Olympia EGO RS road bike

The Italian-made Olympia EGO RS carbon road bike offers a pleasant ride experience and unique styling with more heritage than most other brands.

The Olympia EGO RS flies along along country lanes with delightful grace and a good turn of speed, smooths out rough roads with impressive ability and ascends at a decent pace, making it a very interesting alternative choice from the more mainstream options at around £2,000.

Cycling has boomed in the last ten years and there's now a lot more choice if if you're in the market for a new road bike, but few manufacturers can boast the heritage of Olympia. They were founded way back in 1893, just a few years after Bianchi in fact. Nevertheless, it's clear from their wide range of bikes that they've kept pace with the latest innovations and technological developments that have transformed road bikes over the past couple of decades.

Frame and fork: Carbon and modern details

This shows in the EGO RS, their third-tier offering (sitting below the Ikon and Boost). Olympia might be steeped in history, but they don't spend too much time looking back, their gaze is fixed firmly on the horizon. They're one of the few manufacturers that have the capability to produce carbon fibre frames in-house, and they have their own factory in Italy where they produce frames. This gives them complete control over the manufacturing process, and allows them to affect some Italian personality into their bikes.

The EGO RS frame is made from a Toray T70,50 and 50 unidirectional carbon fibre and Olympia use what they call a 'dual moulding' process to make the frame. They don't give too much away about the exact details of this process, but basically they use an internal mould that is placed inside the frame to reduce wrinkles and other imperfections on the internal surface of the frame.

Olympia have produced an elegant and slender frame that manages to stand out from the crowd. The enlarged profile down tube and chainstays shows the frame means business though, while the skinny tapered top tube, squeezed in the middle and flaring where it meets the tapered head tube, in combination with the skinny seat stays, are there to deliver a comfortable ride.

It's packed with all the latest design features that are fast becoming standard these days. The carbon fork has a tapered steerer tube with a 1.5in lower bearing race, and their own design carbon fibre monocoque fork slots into the headset bearings. A PressFit bottom bracket allows this area of the frame, where the downtube and chainstays meet, to be hugely oversized and reduces the need for metal inserts.

As is becoming almost standard these days, the cables are routed internally. Passing into the down tube at the side of the head tube, the gear cables continue inside the frame until they emerge part way down the drive side chainstay and behind the seat tube. The rear brake cable is routed inside the top tube. It's Di2 compatible as well so has good upgrade potential.

The frame weighs in at 1,100g for a medium which is a respectable weight for a bike of this price, but it's clearly not going to trouble the welterweight frames that cost more than this entire bike. If you're in the market for a £2,000 road bike ultimate frame weight isn't going to be a top priority. The bike builds up into a 8.2kg package which isn't all that much heavier than what some of the pros are racing.

The Olympia shows its racing pedigree roots a little with the geometry. The size medium I tested measures up with a 55cm effective top tube and a very short 14.5cm head tube, which promotes a compact and aero position. I had to change to a 12cm stem to get the fit just right. Head angle is 72.5 degrees and the seat angle 73.3 degrees, while the wheelbase is 982mm. Olympia offer six sizes, XS to XXL.

The Italians can be known to go overboard with colours and decals, and the EGO RS is a case in point. For an Italian bike it's rather muted, but the yellow stripes that adorn the frame seem to be met with either love or hate reactions. What I can safely say is that it looks very different from any other bike I've tested and drew much attention wherever I went. Some of the finishing touches, like the 'carbon modular fibre construction' sticker on the head tube, are a bit unnecessary, but Olympia are hardly the only manufacturer guilty of reminding the owner how the frame was made. Suffice to say, it's a charming looking bike that stands out from the mainstream offerings.

Specification: 105 and branded parts

£2,000 is a lot of money, yes, but the Olympia EGO RS does an impressive job of working every pound hard. The frame wears a complete Shimano 105 groupset with a compact chainset, which is on a par with most other bikes at this price. It may not be as light or shiny as Ultegra or Dura-Ace, but 105 offers slick shifting and powerful brakes - so good that that you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference where you blindfolded. Not that we recommend you try this.

Even at £2,000, there's occasionally evidence of corner cutting, but not here; the Olympia packs a full complement of quality branded components. From the excellent, if a little heavy, Mavic Aksium wheels (read our review) with Mavic's own Yksion tyres, to the full carbon FSA Carbon Pro compact handlebar - nice shape and good reach - with a carbon stem and matching seatpost. The Selle Italia X Feel saddle wasn't comfortable for this tester, but that's easily swapped for a saddle that is.

Ride: Smooth and classy

Despite the 8.2kg (18lb) weight, the Olympia EGO RS has a very impressive turn of speed. Blasting along rolling roads the EGO RS proves adept at transferring power effectively through those massive chainstays to the rear wheel, thrusting you forward with every input of power. There's no getting away from the weight on the steeper climbs, but there the compact 50/34 chainset gets you out of trouble.

Through the corners and the EGO RS displays excellent handling. It tracks through slow flat corners and high speed sweeping bends with confidence, making you feel very at home and happy to push on. It gives you the peace of mind on the descents to keep your fingers away from the brakes.

The frame balances the demands of being stiff for decent power transfer, and the ability to absorb the chatter and vibrations from rough and poorly surfaced roads. It's one of the more comfortable road bikes I've tested in a long while, but it's not soft and floppy. When you get on the power the bike responds willingly. It's a tricky balance, but the EGO RS gets it just right.

When you settle down at a cruising speed, the EGO RS is most happy. Rolling along smooth country lanes, flowing through sweeping bends, admiring the view, taking in the nice weather, cresting small rises with a lunge for the summit. It's just a really nice, smooth and fast, road bike that is a nice place to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning. It puts a smile on your face.

The EGO RS is a very easy bike to ride too. Just jump on and feel right at home. The handling is neutral and the steering well balanced, so it doesn't throw up any surprises. This handling balance means it will suit cyclists making the leap up to a more expensive road bike from the entry-level, as well as more experienced cyclists who don't want the out-and-out stiffness and razor sharp speed of a racier number.

There's a lot to like about the Olympia. If you want a true Italian steed that genuinely stands out and rides beautifully, look no further. I was very impressed with the EGO RS, and aside from the saddle, there's almost nothing to dislike about it. Okay, so maybe I couldn't live with the paint job, but because of the way it rides, I could overlook that.

Olympia are availabe in the UK through Poshbikes in Kent, you can contact them via info@olympiacicli.co.uk or their website http://poshbikes.com.

Verdict

Italian pedigree backed up with modern frame and very smart handling, will suit racers, sportive riders and Sunday cruisers alike.