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Right, I've been out on it, so here's an initial report.
First, about me. I'm 1.85cm, 74kg, 1st cat road racer. My recent race bikes over the last couple of years have been a Cervelo SLC-SL then a Cervelo S3, and now this. I also have a Look 585 as a back-up race bike/ good trainer.
Spec of my bike:
Kyklos Featherweight Limited (size 56cm)
SRAM Red with BB30
Lightweight Standard Gen III
3T Rotundo LTD bar
3T ARX Team 120cm
Selle Italia SLR Fibra
I got the bike from ActivCycles in Corbridge, UK. I built it up with them in the shop. Unfortunately, they had already fitted the BB and chainset before I got there so I couldn't do the bare frame weight. I'll strip it sometime soon and see what it is. It must be pretty close to the claimed 890g, judging by the overall bike weight.
Initial impressions: finish looks great. It's a matt black, nude UD carbon finish. The decals look very crisp and the red highlights look good. It's also available with grey hightlights but I chose red. Quality of finish seems good. I've not noticed any problems. All the decals are hand sprayed so apparantly. There's some really nice tube profiles, especially on the top tube which changes from fairly triangular at the headtube, to almost round where it meets the seatpost.
Build: It was all pretty staight forward although the cabling was tricky. The frame uses full length cable outers, routed internally. Getting them in place too a while although we were using slightly larger Jagwire outer. As with all integrated seatposts, the motto 'measure twice, cut once' couldn't be more appropriate. The ISP clamp is a nice carbon affair with alloy hardware. The frame is supplied with an expander bung but I've used a bonded sleeve (like Cervelos) to save a few grams. Once built, I was surprise by how light the shifting felt. I had SRAM Red on my old Cervelo S3, but there was noticably less friction on this bike. Shifting is nearly 'Shimano-light'. This is probably down to the simplified cable routing (compared to the Cervelo) and the full length outer cable.
Ride: I immediately felt at home on this. The position was bang on (as I spent ages measuring it). Obviously, it's pretty light, so it accelerates well. I reckon the best way I can describe the feel is to relate it to my other bikes.
I always liked my Cervelos (SLC-SL and S3) for the feeling of unbreakable stiffness under power. This is a great feeling, but I found them quite dead feeling, and a bit slow-witted in terms of handling. On the other hand, my Look 585 has a lovely spring to it. It's stiff enough to sprint on, but gives more back. The Look is also much more agile than the Cervelo S3.
The Kyklos somehow seems to combine the features of these two bikes. It has that rock solid feel about the BB area, but is more forgiving. I found it easy to find a nice climbing rhythm out of the saddle (something that the Cervelos struggled with). There's also some comfort there too. It didn't feel harsh, even on fairly rough roads with 115psi in the tubs. I'll need a bit longer to assess comfort better though. Handling felt well balanced. Without consulting the geometry, I think the rear triangle may be a touch longer than some bikes. The over-riding feeling is of good stability, but still with sharp reactions to changes of directions. The steering is crisp and fairly light. Balance felt good, whereas I sometime feel as though my weight is a little too far forward on my Look (could be my set up though).
Overall initial impressions are very good. I'll ride it more and report more thoroughly on the ride.
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