Unusually for a high-end road bike these days, the Cyfac Spirit is made from steel: Columbus Niobium Spirit steel, which is the derivation of the model name.
Columbus Niobium Spirit is a strong material so it can be made with thin tube walls – as little as 0.2mm thick in parts. The tubes are triple butted – so the wall thickness at one end of the tube is different from the other end, and it’s different again in the centre section. The idea is to keep all the strength where it’s needed most while trimming off unnecessary weight.
This steel construction makes for slender tubes compared to those you’ll see on most aluminium and carbon bikes – slim and elegant, we’re saying at Lifecycle UK.
Like the steel tubes, the fork comes from Columbus. It’s a new Carve made from high modulus carbon fibre throughout and it spins on an integrated headset. You can have the Spirit built to whatever geometry you like; it’s full custom so you can get the perfect fit. That allows you to dictate the character of the bike too.
The workmanship is impressive
The tubes are filet brazed by hand France, as it proclaims on the top tube. The filet brazing means you get a very strong joint and it’s a skilled, time-consuming process resulting in a high-quality product. Once painted, those joints are as smooth as if the frame had come out of a mould; they’re absolutely flawless. That’s the workmanship that we are impressed with and this is why we gladly offer Cyfac Spirit to you – our customer.
Customisable
With the Spirit, you can choose from various different design styles, then you get to pick the main colours, the accents, and the colour of the logo. You can even colour match the frame to a particular component, your club kit if that’s what you want.
Our impression
The dominant impression you get from this bike is a very smooth ride. Whether you’re out for an hour-long blast or an all-day adventure, it feels comfortable without any of the tooth-rattling vibration you can get from some bikes over bumpy roads.
It just rounds up all that shaking and sends it back where it came from; on your way, there’s nothing to worry about here. It’s certainly a comfortable ride.
