Airstreeem Race SL

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The Airstreeem Race SL is the kind of bike you want with you when tackling a long Alpine climb; it’s the kind of bike that makes you want to tackle long Alpine climbs. However with Sussex being noticeably deficient in anything approaching Alpe de Huez, we made do with what we have.

And in making do, we found that the Race SL is more than just a mountain goat waiting for the road to soar upwards; it also has a fantastic turn of speed that makes sprinting a joy – as long as you can control it…

Airstreeem Race SL enjoying the view

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The Race SL is constructed from T1000 and T700 carbon fibre and comes with a 12 year guarantee so Airstreeem obviously have a lot of faith in the quality of the build, which in itself is confidence inspiring when dealing with such a lightweight frame.

And it is light. Bare frame weight is quoted as 821g for a small frame, with the forks weighing only 380g. The bike we were riding was 6.75Kg, just below the UCI weight limit.

The Race SL is a good looking bike, in an understated way. There is nothing that

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jumps out and grabs you, just small details that please the eye. The finish, black with yellow lining, is matt and resisted my best efforts to make it shine. Bars, stem and seatpost are all black as well so that it ties in nicely. The only ‘off’ point was the seat clamp, which was electric blue? This should have been black, but as this was a test bike, a substitution had been made to get the bike to us in time.

The frame sports a beefy, square section down-tube that runs down to a BB30 bottom bracket and deep chain stays, promising plenty of stiffness. In contrast with those beefy chainstays are some very elegant seatstays that offer a little comfort, essential on the winter ravaged roads that formed our test.

The all carbon Air saddle is Airstreeem’s own brand. With a little built-in flex in the shell providing some comfort, the Air proved reasonable for anything under 3 hours. After that? Well with freezing temperatures I didn’t get the chance to find out…

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