RBA Review: BH G5 - Road Bike Action

The 2010 G5 was a late anniversary present for BH (Beistegui Hermanos) Bicycles’ 100-year anniversary. The Spanish bike company began building bikes in 1909 in Northern Spain in the small Basque town of Eibar. The much-talked about BH G5 first appeared at last year’s Tour de France with the AG2r team and will be seen on the Spanish Xacobeo Galicia Pro Continental team for 2010 on the mountains of the Giro d’Italia and at the Vuelta a Espa¤a.

THE PARTSOur BH G5 began as a frame that was built-up by Dan Large at Campagnolo North America with Super-Record 11-Speed. We ordered Easton’s EC90 Aero bars and a 130-millimeter EC90 stem to complete the cockpit, and Campagnolo offered up some Eurus 2-Way Fit wheels to complete the package. The G5 begins with a super-light frame (a 54-centimeter unpainted frame comes in at 810 grams) constructed of an uncommon blend of composites from Toray and Mitsubishi, and features a proprietary layup process and molding technique which features a greater number of layers and compaction, resulting in a super-stiff frame. One of the lightest production frames in the world, the G5 features pretty standard 73-degree head tube and 72.5-degree seat tube angles, and our large featured a 57-centimeter top tube. Visually, the G5 is interesting with oversized tubes, a unique head tube, a BB30 bottom bracket shell, wide seat stays for lateral flex resistance and increased profiles on the chainstays (over the G4). Full carbon cable guides and rear dropouts as well as a Shimano Di2 battery mount are incorporated into a down tube cable channel should you choose to join the electric revolution. A quasi-integrated seatmast (with easy adjustability), a 330-gram Edge fork and a lifetime warranty on the frame make the G5 a nice option for new bike buyers. The G5 comes in six versions, from an Ultegra bike at $4995 to a Super-Record complete G5 for $9500 that comes standard with a choice of Reynolds DV46 or MV32UL wheels. The G5 frameset is $3295.

THE RIDE The BH G5 hype is completely warranted. Not known or marketed in the super-light category (that’s more for Scott or Storck) the G5 was very light at 15 pounds all in, but what surprised us most was the consistent performance of the bike. The stiff frame is apparent when sprinting, but it is not so stiff that your bones shake on unmerciful roads, and the lightness sneaks up on you when you are climbing faster than normal. The G5 handling is where it shines. Cornering and descending at speed, the G5 is a stable and calm companion, never twitchy and always true. We found ourselves seeking out steep climbs and long descents because the bike is truly so much fun to ride. We also love Easton’s EC90 Aero bars with the G5. The drop and design of the bars is phenomenal and adds to the bike’s overall fun factor. The G5 is precise, light, solid and smooth.

PRICE: $3295 (frameset); $9500 Super-Record complete bikeWEIGHT: 15 pounds (large)INFO: www.bhbikes-us.com

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