bura review 3 - NeilPryde Bikes

NeilPryde b Bikes
NeilPryde
BURAsl
The company that made its name in watersports is
now making a splash in cycling. Cyclist dives in…
The spec
Model
NeilPryde BURAsl
Groupset
Shimano Ultegra 6800
Deviations
None
Wheels
Shimano RS31
Finishing kit
NeilPryde bars/
stem/seatpost
Fizik Antares R1 saddle
Price
£2,699 frame, fork,
headset; £3,599 as tested
Contact
2pure.co.uk
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cyclist
Y
es, NeilPryde is the windsurfing brand. For
the record, it makes sailing masts and sails
too. It’s a world leader in both of these fields,
which may not seem particularly relevant to
bicycle manufacturing, but bear in mind that both of these
endeavours involve a huge amount of expertise in carbon
fibre. Granted, that’s no assurance that NeilPryde can
make a decent bike frame, but considering the force an
Olympic yacht sail puts through its carbon mast in a gale,
I’m happy to give the company the benefit of the doubt.
Why do I start by mentioning this? On my first group
ride aboard the BURAsl, a friend rode alongside me
and said, ‘What are you on this week, Stu?’ (As a bike
tester I ride a lot of different bikes.) Once I told him, he
looked at me with surprise and not just a hint of disdain.
‘NeilPryde? Don’t they make surfboards?’ he laughed.
‘You don’t see Pinarello trying to make surf gear, do you?’
The implication of my fellow rider (who was riding
a Dogma) was that NeilPryde is unlikely to put together
Words STU BOWERS
a respectable bike frame because cycling isn’t the
company’s first priority. I’d wager if owner Neil Pryde
had a dollar for every time he’d heard similar, he could
close up shop and never have to make another bike frame
again. But we’re talking about a man who formed one
of the biggest and most successful windsurf companies
in the world without ever having stepped foot on a
windsurfer himself. He’s clearly a very driven character
who knows how to get a job done right.
I’m not saying NeilPryde has a chance of overpowering
the likes of Pinarello as a world-beater in the cycling
industry, but when the bike arrived at the Cyclist office,
I felt certain that a company with the carbon fibre
knowhow and dedication to excellence that NeilPryde
demonstrates could produce something very special.
Open minds, not moulds
So what of the NeilPryde BURAsl? For starters, if the
claimed frame weight is to be believed, weight weenies P
top tube
The top tube has a girderlike feel to it, and it’s not a
false front. The frame rides
exactly like it’s burly looks
suggest – firm to the max.
cyclist
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NeilPryde b Bikes
carbon gussets
These additional carbon
gussets, behind the head
tube and where the top
tube meets the seat
tube, brace the frame,
increasing stiffness.
P will be salivating into their skinny lattes. It’s 710g.
That’s as light as – in many cases lighter than – the most
sought-after brands in the world, yet it has a bulky
appearance that belies its feathery weight. It’s a pretty
burly build, with the exception of the seatstays, which
are noticeably scrawny.
There are no indications that NeilPryde has looked
to the competition for cues on how to create this frame.
Its design is far from generic, with a number of unique
features. The gussets that serve to reinforce the junctions
at both ends of the already huge, square-section top
tube, for instance, certainly don’t suggest a manufacturer
skimping on materials in order to reduce weight. The
junction of the seatstays with the seat tube might, at a
glance, look reminiscent of a BMC, but the extra ribs of
frame reinforcement are in fact the result of collaboration
with another famous ‘BM’ brand – BMW – and its
Designworks facility based in the USA, with whom
NeilPryde has worked on a number of projects.
Another unique feature of the BURAsl are its three
bottle cage mount bolts on the down tube. NeilPryde’s
Mike Rice explains, ‘That comes from Neil’s son, who
needs quite a small frame and struggled with getting
‘The seatstays and
seatpost are a nod
towards comfort,
but there’s not
much to be found’
water bottles in and out. He’s a crit racer and only
ever needed one bottle (a nod towards what this bike
is designed to excel at) so they just moved the mounts
down.’ So, rather unusually, the BURAsl frame offers a
choice of two positions for the down tube bottle cage.
Weight savings, the company claims, have been
made through making the frame in fewer pieces. Its
multi-monocoque design not only makes for a lighter
construction but also allows the carbon fibres to run in
longer lengths, uninterrupted through key junctions of
the frame. The chainstays, rear dropout and seatstays,
for example, are a single frame piece. The chainstays
look like they could hold up a building, as opposed to the
seatstays that look more like drinking straws. These ultra
thin seatstays and a 27.2mm seatpost are NeilPryde’s token
gesture towards a comfier ride, but having thoroughly road
tested the BURAsl I can announce ‘comfortable’ would not
be near the top of my list of adjectives to describe it.
Tough on the streets
Out on the road, the BURAsl’s immense stiffness is
apparent immediately. It’s rock solid in and out of the P
cyclist
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Bikes b NeilPryde
P saddle, uphill or down. And I reckon it’s got the
muscle to cope with riders far bigger, more aggressive
and powerful than I am. When you add that to the bike’s
low weight, the combined effect is to paste a great big
grin on your face as you propel yourself, catapult-style,
down the road. That’s until the road surface becomes
less smooth, whereupon your smile may turn into a
grimace as the seat constantly reminds your backside
that there’s not much in the way of compliance going
on between it and the floor.
It’s a similar picture up front. The feel through
the handlebars is fairly harsh, although the upside
is that you do have great feedback in terms of your
connection with the road.
Despite the fact the BURAsl was the first bike to
give me a saddle sore in a very long time, I did find
myself prepared to forgive it because for the most part
I thoroughly enjoyed riding it. It’s a bike that needs
taming, a beast that will appeal to out-and-out racers.
If going fast for an hour in a criterium is your game,
then you’ll revel in the characteristics of this bike. Allday sportivistes need not apply (unless you’re married
to a chiropractor and having an affair with a physio).
NeilPryde has other bikes in its stable, such as the
Zephyr, that are designed to be far more forgiving.
Shimano’s RS31 wheelset, whilst very capable in its
own right, felt a little out of place here when it retails at
‘It’s a bike that
needs taming,
a beast that will
appeal to outand-out racers’
210
cyclist
finishing kit
NeilPryde’s own branded
finishing kit feels high
quality enough not to
appear like a means to
cut costs. Aesthetically
and functionally it’s on
the money.
just £247 for the pair (and the wheels were shod with
budget rubber too). They just weren’t in keeping with the
lively, lightweight frame. It’s extremely common these
days for manufacturers to keep the build cost in check by
including cheaper wheels, but it always feels a little like
they are trying to pull the wool over customers’ eyes, so we
will always point out when we don’t feel that the wheels
are a suitable match for the frame they’re accompanying.
The Shimano Ultegra 6800 groupset, by comparison,
is a perfect match. It’s the best Ultegra to date in my
opinion, and the rest of the components are similarly
suitable, being rigid enough to get the best from a
fiendishly quick frame. Change the wheels to something
light and deep section and this will be the most fun
you can have on a bike – just remember to wear your
comfiest bibshorts. ]
The detail
NeilPryde has taken an interesting
approach to routing the rear brake
cable. It enters at the front of the
head tube, providing both a very neat
cable curve, to minimise cable drag,
and also eliminating the chance of
any cable rub against the frame. The
cable passes through the carbon
wall of the head tube, exiting at the
ideal spot under the top tube. It’s a
seamlesless and neat transition that
provides a straight line of sight for
the cable and is another unique
and well thought out aspect of
the frame design.