade
craftsmanship as carbon gets.
It’s also worth noting that all of this
comes with a serious commitment to
the welfare of their workforce and the
environment. TIME bikes are greener
than the strictest requirements of the
European Union and every waste
material is tracked and taken care of
by a third-party company. TIME is
socially responsible carbon.
The Rider
You don’t need to win bunch sprints to
put food on the table, but you still need
a competitive racer. You want razor-
sharp handling but hate a twitchy feel.
You like your bike to stand out from
the monocoque crowd for its aesthetics
and its design quality. ]p[
To be sure, these are issues if you are trying to win races for a living. For the rest of us, the incredible workmanship of the RXRS, the dynamic ride quality, and next-level carbon technology deliver a daily rider that stands alone from the rest of the field. Crisp handling without
