Verenti Rhigos.03 review

Verenti's first carbon bike, the Rhigos.03, is squarely aimed at the sportive market. So is it the sort of machine to whose handlebar the aspiring sportiviste will eagerly zip-tie their laminated number?

Price-wise the Rhigos.03 sits right in the middle of the Verenti range. Below it are the alloy-based Millook and Kilmeston and above it, the platform-sharing .02 and .01 Rhigos.

To keep life simple, Verenti bikes use SRAM groupsets exclusively and the .03 is based around the Rival family (third from the top), but with a few key changes to help it hit the price point. A compact Truvativ Elita crank and own-brand Verenti Me2 brake calipers are the most noteworthy. The brakes match nicely with the other Verenti products - namely the Me3 stem, bars and saddle.

Mavic Aksium wheels complete the ensemble with Vittoria Diamante ProTech tyres, which show that corners haven't been cut.

From the first look the Rhigos looks muscular and well built, thanks to the oversize tubes, but with a nod to the past as the tubes are joined with lugs. This style of manufacture allows Verenti to offer six sizes without a sky-high price.

It's when you hit the corners hard that you discover just where Verenti's designers have spent a lot of their time and effort. With the diameter of the head tube it's not a surprise that the Rhigos's front end is stiff, but that fact gets away from the subtle feel it can impart.

There is plenty of information coming through, which allows you to really get the most out of the corners, and it does this without giving a harsh ride - impressive stuff. At the same time the rear end is stiff, which is good for drive, but I'd like to see a little more comfort built in for our ever-deteriorating British roads.

It's worth checking the head tube length suits as it's one of the longest we've seen, but due to the subtle design this is easy to miss.