Pinnacle launch updated Arkose and Dolomite for 2015

Pinnacle Bikes, the in-house brand of cycling retailer Evans Cycles, have updated their popular Arkose and Dolomite models for 2015. There aren't any major changes, instead there are a series of revisions and updates to both, with lighter frames, more tyre clearance and improved specifications.

Arkose gets increased fork tyre clearance

road.cc have tested a couple of Arkose cyclo-cross/road bikes over the years, and we’ve always warmed to their versatility and ruggedness. It’s simply the sort of bike that is just really good fun for hacking around the lanes and woods through the winter, yet capable enough to fulfil the role of a daily commuter, if needed. The bike has cyclo-cross roots but the geometry has been modified to make it a bit more suitable for road use.

Pinnacle have expanded the Arkose range for 2015 and refined the bike, with changes to the fork claimed to provide a better ride balance, as well as providing increased tyre clearance. You can now get a 42mm tyre in there.

They’ve also managed to reduce the frame weight by using thinner-walled tubes for the chainstays, seatstays and seat tube, along with flat welds and neater internal cable routing. Other details remain the same, such as the lower bottom bracket height to give the Arkose a more road bike feel and 71.5-degree head angle. All the Arkose models come with disc brakes as standard, mechanical on the entry-level models and hydraulic on the range topping bikes.

Here's an overview of the 2015 range, fresh in from Pinnacle.

The £750 Arkose 1, offered in women’s sizing, comes with a full carbon fibre fork with tapered steerer tube and a Sora groupset with Tektro Mira brakes.

We reviewed the £900 Arkose 2 earlier this year, a really interesting build package with a simple 1x10 drivetrain and hydraulic brakes, with a single bar-end gear shifter. For 2015 the bike remains the same price and uses revised TRP Hylex hydraulic disc brakes, a wider range 11-36 cassette and fatter 40mm WTB Nano tyres.  And as with last year’s model, it’s been painted in a shocking love-or-hate Matt Lime colour.

The £1,000 Arkose 3 will be available in a men and women’s model with Shimano 105 11-speed groupset and Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes, TLR rims and Kenda tyres.

The £1,250 Arkose 4 gets the new Shimano 105 mechanical groupset with the new R685 hydraulic disc brakes. This is probably our pick of the range. The bike is available in men and women’s specification, with Matt Cyan for the former and Gloss Aqua for the latter.

At £1,450 the Arkose 5 uses the new SRAM Force CX11 1x11 groupset with hydraulic disc brakes. The SRAM groupset uses a chainring with alternating fat and thin teeth and a clutch mechanism in the rear mech that together eliminate the need for a chain guide.

Finally, if you want an Arkose without the complexity of gears, they offer the Arkose SS. Yes, it’s a singlespeed. It costs £800 and uses TRP Hylex hydraulic disc brakes with a 38x17 drivetrain and a singlespeed-specific sealed bearing rear hub. 40mm WTB Nano tyres on TLR rims and a choice of two colours, Splatter Lime or Black on Khaki Matt.

We don't have photos of those last three bikes at the moment.

Dolomite road range gets lighter frame

While last year Pinnacle unleashed the disc-equipped Pyrolite road bike, the Dolomite hasn’t been ignored there are some changes for the 2015 range. This model is your classic road bike with caliper rim brakes and Pinnacle push the versatility and all-round angle with space for up to 28mm tyres and mudguard eyelets, making them the perfect candidate for a commuter bike or a year-round training bike.

Frames across the range has been updated with a lighter weight tubeset via more extensive internal butting of the tubes. That not only saves weight but should also improve the ride quality. All models have internal cable routing for really clean aesthetics, a detail only seen on the very expensive top-end bikes until very recently.

They’ve steered clear of BB30 and Press-Fit 30 bottom brackets in favour of easy to service and maintain external threaded bottom brackets.

The entry-level mode is the £450 Dolomite 1, available in a men and women’s specification. It features an aluminium fork and Shimano A070 groupset with 12-28 cassette, Shimano chainset and Tektro brake calipers.

Next up is the £550 Dolomite 2, which gets a full carbon fibre fork with a tapered steerer tube, helping to improve front-end stiffness. A Shimano Claris groupset with Tektro brake calipers, and available in a version for men and women.

At £625 the Dolomite 3 uses the same frame and full carbon fork as the Dolomte 2, but upgrades the groupset to Shimano Sora 9-speed with a 12-27 cassette, Sora chainset and Tektro calipers.

The Dolomite 4 costs £700 and for that you get a Shimano Tiagra 10-speed groupset with an FSA Omega chainset and Tektro calipers. Available in Matt Cyan for men and Matt orange for women.

Step up to £775 and the Dolomite 5 comes with a SRAM Apex groupset with FSA Omega compact chainset and Tektro brake calipers, and is finished in a matte black.

Lastly, sitting at the top of the range is the Dolomite 6 costing £950. It comes with Shimano’s 11-speed 105 groupset with a compact 50/34 chainset and 11-28 cassette, Tektro brake calipers, Shimano RS-21 wheels and kevlar-beaded Continental UltraSport 25mm tyres. It’s painted a Gloss Lime colour. We don't have a photo of this bike at the moment.

More at http://pinnacle-bikes.co.uk