dplevy81

So after a year of riding my DS 8.4 half on road and half off road, I decided it's in my best interest to split the duties between two bikes. Put MTB handlebars and tires on the DS, and get a dedicated road bike.

Most of my road riding is urban, and a good deal of it around Manhattan. I wanted a super light aluminum bike with 2x10 gearing, 700x25 tires, a carbon fork, rim brakes, and flat bars. I did my homework and rode offerings from the 3 major brands at local bike shops. The Trek FX 7.5 is what really stood out to me. It did everything I wanted it to, and fit me nicely. I just couldn't justify the $1100 price tag. Especially knowing I'm going to buy it and change things anyway.

After further research I stumbled onto the Polygon brand. Its a newer company from Malaysia that's HUGE in Australia. They're becoming pretty well known for their mountain bikes, but their road bikes seemed really nice on paper too. Their 2016 Helios F5, which is comparable to the FX 7.5 in specs, is what caught my interest. Right out of the box its about 2lbs lighter than the FX with roughly the same geometry. It has the same Tiarga 2x10 drivetrain, better brakes, and MUCH better wheels. The MSRP is several hundred LESS than the FX. They don't sell them in stores so I shopped around and found a stellar deal online. It was one of those once in a life time deals so I rolled the dice and ordered it. Boy am I happy I did.

About a week later it came well packed in a giant box from Australia pretty much fully assembled and even included a really nice mini multi tool, pedals, and a pedal wrench.

I took it for a quick spin around my building and my initial thoughts are that the bike is hands down equal to or better than the FX! The frame and fork are of TOP NOTCH build quality. The paint is extremely nice, and the finish overall is what you would expect from a Trek, Cannondale, or Specialized product. It's light and nimble and the geometry is on point.

If I was to complain about anything it would be the el cheap O seat post, seat, pedals, handlebars, and grips. The Schwalbe Lugano tires it comes with are garbage as well. These are all things I planned on changing no matter what I bought anyway, so no big deal for me. If anything its even better this way because it keeps the price down.

Last weekend, I installed a Selle seat I had laying around and a set of 700x25 Continental 4 seasons and went for a good 10 mile cruise. What a fantastic machine! It fits me like a glove, and weighed in at just a tick under 20lbs. Everything about it feels just right. These guys over at Polygon really know what they're doing. The major american brands should all be a little nervous right now because this brand is starting to explode in Europe and I can see why.

It's supposed to be in the 70s this weekend so I'm planning a good 25 mile run from Battery Park to the George Washington Bridge. Pictures to follow when my handlebars and grips get here!

Here is a link to the bike: 2016 Helios F5 | Polygon

jayhawkpanic

That's a good looking bike. Nice work

amos77

price ?

dplevy81

The price seems to fluctuate on amazon between $850 and $950. For some reason mine was listed at $410 shipped so I jumped on it. I think it may have been a listing error or something. They did honor the price though.

giantcfr1

My polygon (27.5 MTB hardtail) came from Aldi for $350 and I only needed to change the pedals. I stripped it down and greased it as they come, like most bikes, with very little. There was a creak from the BB but that was solved after the greasing. I have ridden the bike every day for over a year in rain and shine and it's still running perfect.As for the paint, I have a Cannondale and Trek to compare. Out of 10 my Cannondale rates 9.999999, my Polygon 6.9, my Trek 3.2

gemini

Somehow the head tube angle looks extremely lax in that photo, but the geometry spec says it's the typical 71-73 depending on size.