Pinnacle bikes is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with a selection of limited edition bikes which place a clear emphasis on all-weather, British riding.
Combining practicality with a little bit of rugged charisma, tweaks to the Arkose adventure bike, Lithium hybrid and Dolomite road bike are perhaps a nod to developments we can expect to see in coming years.
The in-house brand from Evans Cycles is predominantly the handy-work of accomplished off-road bike packer - and former Genesis bikes designer - James Olsen.
Limited in number, the range is available to buy now – with prices ranging from £950 to £1750. The Arkose and Dolomite are available with women's saddle, shorter cranks and narrower handlebars fitted in smaller sizes, whilst the Lithium can be bought in men's or women's specific versions.
Here’s a look at what’s on offer:
The Pinnacle Dolomite 10th Year Limited Edition road bike
Pinnacle Limited Edition Dolomite Road Bike
The Dolomite road bike - shown out on the road here - has long been considered a practical, all-year-round ready machine that can cope with commutes as well as sportives.
The entire range features hydraulic disc brakes, but the 10 Year Limited Edition model has taken it even further with fully-fitted custom mudguards, and internally wired front and rear dynamo lights.
A controversial subject among road cyclists, Olsen knows which side of the fence he sits on – saying: “I got more miles in during mixed weather when I relented and put guards on my bike. I realised you get more wet from spray off the wheels than the rain itself. The full dynamo lighting was a similar revelation, just one less thing to think about, always there for dark or murky days as well as the evenings.”
The Pinnacle Arkose 10th Year Limited Edition adventure road bike
Arkose Limited Edition Adventure road bike
The Arkose, which began its life as a cyclocross bike and has since slipped over to the adventure road genre, has been bolstered in the off-road direction with TRP Hylex hydraulic brakes, Shimano XT Di2 1x11 MTB gearing, and 45c Riddler tanwall tyres. You can see a video of the bike in action here.
Pinnacle call the Limited Arkose a "true cross-genre bike for go-anywhere rides" and gave it a good run-around Ben Nevis in Scotland by way of testing.
With roadies becoming more and more partial to wider tyres, Olsen says he’s testing the waters – commenting: “Tyres keep getting bigger on all-road bikes and maybe 45C is the optimum, not too big and MTB-like.”
The Pinnacle Lithium 10th Year Ltd Edition hybrid bike
Pinnacle Limited Edition hybrid bike
A major contributor to Pinnacle’s overall sales, the Lithium hybrid bike has been treated to a 3M reflective paint job that aims to make ‘SMIDSY’ a thing of the past.
The Lithium has also received a touch of Dutch practicality, with a dynamo powered Son Edulux II light, and there’s a rack for easy gear transportation.
The Lithium, seen in action here, is designed to be a hybrid that sits comfortably close to the mountain bike end, with 50c Continental Cruise Contact 2 tyres fitted in this case.
Taking inspiration from his own day to day exploits, Olsen commented: “Being seen is so important in evenings and at night but often I like to just jump on a bike with my normal clothes on, knowing the bike is visible and has a great headlight fitted makes that so easy.”
The brand has come a long way since its 2007 launch in - a move which trading director Mike Rice explains was largely a result of issues around distribution of existing brands: “The reason for starting Pinnacle was based on the simple fact that as Evans Cycles expanded its network of stores, some brands that we carried started to enforce selective distribution policies. So there were occasions when we weren’t able to open stores with certain products because an incumbent dealer in the area may have held the local franchise for those brands"
He added: "By creating Pinnacle, it would allow us to offer a consistent product range across our stores, even were we were restricted from stocking other brands. It also meant we could have products and a supply chain that we were in control of, versus being dictated to by other brands."
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