You might want to get your tiny violins ready at this point, because this has been a pretty tough review to write. What do you say about three excellent frames, all guaranteed to make even the most hand-wringing Guardian reader feel a surge of patriotism, and all extremely well suited to their intended purpose, without typing a load of gushy nonsense? One thing I can say is that while they’re all very good, they would all favour a slightly different type of rider and terrain.
The 18 Bikes No 9 is the most thrashable frame in the test, and not just because it has a paint job that wouldn’t make you cry if you scratched it. While 18 Bikes is keen to play down its geometry, it’s still the type of design that some bike companies are only just starting to catch up with. It also manages to be a hoot to ride, instead of slowing everything down to bullet time. There are some issues with the size of frame I tested, mainly the clearance at the seat tube and the harshness of the rear triangle, but a longer model might be a taller person’s dream hooning machine.