Cornwall is unforgiving. Short, vertical climbs. Chip-seal roads that chew tyres. Nine months of the year it's wet. And the coastal wind will move you three feet sideways on a 60mm aero wheel.

Most bikes sold to Cornish riders were specced for somewhere else — flat Fenland tarmac, dry Spanish training roads, the Surrey Hills. They weren't wrong. They just weren't for here.

Tested in Cornwall, for Cornwall. We only recommend what we ride. That's why our recommendations are narrow and specific. Our standards are high. 

Here are the four bikes that actually work, and the setup notes that make them work.