With the
Xenon 24, Argon 18 has built a road bike that any small person can feel
comfortable going fast on. At this size, and for this rider, simpler is
better, so Argon 18 stuck with proven technologies to build the bike.
The frame is fabricated out of Argon 18’s tripled butted Thermo-Tech
tubing. The fork is made of carbon for all the reasons big bikes have
carbon forks-light, stiff, great at damping vibrations. The frame is
designed around 24-inch aluminum-rimmed wheels from Alex and dressed in
24â€x1†Kenda tires.
An essential element to making the bike work is scaling down the
components so that everything fits with smaller torsos, limbs, hands,
and feet. To that end, Argon picked a mix of parts from several
companies, and designed a few themselves, to make sure proportions are
just right. The 38cm wide bars have a super-short reach and shallow
drop and are bolted to a 60mm stem. The brake/shift levers are
Shimano’s Tourney, which feature a reach-adjuster to move the lever
blades close to the bars. The downshift button is next to the hoods
rather than at the end of the levers for easy reach. They shift SunRace
derailleurs, but the bigger deal is the 152mm crank arms, which are a
good length for leverage, but short enough for small legs. They turn
42/34 rings and a 13-24 seven-speed cassette.
The normal 27.2mm round seatpost clamps a reduced-size saddle which
has a racing vibe but is actually amply padded for smaller-framed
bottoms.
While the bike is scaled down, the look is consistent with Argon’s
pro offerings. Just because someone is smaller, doesn’t mean they want
to feel like they’re riding a toy. The color scheme and graphics mirror
what big folks ride because ambition has nothing to do with height.
The Argon 18 Xenon 24 is the first bike of a long love affair with the road.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Bottom Bracket RPM
- Brake Calipers Tektro R310
- Crankset RPM, 165mm, 50/34
- Fork Argon 18 XE54 Carbon
- Frame Material Aluminum
- Front Derailleur Shimano Sora
- Headset Integrated
- Pedals Not Included
- Rear Derailleur Shimano Sora
- Seatpost Argon
- Shifters / Levers Shimano Sora
- Wheel - Front Alex D22
- Wheel - Rear Alex D22
