£4,400 Versatile ride at any speed
Weight 9.2kg (L) Frame Carbon Fork Carbon Gears SRAM Rival AXS 12-speed (48/35, 10-36) Brakes SRAM Rival AXS, 160mm front, 140mm rear rotors Wheels Vision Team 30 clincher Finishing kit FSA OS-167 Omega Pro 110mm stem, FSA Omega compact 44cm handlebar, Argon 18 carbon seatpost, Repente Quasar saddle, Vittoria Zaffiro 30c tyres
THIS IS THE LATEST ITERATION OF Argon 18’s long-standing Krypton endurance bike. The frameset cleverly mixes the technical with the practical. It uses the now ubiquitous dropped seatstays, oversized down-tube, slender fork and tapering seat-tube, but Argon has tweaked the tubes. From the top of the head-tube through to the rear dropouts, the frame has the sort of stiffness you’d expect of a pro-Tour bike. Above this line, however, the slender seatstays are designed to flex, as is the top two-thirds of the seat-tube, and the seatpost has a similar flexibility. Even the tapering top-tube is designed to be forgiving.
The Krypton has been designed with versatility in mind and, with 40mm tyre clearance, it certainly holds similar light gravel potential to the brilliant Ridley Grifn. It also gets multi-position bottle cage mounts, rear rack and mudguard mounts. The down-tube boasts a storage compartment with space for a tube, multi-tool and C02 cartridge and integrated tool bag.
Switchable geometry
This Krypton uses Argon 18’s 3D+ head-tube system, which enables you to tweak the geometry of the bike to suit you. Opt for the 0mm 3D+ option to give a stack of 605mm on the Large (58cm) combined with a generous 395mm reach, or choose 25mm and the stack extends to a relaxed 629mm while the reach shortens to 388mm. Frame angles are quite sporty. Our test bike has a steep 73.1° seat angle that puts you directly over the cranks for optimal power transfer, while the head angle relaxes from the 73° road race norm to 72.3°. The wheelbase of just a couple of centimetres over a metre gives the Krypton race bike-like nimbleness.
FSA provide an internally routing SRS headset, simple but dependable Omega Pro stem and the classic Omega compact bar. It’s all good stuff, and means the frame is compatible with internal routing, providing cockpit upgrade options. Good contact points are essential on a bike built to go long. While the Omega compact bar may be simple and sturdy, the compact drop is comfortable. The back end is very comfortable, too, with Argon 18’s own carbon seatpost and the excellent minimal yet plush Repente Quasar saddle.
The Krypton rolls on Vision’s Team 30 entry-level race wheels with a 30mm-deep alloy clincher rim.
