For Valentine’s Day: 3 bikes we love

It’s Valentine’s Day on Saturday. And what do we love? We love bikes. Here are three that have our attention at the moment. But, we have a lot of love. If Valentine’s Day fell on the 21st, we’re sure it would have been a different set of bikes. Ah, love…

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Norco Sight A 7.1

For 2015, the alloy Sights, Norco’s all-mountain bikes, get new geometry. They inherit the carbon-fibre Sights’ angles. The A 7.1 is the top model in the aluminum range. It runs 27.5″ hoops with Maxxis Ardent tires to connect to the trail surface. Shimano Deore brakes and levers work with the 180-mm rotors to slow or stop the bike. More Shimano parts manage the power transfer from pedals to rear wheel. A RockShox Revelation RL solo air fork and RockShox Monarch R give the machine 140 mm of hit-dissipating travel. ($3,190, norco.com)

Raleigh Tamland 2

The Tamland 2 is at home on almost any surface: pavement, grass, mud, singletrack and gravel, definitely gravel. The Clement XPlor MSO are 40 mm wide, which make long rides on gravel roads a breeze. The Reynolds 631 double-butted chromoly frame also does a good job of soaking up vibrations. The mechanical Ultegra gruppo means the shifting is crisp and braking is solid. It’s the perfect bike for exploring. ($2,800, raleighusa.com)

Santana Tandem Nuovo Sport

A bicycle built for two! Santana is a leader in tandem-bike manufacturing; the Nuovo Sport represents their most affordable offering. Built from a custom-drawn doublebutted 7000-series Santana/Easton aluminum tubeset, the Nuovo Sport is surprisingly light and stiff while avoiding an overly harsh ride. Shimano’s very capable Tiagra group with a hill-eating triple crank provides consistent shifting and braking helps. The gruppo also ensures that the bike remains reasonably priced. This excellent tandem’s performance exceeds its price. ($3,495, santanatandem.com)