Which Pinnacle?

[AndyRM]

I've decided (without the knowledge of Mrs RM) that I'd like something disc based to commute on and chuck around some trails. I'll be using C2W which is tied to Evans where I work and have narrowed it down to three fairly similar possibilities:

Arkose 3 2014

Cheapest and the one I like the look of most. Very slight downsides are the Tiagra front mech and the cross bars (which I assume would be easily removed?).

Arkose 3 2015

Full 105 and internal routing. On the downside it's £1,000 which is quite a chunk of salary sacrifice.

Pyrolite 2 2015

Same spec as the 2014 Arkose and looks remarkably similar, but painted blue. If the extra £50 has gone on paint, I think I'd go for the Arkose.

As I can't make my mind up, I thought I'd base my decision on what the CC Collective voted for. Any first hand experiences would be welcome.

 

[vickster]

The silver one appears to only be available in large, so if that's not your size and unless there are any on the shop floor and they will source for you, you may be stuck with a 2015

What's wrong with a Tiagra front mech? I think cross brakes are indispensible on a commuter but you do lose bar space. Just need to recable and rewrap the bars if removed (I assume as it's the same when adding them)

I'd choose the blue on colour (not sure even I could live long term with the green)

 

[AndyRM]

The silver one appears to only be available in large, so if that's not your size and unless there are any on the shop floor and they will source for you, you may be stuck with a 2015

What's wrong with a Tiagra front mech? I think cross brakes are indispensible on a commuter but you do lose bar space. Just need to recable and rewrap the bars if removed (I assume as it's the same when adding them)

I'd choose the blue on colour (not sure even I could live long term with the green)

Yeah, large is my size.

Nowt wrong with a Tiagra mech, and £150 seems a pretty big mark up for 105!

I've never had cross brakes so I guess I don't really see the point of them - they seem like a modern take on 'suicide' levers? I'd keep them on unless I really hated them I suppose.

 

[vickster]

It's not been marked up, the 2014 has been reduced from £1000 since the new one appeared

Pinnacle bikes seem to come up really big so make sure you test ride the large (you can order the bikes in for £50 deposit with no obligation)

The cross brakes work unlike suicide levers

 

[ianrauk]

I have the Pyrolite, it's my commute bike.
It does look very much like the Akrose 3, except with a better colour The front mech is also Tiagra. (You won't notice any difference between that and a 105 mech)
It's a nice bike, has a good turn of speed and easy to throw around traffic.

And after some mods..

Since the photo above I have changed the saddle and added a rack for a pannier bag.

 

[Cycleops]

The Pyrolite (what a dreadful name) is a road bike as opposed to others being classed as an "adventure bikes", I guess the new name for CX bikes. Have to agree with the above, green is a terrible colour, so it would have to be one of the other two, the 2014 shows a saving so that looks fave.

 

[ianrauk]

The Akrose 3 doesn't have internal cable routing.
It also has lower gearing then the Pyrolite. 32 as opposed to 28

 

[vickster]

Indeed, the cables are showing on the green one looking more closely

 

[Flying Dodo]

I've got a 2013 Arkose 3 which was £1,000 when I bought it exactly 2 years ago. It was all 105, until I broke the front dérailleur and fitted a Tiagra one I had lying around. No difference in shifting.

I'd go for the 2015 model as the fork has a screw for holding a front mudguard. The 2014 model doesn't (bizarrely).

And I'll leave the cross brake levers on - very handy in traffic.

 

[AndyRM]

On the cabling, the spec mentions internal routing for the gear cable, which seems pointless to be honest.

Pyrolite is looking like a winner right now. I'll probably have changed my mind by tomorrow though!

Cheers for the input so far folks.

 

[AndyRM]

@ianrauk - have you tried putting full guards on yours? From what I've read on the Evans site they're a bit of a bugger to sort, which I suppose is true of many guards but seems to be a particular issue with Pinnacle.

 

[ianrauk]

@ianrauk - have you tried putting full guards on yours? From what I've read on the Evans site they're a bit of a bugger to sort, which I suppose is true of many guards but seems to be a particular issue with Pinnacle.

Yes I have SKS full guards on there. No probs at all.

And yep, looking more closely at the pic of the A3, it does have internal cabling for the gear cable.