Review: Moda Bikes Vivo (Rim brake)

Grand Tor Cycling has a look at the bike used by Elite team Cycling Sheffield, the Moda Bikes Vivo (Rim brake) and finds it hard to find anything it doesn’t like!

Review: Moda Bikes Vivo (Rim brake)

From Grand Tor Cycling
A chance to look at how this British brand performs in the £1500 to £2000 price bracket. First of all Moda have bucked the trend and still produce a rim brake bike, and is a bike that is being used at elite level! The first impression of the bike is the the paintwork and build quality, it’s finish defies the price and leaves you wondering why would you buy a bike from one of the really well known big name brands.

I have tested some serious price tag bikes over the years, and this bike really stands out as an excellent performer, yes you may be able to find something for a little less money, however I doubt you will enjoy riding it as much as you will this one! The bike definitely has a racy feel and this translates it to point and shoot accuracy and brilliant handling, having raced for several years this bike definitely ticks the box as a race rig, and so you will find the stack a little lower than some endurance bikes, however it’s no problem to pop a couple of extra spacers under the stem if required.

I’ve got to be honest and say that even thought it has a race pedigree, it is a beauty to ride. There wasn’t any road buzz, and I think a combination of the carbon seat-post and the carbon layup on the frame have contributed hugely to this. You can feel the stiffness where it’s needed, and that’s power transfer, it never felt like anything was wasted when pedalling and all translated into forward motion. This bike just want’s to fly, you could feel the way it would zip up hills, and when descending I felt confident, the handling of this bike is just sublime, and I did not feel like the braking performance was inferior to disc brakes, which goes to show that a brilliantly setup rim brake can cut the mustard on the stopping front when you need it!

The Moda Vivo in action on the cobbles of Lincoln with the riders of Cycling Sheffield

So what do you get when you buy a Moda?

Well, it will certainly bring a smile to your face every time you ride it, as well as turn heads as it will stand out from the crowd. The bike has many features that you would not expect at this price point, such as carbon seat post, Selle Italia 3d printed saddle, a frame that is lightweight with some features such as wide aero forks to reduce drag, super compliance, and a complete groupset without any lower spec parts to hit a price point. The other great thing is that if you use one the Moda bike dealers they can ensure that not only can you get the correct size, but they can arrange for the bike to be setup with any bar width, stem length, cassette and chainset ratio, as well as choice of crank length. You can even choose which groupset option, as well as wheel choice too!

So what didn’t you like about the bike? There wasn’t anything I didn’t like in particular, to be honest. I struggled to find fault with it, the only thing I would like for me personally would be inline cable adjusters for the gears, so the initial cable stretch you experience when riding a brand new bike can be adjusted on the fly. The entry level Mavic Aksum wheels were good, but a carbon wheelset will take it up to another level.

Overall this bike is brilliant! The attention to detail, the spec, the customer oriented focus allowing the bike to be setup to your bespoke requirements mean that you should definitely put this bike on your shortlist, you won’t be disappointed.

To find out more about the Moda brand visit https://www.moda-bikes.com/pages/why-moda

Review: https://grandtorcycling.co.uk/2022/04/12/2022-moda-vivo-bike-review/