The Light Blue Robinson V2 Rival 1X 2020

The Light Blue Robinson V2 Rival 1x exudes class and comfort, and thanks to plenty of stability and neutral handling allows you to just get away from it all, on the road or off. Its weight can sometimes be a limiting factor, though.

Ride

I love a quality steel frame and the Robinson didn't let me down. It's just so damn comfortable, in a way that only steel can deliver. The ride quality from the tubes feels soft, like it smooths the road surface out but still gives you all of the good vibration, so you can still feel the feedback and be involved in everything that is going on.

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The Light Blue has achieved this without sacrificing stiffness. True, it's no oversized carbon fibre race bike, but it can take plenty of power through what in the modern world looks a tiny bottom bracket junction.

With the level of comfort on offer you can just waft along on the road for hours and hours without feeling like you are having to work too hard. Overall, it is a heavy 10.55kg, but thanks to the low ratios of the cassette offering you some bailout gears, you can spend a lot of time in the saddle just tapping out the pace.

Once up and rolling, it is quite surprising how quickly this bike can travel, the 38mm tyres singing along on the tarmac. The pictures you see here were taken before I picked the bike up; I flipped the stem over and put all of the spacers bar the 5mm one on top of the stem for a lower, more sporty position which definitely helped on the road.

That tyre clearance means you aren't limited to the road, either. This is one of those bikes that is great for getting out there and exploring, and if you spot an unexplored byway or gravel track out of the corner of your eye, the Robinson is totally able to take on the challenge.

The neutral steering that you get on the road feels faster on a loose surface, but the bike never becomes a handful, just even more fun to ride.

The Halo Twin Rail tyres don't have a lot of tread, and on really fine gravel they don't half move about a bit, but the Robinson never feels out of control. Even at speed on some gravel descents I was happy just to let the bike float around as it lets you know exactly what it is up to.

That lack of grip can be a bit of a pain when climbing as it takes barely anything to make the tyre slip; you have a bit of a challenge if you need to get out of the saddle for a steep climb – and herein lay another problem for me. I'm used to a 110mm stem, but the S/M size Robinson had a 80mm one and I kept whacking my knees on the handlebar.

Both of these things can be rectified easily and cheaply, and if you're going to be spending plenty of miles off-road then just get some knobbly tyres.

On the whole I found the Robinson really relaxing to ride wherever, really. A four-hour ride on the gravel tracks of Salisbury Plain was really enjoyable, and similar length jaunts on the road were just as much of a pleasure.

All of this talk of relaxation and comfort might make the Robinson sound a little dull, but it is far from it. It's a fun bike to ride on and off-road.

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I enjoyed seeking out some downhills and just letting the Robinson go for it. With a 1,019mm wheelbase and that weight, there is a feeling of stability, and the Robinson carves a smooth line as you guide it through the apex.

If you have to brake hard in the bends there is a bit of flex in the steel fork legs but not enough to detract from the handling; you just kind of work around it, and to be honest if you're chucking a bike of this style into bends like a razor-sharp-handling race bike then you are only looking for trouble anyway.

Frame and fork

The Light Blue has selected Reynolds 725 chromoly steel for the frame which, thanks to being heat-treated for strength, uses butting to create thinner walled tubes, reducing weight without sacrificing stiffness.

The TIG welding is very neat and tidy and the whole frame and fork are finished off nicely in a robust paint job, available in either this Gloss Army Green or Gloss Gunmetal Grey.

If you are used to carbon or aluminium alloy bikes then the tube profiles look unbelievably skinny, especially the straight-through 1 1/8in head tube. As I said earlier, though, it all works from a stiffness point of view for the type of riding the Robinson is designed for.

Many will be pleased to see a threaded bottom bracket, especially as the Robinson can take full mudguards while still running 32mm tyres. It makes it a viable winter commuter and there will be no issues with water and grit sneaking in past a press-fit BB and causing creaking.

It can take a rear rack, too, if you want to go down the pannier route for riding to work.

Unlike most disc-equipped bikes, the Robinson uses quick releases rather than thru-axles, and I've got no issue with that. On high speed descents, and I'm talking 50-60mph here, I have felt the fork legs twisting when I've needed to brake to a standstill, caused by the disc being on one side of the fork. This is where a thru-axle comes into play, as threading the axle into the fork increases stiffness, reducing flex, but for the style of riding the Robinson is aimed at, it's not going to be an issue.

The Robinson is available in five sizes covering top tube lengths from 533mm through to 610mm, and the geometry is pretty typical of what we are used to seeing on road bikes that are capable of a bit of adventure or gravel riding.

This S/M has an effective top tube length of 550mm and a 140mm head tube at an angle of 71.5 degrees. The seat angle is 73.5 degrees, chainstays are 425mm and the wheelbase, as mentioned earlier, is 1,019mm.

If you like your stack and reach measurements, then you are looking at 566mm and 382mm respectively.

Groupset

As the name suggests, this Robinson comes based around a Sram Rival 1x groupset. It's also available in other builds: with Shimano's 105 groupset sporting either mechanical or hydraulic braking, a Sora groupset, or if your riding is going to be primarily gravel based, a 2x GRX group that includes a 46/30t chainset and 11-34t cassette.

Gearing on our test model is based around a 42-tooth chainset and an 11-36t cassette, which is a decent spread of gears if you live somewhere flat. A 42x36 bottom gear isn't that low, and while I didn't struggle with it on my daily rides, if you are spending your day exploring the local hills then you'll probably want an easier ratio to spin.

It's the same at the other end of the cassette too. On my favourite descents I'd be spinning out way earlier than I normally would on a 2x road setup.

The Rival choice is a good option for those who want the Robinson to be a bit of an all-rounder.

The shifting from the Rival group has a very precise feel and it changes gear well even when under load on a climb – impressive considering there are some quite large jumps across the sprockets.

The rear mech has a clutch which keeps the chain taut, so you don't have to worry about it dropping off the chainring on rough surfaces. It also reduces the chances of chain slap damaging your frame and means the drivetrain is much quieter when the going is rough.

Our test model has the £300 optional upgrade from TRP Spyre cable-operated brakes to Rival hydraulic; while the TRPs are some of the best mechanical stoppers out there, I'll take the performance benefits of the Rival hydraulic callipers any day of the week.

The Robinson gets 160mm-diameter rotors front and back, which is plenty of stopping power even if you decide to load it up with luggage for a bit of an adventure.

Once the pads were bedded in, stopping power was impressive, and you get plenty of feel through the lever for modulation.

Finishing kit

For the stem, seatpost and handlebar, The Light Blue has chosen Genetic products. I've tested quite a few of these in the past and it's good quality kit, especially for the money.

I like the Driser-16 bar, but like Mike said when he tested it, it does limit the fitting of lights and computers because of the riser section.

The bar is comfortable, though, with its ovalised tops giving a large platform for your hands, and the 16-degree flare of the drops gives you extra stability when descending at speed by increasing the width between your hands.

The Genetic Syngenic seatpost is simple to adjust and does everything a seatpost needs to. Perched atop that is the Gusset R Series saddle which The Light Blue describes as having a mountain biking bias. It certainly has more padding than I'm used to, but I found it quite comfortable even on those long rides where I was spending a lot of time seated.

Wheels and tyres

I'm a big fan of Halo wheels and these GXC Discs proved themselves to be tough, reliable and good performers on and off the road.

Many brands skimp on the wheelset to bring a bike in on price, but The Light Blue has invested well, with these having an rrp of £149.99 for the front and £269.99 for the rear.

They aren't that light at 780g for the front and 1,025g for the rear, but with a 28/32-spoke build they are plenty strong enough and will easily deal with the rigours of gravel riding.

Their internal width of 21mm (26mm external) works well with the 38mm tyres fitted and they are tubeless-ready, too.

As I mentioned earlier, the Halo Twin Rail tyres haven't got a huge amount of tread for off-road grip, but they are a good choice for a bike that is likely to cross over between tarmac and gravel.

They roll smoothly and offer decent levels of grip on the road, and I have had no issues with punctures throughout the test period. There aren't any signs of cuts through the tread, either.

Value

This version of the Robinson V2 has an rrp of £1,724.99 with the TRP Spyre brakes, but our upgrade to SRAM Rival hydraulic brakes brings the price up to £2,024.99.

Competition comes from the £1,799 Sonder Santiago, which gets a 2x Rival groupset including the hydraulic brakes as standard, but it is over 1.5kg heavier, which is noticeable, with the Robinson feeling more 'sporty'.

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The Robinson also feels more fun to ride than the £2,100 Bombtrack Audax, with its Columbus Cromor frame and carbon fibre fork. It has a Shimano 105 groupset, is a little bit heavier, and the cable-operated brakes are awful.

Conclusion

I liked riding around on the Robinson. In a test month where I also had some three-grand carbon aero bikes to blast about on, The Light Blue was great for just chilling out and getting out for a ride while focusing on the surroundings, thanks mostly to a really comfortable frame and fork.

Verdict

Capable adventure/gravel/road bike with loads of versatility that delivers a beautiful 'steel' ride quality