Eastway Emitter R1 Ultegra Di2 review

Internet retailer Wiggle is well known for its in-house dhb clothing brand, and it’s now aiming for the same quality at affordable prices with its line of Eastway bikes.

The Eastway Emitter R1 Ultegra Di2 2016 sits at the top of the road bike range. Presently offered for less than £2,000 and with a full Shimano Ultegra Di2 build, this looks like great value for money.

Frame

The Emitter’s frame is full carbon composite, as you’d probably expect. It’s light and fairly responsive, and climbs with ease. However, it can feel sluggish when sprinting out of corners and pulling away from a static start.

First ridden on the smooth winding mountain roads of Majorca, this machine sailed up to the summits, even with a heavier rider on board. The larger, but not huge, bottom bracket allows for fairly efficient power transfer through the Ultegra Di2 groupset.

>>> Majorca’s Sa Calobra, cycling’s perfect climb? (video)

Back on UK roads, with potholes, road debris, and rolling hills, the bike has continued to handle well and the frame’s geometry offers all-day comfort without being a fully laid-back sportive bike.

Specification

Unless you’re planning on breaking into the pro ranks, there seems little need to fork out the extra cash for a Shimano Dura-Ace-equipped bike when the next tier down option of Ultegra does the job so well.

>>> Six things no one ever told you about Shimano Di2

Particularly the Di2 version - while many riders still claim to prefer mechanical, when affordable electronic shifting is this good, it really is hard to see why.

The full Ultegra set-up on the Eastway Emitter R1 perfectly complements the frame quality and slightly racey feel. Also, at the lower price this is a great deal for such a good groupset.

For anyone willing to overlook this bike not being a big-name brand, this machine will see them through any sportive or amateur race without trouble.

The Shimano Ultegra brakes have excellent stopping power against the Mavic Ksyrium Equipe rims. The wheelset itself is perfectly adequate for a bike of this price and for the kind of riding it’s likely to see.

As always, though, a new set of wheels might be the first place a rider will look to make an upgrade as the Ritchey finishing kit and Fizik Aliante saddle are already top-end.

Ride

As mentioned, this bike was first ridden on winding Balearic roads, but the majority of the mileage I’ve done on this bike has been on British tarmac.

Despite feeling slightly slow when accelerating, once up to speed this bike can hold momentum just fine. It’s not a full-on race bike, nor a slouchy sportive machine, and it fills this area of the market pretty well.

I’d gladly race on this bike and, having ridden it for hours on end, can confirm that it is very comfortable.

Value

The value for money of this bike has already been touched on above, but it’s worth reiterating.

The bike has a quality carbon-fibre frameset, a full Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and some top quality, big brand finishing kit.

With Wiggle currently discounting the bike by 15 per cent, at well under two grand it’s a bargain. With such huge savings, for many riders this will leave money to put towards a new set of wheels down the line, should they feel it necessary.