Moustache make some interesting and pretty bikes. And they ride well too: we really, really liked the Moustache Lundi 26 Alfine that we tested previously, and we managed to get a go on one of the new carbon mountain bikes recently too; more on that soon. Anyway, this bike is new for 2017. The Samedi Xroad is designed to be a bit of a Swiss army knife of bikes, with enough versatility for urban and leisure riding and even a bit of light off-roading. It's available in diamond and step through frames and in a variety of builds, and this bike – the Samedi Open Xroad 5 – is the highest specced open frame bike.
The bike is built around hydroformed alloy frameset. There's quite a lot going on with the tube shapes: the seat tube has a double cavity (multi-cavity tubes are a bit of a trademark for Moustache) and the two heavily-shaped down tubes are welded together at one point to brace the frame for better stiffness. It's an elegant frame, anyway; Moustache have matched the frame with custom-extruded hollow alloy mudguards which look great, are very stiff and also allow Moustache to hide the rear light cable inside.
The bike uses the 27.5" wheel standard and the Hutchinson Python 27.5x2.10 tyres are genuine all-rounders with tread compact enough to not drag too much on the road but a big chamber to soak up bumps. There's more bump-soaking available from the Suntour NCX fork, and an alloy suspension seatpost.
The motor here is a Bosch Performance line unit, with a 500Wh battery and an Intuvia central display. As urban bike specs go, that's pretty high; the Performance motor is still 250W but has a lot more torque than the Active Line motor so it's a great choice for hilly areas, or just if you like a bit of extra pull away from the lights. The battery is rack mounted, and the rack is a custom unit that's bolted to the frame in four places for maximum stiffness when loaded. It also has integrated support for Ortlieb's QL3 mounting system and there are plenty of nice urban bags that use that.
Transmission-wise the bike is highly specced too. You get a Shimano SLX 11-speed drivetrain with an 11-42 cassette, giving you a really good spread of gears from the single chainring. Brakes are also Shimano, hydraulic discs, and you get a nice big 180mm rotor at the front for predictable braking even on the steep stuff. It's 160mm at the rear.
The bike is fully kitted out for urban adventures. As well as the mudguards we've already touched on there's an integrated lighting system, a kickstand and an Axa frame lock for when you're popping into the newsagent. You'll want to lock it up with something a bit beefier if you're out of sight of your bike; It's not the lightest at 24kg but that's not going to stop a determined thief shouldering it and carrying it away.
http://www.moustachebikes.com/samedi-27-open-xroad-5.html
