Argon 18 Equation road bike review

The designers of the Argon 18 Equation faced a tricky balancing act: make a well-performing carbon-fibre bike at a lower price than its top-end counterparts. Keeping the costs down involves concessions in some areas. To be fair, all bikes come with their compromises. For example, if you increase stability, you’ll likely slow down the handling. Or, if you spec an integrated seatpost for a speedier ride, packing up and travelling with the bike will be more difficult. So, in the case of the Equation, how did Argon 18 manage its balancing act?

Behind the new frame

With most of Argon 18’s frames, you’ll notice they feature the Topological Compliance System. It’s the company’s method of ensuring its bikes are stiff where they need to be for the best power transfer and compliant to keep you comfortable. You see TCS used on the top-level race frame, the Sum, the endurance-focused Krypton models and even the gravel bike, the Dark Matter. The Equation is built with TCS, too. Yet, the TCS can’t be the same for each bike with its own specific requirements for stiffness and compliance.

I asked Carl Oliveira, product manager at Argon 18, about adapting TCS to the new bike. “There were some challenges in integrating the Topological Compliance System into the Equation,” he said. “While we did use a different grade of carbon fibre, the primary strategy for meeting our compliance goals was focusing on optimizing tube shapes. When the topology is effectively designed with compliance in mind, it helps in achieving the desired performance targets. For instance, we used R&D knowledge that we acquired from the Krypton’s development by using a new fork design that helps to add vertical compliance on the front end of the bike using our TCS technology.”

You’ll remember that when the Krypton relaunched in 2023, its new fork was noticeably different. The fork on the previous generation of endurance bike had a significant bend in it. (You can still see it on the Grey Matter.) The latest Krypton has straighter fork blades, a design drawn from the Sum’s, which provide the endurance bike with 15 per cent more compliance. That fork has now been adapted for the Equation.

The handling of the Argon 18 Equation

As I do with new bikes, I dove into the geometry numbers. The Equation has identical figures for its chainstay length and wheelbase as the previous generation of Krypton. What does that mean? Well, one of the company’s goals for the latest Krypton, which launched in 2023, was to create a quicker handling bike. To achieve that, the chainstay length got shorter. With the Equation, the aim was to create a more accessible and predictable handling bike, hence, the longer chainstays and wheelbase.

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You’ll notice that accessible and predictable handling also means slower. And slower is not a word you usually want associated with a bike. With handling, however, many brands purposely dial down the reactivity of a bike when they want it to perform well on a variety of conditions and surfaces outside of full-on races. I’m thinking of Cervélo’s Caledonia, for example. When I began riding the Equation, I had just come off a slew of race-focused bikes with really narrow bars (for aero) and edgy handling for ripping corners. They were all fun, of course. But when I hopped on the Equation, everything felt a little more planted. It’s not like the bike is languid in the turns, just smooth and without any fuss.

The stiffness is quite good. I haven’t found the bike wanting when I took it on hard training rides that had me sprinting up hills. Also, if you really want to race it, you can. It has that old UCI sticker, which will appease your picky local commissaire.

A look at the fit

While the chainstay and wheelbase numbers of the Equation differ noticeably from the current Krypton, the stack and reach figures are pretty much the same thanks to changes at the head tube. For me, I like the bike with a minimal amount of spacers. That arrangement gets me into a low position that, while not race-bike low, keeps me efficient and feeling strong on the pedals. If you prefer a more upright setup, Argon 18’s 3D+ fit lets you add to the stack at the head tube without piling on the spacers. Too many spacers beneath your stem reduces the stiffness at the front end. On the Equation, you can put a 25-mm-long extension that will also move the top bearing of the headset to keep flex at bay in this area of the bike.

The spec of the Argon 18 Equation

My test model of Argon 18 Equation was the fanciest of the lineup: the SRAM Rival AXS build. There are also Shimano 105 mechanical and Shimano Tiagra models. My bike sported a 10-30 tooth cassette and 48/35-tooth crankset. That’s a solid amount of range that covered all the roads I faced in my area as well as 95 per cent of all the gravel. The wheels are by Vision. I think the aluminum Team 30 hoops are a good choice. Vision is a company that not only does high-end components well, but the mid-range, too. The wheels came with 30c Vittoria Zaffiro tires. (The official spec says 28c, but I dig the wider treads.)

The brake hoses are almost fully integrated into the frame. You can see them making an appearance beneath the FSA OS-167 Omega Pro before sneaking away through the top cap. The setup reduces the complexity of running those hoses through the stem, and will make stem swaps and packing the bike up for travel a lot easier. The FSA Gossamer SB20 seatpost has a standard 27.2-mm diameter, so a change here is also easy to do. I’d say the only serious concession in terms of spec is the press-fit bottom bracket. The Krypton has a T47 threaded BB, which makes for easier maintenance and is unlikely to creak. A press-fit BB like the one on the Equation works great…when it works great (read: doesn’t creak). But, it makes complete sense for Argon 18 to go with press-fit on its new bike. The choice means less complexity and a lower cost for the frame. Also, the top-end Sum has a press-fit BB, too.

Overall, the Argon 18 Equation has well-chosen parts. The whole bike weighs 9.19 kg. At $4,900, which I’d say is the upper end of entry-level, you want your bike to tick all the right boxes. The Equation does just that. I feel that if this machine is your first fun, fast bike, it would be years before you’d feel the need to upgrade to a new frame. While I like the wheels, you could make some serious gains there by moving to carbon hoops when you’re ready to spruce things up.

Canadian prices for Argon 18 Equation models

Model	Price
Argon 18 Equation SRAM Rival AXS	$4,900
Argon 18 Equation Shimano 105	$3,650
Argon 18 Equation Shimano Tiagra	$3,200

Summing up the Argon 18 Equation

The Argon 18 Equation is a high-quality entry-level bike. The company has distilled technology that works for the machine. In the end, it’s quite a balanced Equation.