Bike Reviews

A Brash, Young Italian Bike INSTANT HERITAGE: Kuota came to the United States in 2004, but its founders ran Sintema, a company famous in Italy for its handlebars, stems and seatposts. Respected carbon maker Martek creates its bikes. K.O.M.: It means King of the Mountain, the designation given to the best climber in each Grand Tour. The frame, which has a monocoque front triangle, weighs a claimed sub-900 grams yet retains impressive lateral stiffness thanks to the multidirectional, carbon-nanotube design. BB AND HEAD TUBE: The K.O.M. follows the Pinarello-established trend of a massively oversize bottom bracket and, similarly, the head tube uses 11*8-inch-top and 11*4-inch-bottom integrated bearing races. QUALITY CONTROL: Kuota claims that one out of five frames it produces is pulled from the assembly line and cut up to check the workmanship.