by Gwendal Castellan

February 1, 2011

Tout Terrain

David Niddrie

Gwendal enjoys a café break after a ride on the Tout Terrain in Vancouver, BC.

Reviewed By Gwendal Castellan

MSRP $4,692.89 USD

Marketed as a commuter bicycle, this is the kind of ride that might tempt you to bike right past your office and out of town. The bike is equipped well enough to take you across the continent. The Gates Carbon Drive System – advertised to last 12,427 miles (20,000 kilometers) needs no maintenance. The frame is double-butted CroMo steel tubing with an integrated rear rack, which reduces the weight of the rack and the chances of rack failure. There is also an attachment for panniers with snap-it adapters.

The Rolhoff 14-speed internal hub gives you an amazing range of gears; allowing you to take on any mountain pass that “happens” to find itself between your home and your office. The Hydraulic Shimano disc brakes won’t give you any trouble on the downhill ride. The lighting system – Schmidt SON28S hub dynamo and Edelux headlight with a three-watt LED and a very bright Toplight Line Plus rear taillight with a Fresnel lens – will make sure you never need to recycle a battery again.

I really appreciated the integrated rear kickstand mounting bolts and the headset Handlebar Stop braze-on that prevents the handlebar from swinging more than 90 degrees.

There was never a click, a rattle or even a stray sound that let me know that the bicycle was not operating optimally. Everything about this bike works so well and seamlessly that you forget it’s there, and that gives you the space to focus on the world around you.

peterwhitecycles.com

by Gwendal Castellan

February 1, 2011

Latest Comments

  • Nice bike, but very pricey

    Looks like a great bike, but really expensive. I like the Spot Acme, which has many of the same features, but it about 3K cheaper. Gives you an aluminum frame with a carbon fork as well...

    Posted by Harris November 01, 2011 12:56:50

  • good, not stellar

    Expensive, limited color choices, horrible logo. At 4600+ the components are on the cheap side, with basic Alfine brakes and crankset. The Rohloff is "nice" but virtually pointless with the arrival of the Alfine 11. That alone saves hundreds.

    Posted by meh June 14, 2011 14:48:56

  • Tout Terrain

    I considered the Tout Terrain Silk Road once, but I ended-up buying a Thorn Nomad MKII.
    http://greencomotion.blogspot.com

    Posted by Chandra February 02, 2011 17:40:11

  • Tout Terrain Metropolitan

    $5000 bucks?!?!?!?

    Posted by john February 02, 2011 14:24:02

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