Viner Buga flat bar

The Buga - we're guessing you pronounce that 'booger' and not 'bugger', but neither's exactly great - is Viner's flat bar offering for the burgeoning cycle to work market and it's an interesting alternative to your more standard £1k fare. Italian born and bred, the whole of the bike (except the tyres) hails from the boot and the frame is made by hand there. You'll pay a premium for that Italian chic, but if it's something that you value then the Buga is certainly a rounded machine that's good to ride.

The heart of the bike is a hand-built frame crafted from Dedacciai Fire hydroformed Aluminium tubing. The front triangle is the same as Viner's Celer road bike but the back replaces the carbon stays with more metal. In a world where even colours like olive and cappucino are deemed a bit risqué for the urban market it's great to see Viner bucking the trend: the turquoise livery might not be to everyone's liking but it's a refreshing change and it'll get you noticed. The frame is nicely built, well finished and mated to a Deda Carbon fork that's painted to match.

For a drivetrain you get Campag Xenon with Miche's sporting shifters. These have two thumb actuated paddles, similar to Shimano's original Rapidfire offerings from way back when. All this serves to prove is that for all their fettling over the years the Japanese giant hasn't significantly improved on the original design: the Miche units are simple to understand and use, if a little clunky in the shift. We had some problems with chainsuck on the test bike which I think was down to a bent link in the chain, but other than that the transmission was fuss free. The compact chainset and 13-26 cassette give a range of gears wide enough for pretty much everything.

The Buga (smirk) is positionally in the middle of the hybrid camp: not too long, not too short. This makes it ideal for a slightly longer commute (say 5-10 miles), anything longer than that and you'll probably want to be a bit lower. The quality of the ride is excellent; the bike feels very sure footed and the steering is nice and precise while remaining neutral. We piloted the Viner over everything from smooth tarmac to rough off road tracks and it handled it all with aplomb. About town there are times when you'd want it to be a little more agile, but that's a small gripe.

The Miche Excite wheels are well made and will easily stand up to a bit of loaded riding. I fitted a child seat with no handling problems and no brake rub, and you could run a rack and panniers too as there's braze ons to accommodate them. They're fairly heavy though, so don't expect to be flying up the climbs. They're a factor in the bike's all-in weight (10.3kg/22.8lb) which is a fair bit heavier than some other bikes you can find for this kind of money. This isn't the machine to go for if weight is your primary concern.

So is the Buga (fnarr) good value? Well, if you're buying from one of the bigger names then you'll get more for your grand, kit wise: ten speed transmissions, carbon rear stays and lighter all-in weights are pretty common at this price. From a purely hard-nosed standpoint you have to dock some points for value, but if you're buying with your heart as well as your head than you may well be swayed by the Italian hand-built frame and the European components, and you'll end up with a solid performer whose frame is plenty worthy of some upgrades when stuff starts to wear out. And you won't pass ten other people on the same iron on the way to the office. How much is that cachet worth to you?

Verdict

Comfortable and dependable flat barred commuter with a bit of Italian flair.