BH Prisma 7.8 Ultegra



Ultegra’s great balance of speed and comfort, The BH isn't jewellery attached to an average chassis, either, with tapering tubes designed for form & function. From an oversized head tube junction, with its 1-1/8 to 1-1/2in dimensions, the top tube narrows to the chair tube junction in to a tiny rear triangle with minimal seatstays, while the down tube remains oversized through the BB30 bottom bracket & in to deep 1-1/2in chainstays.

The Prisma offers a immense amount of bang for your buck, with a spec that includes everything bar the chainset from Shimano's excellent Ultegra group, RS10 wheels as well as a BB30-compatible FSA Gossamer chainset. Bikes completed with this level of componentry are usually closer to the £2,500 mark.

The Prisma's quality wheels are truly exceptional all-rounders, though they're shod with budget 23mm Rubena tyres, which do dull the ride a tiny. One time we'd ridden the BH for a few hours & scrubbed the tyres' waxy surface they did improve, through speedy corners, out-of-the-saddle accelerations & descents.

Our XL check bike's 190mm head tube gives a mid-height front end; it's a plenty comfortable position without being relaxed. The ride is stiff & sharp ' we'd describe it as more sporty than sportive.

The BH doesn't offer as cushioned a ride as a quantity of its cost rivals, but although it's not the smoothest bicycle over rougher surfaces, it does reduce the vibrations on coarse or broken tarmac that lead to tingling hands & feet. Overall, it is a great bicycle for those who value speed & responsive handling over comfort.

Climbing aboard the Prisma is a joy, with the comparatively low weight of 8.19kg & the quality wheels making light work of short, snappy ascents, & longer in-the-saddle grinds comfortably bearable. When they desired to get a tiny friskier, pushing the Prisma up to sprinting speeds or plummeting through our favourite twisty downhills, it responded beautifully; it's confident & stable.