Road Cycling

First Look: Laura Trott Women’s Road and Hybrid Bike Range from £449

We take a glance at the componentry on the four bikes from the Trott range, starting at £449

With four models to choose from, Laura Trott’s new ‘Trott’ bicycles are now available to buy from Halfords.

Comprising of one hybrid, and three road bikes, prices start from £449, whilst the top end RD3 model still comes in at a fairly wallet friendly £899, with Shimano 105 gearing and an alloy frame.

Every bike in the range is on show here, and there’s a video guide to each model on the product page. The videos can only be described of as ‘atmospheric’ – however, they’re super informative and kind of remind us of the bristling tension at a major track meet – so fair play!

VIDEO: Laura Trott Shows off New Bike Brand Designed to Inspire More Women

Sizes on all the road models start from a 45cm, and go up to a 54cm. Though fit will vary between individuals, they’re recommended to suit riders from 4 ft 8 to 5 ft 11.
The hybrid is slightly different, sizes go from 15″ to 19″ and will suit riders from about 4 ft 7 to 5 ft 10.

Trott has been adamant from the start that she wanted to provide bikes with female specific geometry, saying: “When we went through the design process, it was really important to create bikes that are both fast and comfortable for women. I wanted to create a range dedicated to the specific needs of women, so they don’t have to worry about whether a bike fits properly, leaving them inspired to really just enjoy getting out there.”

She added: “If I can inspire women and girls to get on a bike and give it a go, that would be amazing.”

Components and frame geometry can only tell us so much, so we’ve called in a bike to test to give you a full evaluation. However, for now – here’s a look at the what the range has to offer.

Laura Trott HYB 1 Womens Hybrid Bike

If ever you wanted a bike called ‘Hybie’, then the HYB at £449 is your chance. Designed for road use, this model has an alloy frame, with a carbon fork which will reduce the weight and make handling more enjoyable.

The Tektro hydraulic disc brakes will provide you with quick stopping power, and Continental Contact Reflex 37c tyres are wide enough to provide cushioning and might be up to light off-road use in parks (read: not actual trails or mountain biking!).

A triple chainset with a Suntour fork is supported by an 11-34 tooth cassette and the groupset is made up of various grades of Shimano. This means you’ll have plenty of gears if the road should turn upwards, and though the mixture is a little varied, Shimano parts are high quality and easy to replace.

The bike also comes with a Selle Italia Diva Flow saddle – and though saddles are a personal choice, this one is popular among women.

Laura Trott RD 1 Womens Road Bike

We’re sensing a naming pattern here! The first in the road bike line up, the RD 1 comes in at £449 and offers an alloy frame, with carbon fork to drop the weight and improve handling, and Shimano Claris gears to get you up the climbs.

A compact chainset – with crank length adjusted to suit frame size – comes with an 11-30 cassette. A typical women’s road bike comes with an 11-28, so this gives you an extra low resistance gear for when the going gets tough.

How To: Choose the Perfect Road Bike Gear Set Up For You

The brakes are Tektro’s caliper offering, and will provide all the stopping power most road riders need, whilst 25c Continental Ultra Sport 2 Folding tyres will feel fast and nippy but reliable.

The saddle once again is the popular Diva Gel Flow and interestingly Trott have gone for a stem with 7 degree rise, which will put you in a slightly more upright position, though you could always swap it to go for a negative angle if you wanted something more racey.

Laura Trott RD 2 Womens Road Bike

Next up is the RD2 – it’s been on a bit of a diet and dropped half a kilo to 9.5kg from the 10.1kg of the RD1 (though do remember all weights given are approximate).

A compact chainset is still used, this time with a slighly higher spec FSA Vero Compact crankset and Tiagra groupset, alongside a 12-28 cassette. That’ll provide plenty of gears for hills, but a slightly narrower ratio means it’ll be easier to find the ‘perfect’ gear on the flat.

Tyres, saddle and Tektro brakes are all the same as per the RD1.

Laura Trott RD 3 Womens Road Bike

The top of the range model, the RD3, comes in a £899 and sees another drop in weight down to 9.1kg thanks to higher quality components.

The key upgrade is the use of Shimano 105 gearing, with a compact chainset and 11-28 cassette. The groupset has seen some upgrades in recent years and is just at home on the race circuit as it is trundling through the country lanes.

Another party trick is the addition of Shimano Dual Pivot brakes – an upgrade compared to Tektro on other models that will aid confidence via responsiveness.

Even the wheels have got the Shimano touch, with RS11 rims – though these will still be a chunky, resilient training pair, not racing hoops.

The tyres and saddle remain the same – proof they were pretty classy additions to the RD1 and RD2 as well!

Interested? We’ll get a review up of one of the bikes ASAP. In the mean time, you can see the range here.