Kinesis Bikes T3 launched - £270 frame is lighter than old T2

The Racelight T2 has been in the Kinesis range for a number of years; we've tested it twice in that time, with the latest £999 Tiagra build getting a good write up from VecchioJo  – he called it a “Cheerful-to-ride bike that helps make winter training, commuting or Audaxes fun”. Nothing stands still, though, and At the Cycle Show at the NEC Kinesis rolled out its successor. You'll never guess what it's called. The Racelight T3. Oh, you guessed. The frame on its own costs £269.99.

- 10 of the best touring bikes

What's new? Well, the geometry isn't. Kinesis reckon they've more or less got the right mix of agility and stability spot on in the angles they used for the T2, and that's borne out in our tests of it: eager enough for a club run or chain gang but not too much of a handful on the wet and leafy winter tarmac, or loaded up with panniers. And like the T2 it's externally cabled which makes re-lubing in wet and salty conditions a whole lot easier. The bottom bracket is a standard 68mm threaded unit so BB swaps are as easy as possible too.

- Review: Kinesis Racelight T2

Kinesis have moved from 7005 to 6061 alloy, and in the process of revamping the frame have managed to save about 200g of metal over the T2. That's even with the extra going into the head tube: The T3 gets the now-ubiquitous tapered headset for a bit of extra front end stiffness. Kinesis say it's a perfect match for their full carbon Tracer fork (£199.99)

There's two colour options: the grey and red pictured, and a dark navy and fluorescent yellow. It's available in 48cm, 51cm, 54cm, 57cm, 60cm and 63cm frame sizes.

Check it out at the Kinesis Bikes website for more info