First Look: Pinnacle Arkose LTD 2017

As a brand Pinnacle has been flying just under the radar for a few years now – 10 to be precise (and more on that later) – slowly but surely building up an avid fan base thanks to getting the basics right. The brand’s offerings typically feature good value specification hanging off well designed frames.

What exactly is Pinnacle anyway, I hear you ask? Well, Pinnacle is the in-house brand of Evans Cycles. The bikes are designed in the UK, with an eye on typical UK conditions, by James Olsen. As well as being a dab hand at moving triangles around in CAD, James is a prolific rider, having completed the Tour Divide in the past and is also one of the driving forces behind the Torino-Nice Rally.

It’s fair to say that he has applied a lot of his experience as a rider to the Arkose range of bikes. Pinnacle describe them as “adventure road”. It is easy to roll your eyes at another niche within a niche, or employ deep cynicism for any term that might be deemed as marketing. I kind of like this one though. In recognition of the distinct lack of gravel in most of the UK, Pinnacle has spent a bit of time thinking about what an off road drop-handlebarred bike should be able to do.

“Adventure road is simply a tag to describe a light drop-bar bike for adventure-minded riders, it is a broad spectrum and covers many different bikes and riding styles but the essentials remain the same; it is about the freedom and spirit of the ride. Adventure road bikes are created with versatility in mind. These bikes are the perfect companions for following your every whim and fancy where ever it takes you. Fit for gravel and woodland paths, but still fast rolling over tarmac, they remove the restrictions of on and off-road boundaries“

The Arkose, is essentially a bit slacker, taller and longer than a traditional ‘cross bike. Its bottom bracket is a smidge lower and it has clearance for higher volume tyres (although not quite full on mountain bike widths). It’s the kind of bike that should make a great commuter during the week, but relish having bikepacking luggage strapped to for weekend get-aways or even longer trips (such as the already mentioned Torino Nice Rally).

A quick look at the Evans website shows there are a whopping 12 bikes in the Arkose range, including a singlespeed and Alfine option and three women’s spec’d models (including a women’s version of this LTD). The Arkose definitely has its fans, as highlighted by this thread over on Singletrackworld, running to 23 pages already. There’s a few common themes in there, and it’s fair to say a whole lot of love.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the brand, Pinnacle has chosen to do a run of limited edition models across their range. In the brand’s own words, these LTD models take “proven formulas and pump up their volumes – more of what makes them work, more creative details and more unique values”. Basically, it’s sexed things up…
The Arkose LTD has an eclectic mix of components – clearly selected individually. There are no full groupsets here. Those components hang off a triple butted alloy frame, and full carbon fork. At first glance, £1750 looks like remarkable value for the package. It’s going to be interesting to see how that package works together.

Pinnacle Arkose LTD Features

• 6061-T6 heat treated alloy frame, with double butted top tube, triple butted down tube & smooth welds
• Full carbon fork, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ tapered steerer with flat mount & 12mm bolt thru axle
• Designed around 700c wheels
• Clearance for 45c tyres with room for guards
• 71.5° head angle
• 434mm chain stay length (across all sizes)
• Full geometry here
• English threaded bottom bracket
• Quick release, 135mm rear
• Flat mount disc brake mounts
• Internal routing routing for brake, gear cabling
• Available sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
• Price: £1750

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That marks the end of our virtual tyre kicking session. I’m happy to say that testing is already underway, and we’ll report back with our thoughts soon.
 

Pinnacle Arkose Specifications

• Frame // 6061-T6 heat treated alloy, with double butted top tube, triple butted down tube & smooth welds
• Fork // full carbon fork, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ tapered steerer with flat mount & 12mm bolt thru axle
• Hubs // Novatec sealed bearing 32H Alloy
• Rims // Alex Volar 2.1 32H, sleeved, tubeless compatible
• Tyres // WTB Riddler 700 x 45c Dual DNA compound & tubeless ready
• Chainset // FSA Gossamer Pro BB386 Evo w/40T chainring. S/M – 170mm, L/XL – 175mm
• Front Mech // N/A
• Rear Mech // Shimano M8050 Deore XT Di2 11 speed
• Shifters // Shimano R600 climbing shifter w/ TRP adapter kit
• Cassette // Shimano M7000 SLX 11 speed 11 – 46T
• Brakes // TRP Hylex hydraulic discs w/ flat mount calipers & 160mm rotor
• Stem // Pinnacle Road, length; S/M – 80mm, L – 90mm, XL – 100mm
• Bars // Pinnacle Adventure Road Flare, 130mm drop, 8 degrees flare. Width S/M = 420mm, L/XL = 440mm
• Bar tape // Pinnacle Microfibre 3.5mm Vex Gel
• Seatpost // Pinnacle aluminium 350mm x 27.2 w/15mm offset
• Saddle // Pinnacle Race Mens
• Size Tested // Large
• Sizes available // Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
• Claimed weight // 9.6kg (medium)

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