First ride review: Reilly T640

The Reilly T640 is a stiff titanium road bike that offers sharp handling and lively responses. It also looks very, very cool!

• Pros: Stiff and efficient frame, custom geometry if you want it
• Cons: A little heavier than a similarly priced carbon fibre bike

The Reilly T640 is similar to the T325 that Dave Arthur wrote about here on road.cc back in 2015 but built from a different grade of titanium. That requires a short explanation before we get into the ride.

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Rather than 3Al-2.5V titanium – which is far and away the most common variety used for bike frames – the main tubes, bottom bracket shell and braze-ons of the Reilly T640 are all seamless 6Al-4V titanium (meaning that the alloy is 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium). It's just the stays that are 3Al-2.5V. The tubes are ELI (Extra Low Interstitial gas purity) grade titanium which allows Reilly 'to butt and shape seamless tubes to much tighter tolerances'.

Let's not get too deeply into the science but 6Al-4V is a little lighter than 3Al-2.5V (4.42gr/cc compared to 4.48gr/cc), stiffer and stronger (the ultimate tensile strength is 1150MPa).

Titanium bikes are difficult to produce well, 6Al-4V particularly so because the tubes are hard to draw in the first place. Titanium frame building is notoriously demanding but the benefits include excellent corrosion resistance and very high cycle fatigue properties – so, treated well and barring an accident, a titanium frame will last an age.

The T640 is built with a CNC'd 44mm inside diameter head tube that takes a 1 1/8in upper headset bearing and a 1 1/2in lower bearing and (obviously!) a tapered fork steerer. The bottom bracket is English threaded – no press-fit creaking here – and cable routing is external throughout which, along with the frame's shiny finish, gives the bike quite a traditional look.

It really is a lovely looking piece of work with ridiculously tidy welds and little R logos on the bottom bracket shell and dropouts. Even the down tube cable stops are neatly sculpted. The branding throughout is subtle and classy rather than shouty and brash, and that certainly suits this bike.

The ride

The characteristic of the Reilly T640 that you just can't miss is its stiffness. Wow! We've got used to very stiff and efficient carbon bikes over the past few years and a lot of titanium bikes seem a little flexy by comparison, but the Reilly T640 isn't at all. Get up out of the saddle and pound the pedals for all you're worth in a sprint and the central section of the bike holds firm. Completely firm. The front end is similarly solid, Reilly's own C-290 full-carbon fork (claimed weight of 290g) offering sharp handling and very little ducking when you haul on the brake.

In many ways the T640 feels more like a stripped down race car rather than a plush saloon. If you're expecting the supple, whippy ride that adherents often ascribe to titanium, you're in for a bit of a surprise here. The T640 has quite a firm feel to it, especially through Reilly's own saddle – which doesn't have masses of flex in the shell – and the Vector 31.6mm carbon seatpost (148g), giving plenty of feedback from the road surface. It doesn't rattle your bones but it isn't going to mollycoddle you either.

Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your point of view. I substituted Reilly's saddle with one of my trusted favourites and that made a big difference. I'd prefer a larger diameter handlebar to Reilly's Vecto aluminium model and/or more cushioned bar tape to spread the pressure a little more too. Those are relatively minor things, though, and they're down to personal taste. If you want any more cushioning you can always swap out the 25mm Vittoria Corsa tyres for 28s.

A non-flexy titanium bike is never going to match a high-end carbon model for weight, although our complete bike, minus pedals, hit the scales at just 7.44kg (16.4lb). The frame has a claimed weight of 1,200g and a lifetime warranty.

Spend this amount of money on a carbon bike and you can get lighter but the whole weight thing is massively overvalued in cycling. The T640 still whips up to speed quickly and climbs with prowess, whether you're driving the pedals from the saddle or standing up and hurling the bike from side to side.

Off the peg or custom

You can buy the Reilly T640 off the peg or go for a custom geometry. We had a standard large sized frame with a 57cm top tube, a 53cm seat tube and a 17cm head tube. The stack on this model is 583mm and the reach is 392mm.

That's an aggressive geometry, although not extreme. You'll certainly be able to set things up without any trouble for a flat-backed riding position when you're down on the drops.

On the other hand, this isn't a geometry for those who want to sit high in the saddle. For comparison, the 56cm version of Specialized's Roubaix Expert endurance bike has a stack of 611mm and a reach of 381mm so you'll find yourself riding in a much more upright position on a bike like that. No, the Reilly T640 is definitely more of a head-down and power-up kind of a bike suited to racing, fast sportives, or just going and thrashing out the miles.

Build options

Our review bike was built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset (with mechanical shifting), including a 52/36t semi-compact chainset and an 11-30t cassette. You'll probably already know your preferred gearing but I really like this setup for its ability to take the pain out of steep climbs while allowing you to keep the power on during fast descents. If this setup isn't for you, Reilly will put on whatever gearing you like. If you'd like electronic shifting, Reilly doesn't bother with the gear cable stops and runs the cables internally.

Alternatively, you can spec either a Campagnolo Record or a SRAM Red eTap groupset if you prefer.

The Fulcrum Racing Zero Nite wheelset, with a 27mm-deep rim at the front and a 30mm-deep rim at the rear, isn't especially lightweight but offers good rigidity and excellent braking. The wheels are tubeless ready if you want to go down that route in the future.

The Reilly T640 costs £4,499 built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, £4,799 with Campagnolo Record and £5,199 with SRAM Red eTap. It's available as a frameset for £2,399. It comes in four different sizes: 53cm, 55cm, 57cm and 59cm.

Of the bikes that we've reviewed on road.cc recently, the closest in price to the T640 is the Rose X-Lite Six Disc Ultegra Di2 at £4,417.79, but that is an entirely different type of bike with a carbon fibre frame, disc brakes and Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting.

A more relevant comparison is with the £3,713 J.Guillem Orient. That bike is made from 3Al-2.5V titanium and Shimano's second tier Ultegra groupset rather than top-level Dura-Ace.

> 14 of the loveliest titanium road bikes we've ridden

The Enigma Evoke Disc that we reviewed last year was £4,199, also with a 3Al-2.5V titanium frame and an Ultegra groupset, although this time with mechanical shifting, and flat mount disc brakes.

The T640 is a lot lighter than either of those bikes and looks at least on a level with them in terms of value.

The Reilly T640 is a bike that proves carbon fibre isn't the only answer for those who value speed and sharp handling. It's stiff and solid, in no way soft or vague, and although it weighs a little more than a carbon alternative, it's not so much that you'd notice in use. Add in an elegant design and excellent craftmanship and you have a really appealing proposition.

Verdict

Stiff and efficient titanium road bike that demonstrates carbon fibre isn't the only option for those in pursuit of speed