Argon 18

With a range of products named after elements on the periodic table, Argon 18 bikes are becoming widely recognised as superb models which incorporate the best of cycling tradition with innovative design and cutting edge manufacturing techniques.

Argon bikes are not conceived as a list of separate components, but as an integrated design whole, with the frame and fork combinations designed to incorporate complementary features, reconciling the often competing requirements of weight, rigidity and comfort. The company takes a fresh look at matters such as ergonomics, with their AFS geometry specifications, which provide six basic frame sizes and ergonomic shapes.

The Argon road bike comes in a variety of different designs, ranging from the Gallium Pro, a stiff, lightweight and strong road model which offers great all-round performance whatever the conditions, to the Radon, a design the manufacturer refers to as "a true road classic", capable of coping with the most demanding of race routes.

Anyone looking for Argon TT bikes should look at the range spearheaded by the E-80 model. Named after an element which bears a close relationship to mercury, the rest of the range refers to esoteric and rarely discovered elements, given numbers like E-114. The inspiration for this naming system comes from nuclear physics and the 'Island of Stability' theory.

Whether Argon bikes can offer such elemental performance is open to interpretation, but when it comes to providing speed and stability, along with innovations such as the Optimal Balance System which is included on all their bikes, there are few better manufacturers out there.