At a glance Great general purpose road bike that delivers a hugely comfortable long distance ride
Tested by
Matt Swaine, tester for The Bike List
Performance
What are you looking for in a bike? If it's blistering speed (or the closest to it that your legs can achieve with their current wattage rating) then please move along. The Trek Pilot is a delightful ride but you can definitely get more speed for your Sesterce.
In all honesty you could happily go for the similarly priced Trek 1.7 Compact, a standard entry-level ride and my regular road bike. On a bike like that you'll happily achieve a couple more mph over a long day ride. The thing is... you might not enjoy it quite as much.
I slid into the saddle of the Pilot after a few months of bombing round on the skinny wheels of my 1.7 and the first thing I noticed was the exceptional comfort as we seemed to glide over the ruinous potholed roads that constitute my morning commute. And then on longer routes the more relaxed seating position definitely impressed. The headtube extends above the top tube to give you a more upright position which really felt very comfortable even after a few hours in the saddle.
The chunkier Bontrager Race tyres made short work of the poor road conditions and kept a reassuring hold on the tarmac as we took some tight turns at speed and the Alpha Black aluminium frame was stiff but felt pleasingly responsive when climbing hills. The saddle was very comfortable (I am not a big fan of Bontrager saddles) and the Shimano 105 gears were pleasingly smooth.
And on early morning rides when fatigue was starting to set it, I was pleased to have access to the Shimano triple chainset which made sure I could cope with the very worst inclines without breaking into a sweat. And I can imagine that particular feature really appealing to someone new to biking who wants a roadster but doesn't yet have the experience or fitness required to enjoy hills and take them in their stride.
So who is this bike aimed at? Definitely not the bike club racer or sportive rider, but it would probably appeal to the commuter, audax rider and more general cyclist. It would be an excellent choice as a winter commuting and training bike and it's great fun on long rides with the comfort really paying off after a few hours in the saddle.
And I would be delighted to add this bike to my collection as a winter commuter and fun weekend training bike, if I had the cash to hand. It is a joy to ride and offers enough comfort to make you want to add hours to your routes and it is an exceptionally accessible way into cycling for anyone new to road biking.
