Mango Bikes launch Point AR All Road disc-equipped bike - first look

Following the launch of its first aluminium road bike, the Point R, Mango Bikes has just unveiled its new Point AR, a disc-equipped road bike with bigger tyre clearance. The company is based in the Cotswolds, not that far from road.cc HQ, so we popped along to take a first look at the new bike.

The Point AR is intended to be more versatile than the road-focused Point R. A bigger tyre is the key difference. Bigger tyres help smooth out rough roads and let you stray off the road onto a gravel or dirt path. Each bike in range is fitted with 32mm wide Vee Tire Co Baldy tyres, a cut-slick tyre that should cope well in a wide range of conditions. The Point AR will take a 42mm tyre if you wanted to go wider.

- Review: Point R road bike

The intended use for the Point AR is a bike that has the capability to handle any sort of riding and terrain. It can tackle broken roads, gravel tracks, towpaths and bridleways. Basically, it’s not limited to just riding on the road. Add the disc brakes to the mix and you’ve got a reassuringly solid looking bike that could be used for the daily commute, Sunday blasts or hacking around local gravel paths.

Fundamentally the 6061 aluminium frame is the same, with smooth welds and hydroformed down tube and top tube, and internal gear cable routing except for the rear brake - that’s routed with a full run of outer casing along the down tube.. There’s extra tyre clearance at the back and the chainstays are a smidgen longer. There’s a new carbon fibre fork as well. Geometry is slightly modified, it’s a bit higher (a result of the taller fork) and shorter as well.

The Point AR frame will also take rack and mudguard mounts as well, it has all the necessary eyelets.

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There are four Point AR models with drop handlebars, priced from £549.99 with Shimano Claris and rising to £749.99 with Shimano 105. There is the Point AR Commute as well which swaps the drops for flat handlebars.

Point AR240 - £549.99

The white bike here is the most affordable Point AR240. It features a Shimano Claris 8-speed groupset, FSA Tempo compact chainset and Avid BB5 mechanical disc brakes with 160mm rotors Chasewood sealed bearing hubs. They’re laced to WTB i19 rims, which are tubeless-ready.

The tyres are 32mm Vee Tire Co Baldy, a cut-slick tyre. We managed to take this bike away with us so we can get some miles in on it and let you know how it rides.

Point AR570 - £749.99

Mango Bikes has made a reputation for its colourful customisation, and while there isn’t the same level of customisation on these bikes, it has been bold with the colours. Mango tell us the yellow Point R bike we tested has been a popular colour with customers.

So this is the top-of-the-range Point AR570 in a nice shade of orange. It really pops in the sunlight. The lack of decals gives it a nice understated presence too.

The frame is decked out with a Shimano 105 10-speed groupset with a compact FSA Vero chainset. Brakes are Avid’s BB7 with 160mm rotors, and the 160mm rotors are mounted to the same Chasewood hubs on WTB i19 rims as the cheaper model.

The Point AR is available in three sizes, small, medium and large. The medium has a 547mm top tube, 160mm head tube, 72 degree head angle and 73.5 degree seat angle, 435mm chainstays, 1,015mm wheelbase and 75mm bottom bracket drop. Reach is 375mm and stack is 582mm.

The Point AR road bikes are available on Mango’s website now. www.mangobikes.co.uk/bikes/point-range