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96 Cycling Plus

BIKE TEST
bikeradar.com
T
he bike-loving Dutch are no
strangers to long-distance
travel, from their seafaring
past to the many cycle tourers
who now pedal the globe. You
might not instantly associate
the name Santos with that heritage, but
although relatively new to these shores,
its well established across the North Sea
with an impressive range of mountain,
road, city and, of course, touring bikes.
Its Travel Master, as tested here, is a bike
that stands out from that crowd because
it presents you with a plethora of
options. You can pick between a steel or
aluminium frame, 26in and 700C
wheels, Rohloff hub or derailleurs, and
custom or standard builds. Theres also a
palette of 24 different colours to choose
from, meaning its unlikely youll come
across your doppelganger on whichever
set of roads you choose to travel.
Our Cr Mo 2.6, as the name suggests,
sports a chromoly frame and 26in
wheels, making it ideal for the rigours of
expedition travel. Such steel frames are
comfortable yet resilient to bungling
baggage handlers and bus rooftops,
while 26in spares can be sourced the
world over. It also comes nished in a
no-holes-barred expedition build.
The Rohloff hub is well established in
touring circles as an expensive but
supremely effective system, encasing
delicate gears in a protective hub thats
safe from dust and grime, limiting
external damage. A t-and-forget Chris
King headset keeps steering buttery
smooth, with longer lasting tungsten
carbide coated rims, Shimano XT brakes,
an adjustable stem, Ergon grips, a tough
SKF square taper bottom bracket, a
titanium nitride-coated chain, SKS
mudguards and top-of-the-line Tubus
racks making for a packed spec list. All
this nery is set off by an appealing baby
blue nish. The downside? An eye-
watering price tag of 3270, although
this also includes a bike t from
specialist MSG Cycles.
Frame-wise, the TravelMaster 2.6
comes riddled with eyelets and brazed
with mounts for every eventuality: that
means you can have four bottle cages, a
dynamo light, racks, mudguards
(including a Crud Catcher) and even a
wheel lock. Santos steers clear of disc
brake tabs for its touring models, but
you can choose between mechanical Vs
or hydraulic Magura HS 33s.
The quality of the nish is extremely
high and theres some neat detailing. We
particularly like the fact that while the
custom Rohloff dropout and eccentric
bottom bracket make removing the rear
wheel easy, theres also provision for a
derailleur hanger in case of emergencies.
As reliable as the Rohloff hub is (with an
impressive customer service reputation
to match), its reassuring to be covered
for every eventuality.
In terms of geometry, the chromoly
version frame is a touch shorter than the
aluminium one, giving a more upright
position. However, both sport similarly
long chainstays for pannier clearance
and lowered bottom brackets for
stability. Ours came with a matching
rigid fork and the frame is suspension
corrected for 80mm of travel too. There
are massive tyre clearances all round,
providing ample room for the Schwalbe
Marathon 2.25s that came tted.
Second only to a reliable frame,
decent wheels are also required for
touring while heavily laden. An added
bonus of the Rohloff hub is that it
enables a dishless build, which means
that despite the fact that its only 32
spokes (albeit tough, plain gauge
Sapims), its far stronger than a
traditional 36-hole wheelset and
Theres provision for a derailleur hanger
in case of emergencies its reassuring
to be covered for every eventuality
Santos Travel
Master 2.6
Its sturdy and well specced, but can this baby blue
tourer stand up to Cambodias roughest roads?
CYP224.santos 96 13/5/09 18:12:04
Cycling Plus 97
Santos TravelMaster 2.6
www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
SPEC HIGHLIGHTS
With custom build 3270
www.santosbikes.com
WEIGHT 15.8kg
DRIVETRAIN Rohloff Speedhub
WHEELS Rigida Tungsten Carbide with
custom drilled eyelets
ACCESSORIES Tubus racks, SKS mudguards,
two kickstands, Santos aluminium water bottles,
Hebie chain protector
73
40.5cm
P
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Theres a choice of
24 colours, so youll
always be able to
stand out from the
landscape
The TravelMaster swallowed
up miles of dusty back roads
in Cambodia with ease
Cycling Pluss Master of Travel
and Santos TravelMaster
CYP224.santos 97 13/5/09 18:12:08
98 Cycling Plus bikeradar.com
ROHLOFF SPEEDHUB
WITH ITS 14 evenly spaced gears housed in a
protective hub, the Rohloff is ideally suited to
long distances and hard travel, both on and off
the bike. The range is similar to a mountain
bike derailleur setup, with no dropped chains
or slipping gears to worry about. Gears one to
seven feel slightly less efcient than the larger
ones, but this is easy to forgive since the hub
can tackle river crossings, thick mud and
layers of red dust without skipping a beat. The
eccentric BB proved easy to adjust, even when
coated with a thick layer of red dust.
BRAZE-ONS
THE SANTOS DOESNT just come with eyelets
for four water bottles perfect for hot
climates or journeys with limited water points
but you can choose where to position the
bottles as well. You can also t (or include in
your custom build) racks front and rear,
mudguards (including a Crudcatcher) and
dynamo lights, plus a wheel lock.
CLEARANCES
THE ELEGANTLY CURVED, long chainstays
maximise clearances and prevent clipping
your heels on panniers or the frame. We ran
2.25in tyres with a rigid fork for our trip, since
we wanted a reliable, low-maintenance setup
for exploring Cambodias remote trails the
larger volume tyres helped iron out the jarring
when we hit a section of the highway that was
in the middle of being levelled. Over a longer
trip, wed go back to the heavier Marathon
XRs, although running an Extreme up front
would be ideal for a long, off-road tour.
ERGON GRIPS
THE TRAVELMASTER CAME specced with
Ergon grips and Cane Creek bar ends. The
grips paddle-shaped design spreads out the
force at the contact point and is great for
minimising tingly ngers. Likewise, the bar
ends fall nicely under the hands and provide
an extra position to ride in. Our route through
Cambodia was relatively at, but when we did
hit steep hills in the mountainous north east
of the country, the extra leverage was a real
bonus as well.
KICKSTAND
IT MAY BE heavy and ungainly, but we found
the kickstand made a big difference to
day-to-day practicalities in Cambodia, from
stopping to take photos to loading up the
bike. It also saves on pannier scuffs and wear,
and means youre not constantly on the
lookout for a tree to lean your bike against.
The Esge kickstand that came with the bike
was tough enough to withstand heavy loads
and regular use. The front lowrider also
includes its own mini stand, providing extra
stability when the bike is fully loaded.
BIKE FIT
OUR BIKE INCLUDED a custom t from MSG
Bicycles (msgbikes.com), requiring two visits
to the shop: one when the bike was ordered
and another at collection. We asked for a
sporty but comfortable touring position and
the tting process was very comprehensive. In
fact, the bike required no further adjustments
not even to move the seatpost. The true test
was Cambodia and, given the gruelling
terrain, we returned from the tour with only
minimal aches in our back, rear and hands.
you dont need a cassette removal tool
either. Rigidas tungsten carbide coating
means theres little rim wear to worry
about, though youll need to run them
with ceramic-specic brake pads, so
carry spares.
On paper, its a seriously well kitted
out adventure-touring bike and a two-
week tour of the bumpy, dusty back
roads of Cambodia provided ample
opportunity to see how it performed in
the real world. In a nutshell, we were
impressed. Heavy-duty tourers are built
for the long haul and handling proved
reassuringly stable when loaded up with
30kg or more of cargo. Yet when lightly
laden, we felt a pleasing snappiness to
the handling that suits more involving
tracks and trails. For the dry, warmer
climes of South East Asia, we trimmed
some weight (and 150 off the price tag)
by removing the front rack, mudguards
and chain protector, replacing the
Marathon XRs for lighter, grippier
Extremes. The large tyre volume and
compliant fork helped take the edge off
pothole-strewn roads and we never felt
any hint of wallow in the frame. Long,
bumpy days in the saddle means
comfortable contact points are just as
important, but thanks to the included
bike t and comfy Ergon grips,
absolutely no tweaks were needed not
even an adjustment to the saddle.
In fact, we can think of little to fault
this bike, bar its price tag. Thankfully,
there are more affordable options
available a similar TravelMaster with
full XT and hydraulic brakes would set
you back 1900, while the entry-level
build costs 1350.
A solid frame, top-end
components and a perfect t
make this a benchmark tourer
9
CYP224.santos 98 13/5/09 18:12:09

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