Just in: Land Rover Commute 6.9

Land Rover. Maybe not a name you'd associate with bikes, unless you were associating it with the rebadged Pashley Moultons from a few years back. But Land Rover are very much alive as a bike brand, and to prove it they dropped off a shiny new commuting bike from their range, the 6.9. It's a pre-production model but basically the bike you'll be able to buy for about £700 in a couple of months' time.

What do you get for a money? Well the 6.9 is based around a fairly beefy Aluminium frameset with square section rear stays. Up front there's a Carbon fork that bears a resemblance to units we've seen on other bikes at this kind of price, with a slightly kinked leg and disc mounts. bolted onto the chassis are a selection of good quality components. The transmission is mostly Shimano Deore (with an Octalink chainset as opposed to the new Hollowtech II) and there's an LX rear mech. Wheels are unbranded hubs laced to disc-specific rims, and the braking is taken care of by Tektro's excellent Auriga hydraulic discs. There's an alloy riser stem – with a big rise – and bars, the seatpost is alloy too and the saddle carries the Land Rover logo.

It's mostly tried and tested kit and there's not many weak points in the spec, so we're hoping for solid performance. Weight is 11.6kg/25.6lb whic is respectable rather than good; certainly on first impressions the Land Rover feels a tad overbuilt compared to the likes of disc-equipped bikes from the likes of Boardman and Ridgeback at a similar price point, but the level of equipment is good for the money. We'll report back with out full findings in due course...