Velobello Soho

The Velobello Soho is an affordable off-the-shelf singlespeed/fixie for aspiring urban fashionistas. At its heart is a pretty and pretty tidy steel frame that offers a very good ride experience, but other components – particularly the brakes – don't perform quite so well.

Testing retro bikes can be a bit of an occupational hazard. On one occasion, a magazine review I wanted to file about a fantastic old-school flat-barred steel adventure bike ended up with me quitting the entire job because my editor refused to give it the score I wanted. Ironically, for a cycling journo, I decided to walk.

The problem is, these types of bikes tend to have something about them – a spirit, if you will – that readers or editors who haven't jumped aboard can't appreciate just from looking at the pictures. In the case of the Velobello Soho, there shouldn't be quite so much controversy because while the core performance is very good, a significant blemish or two stops it from being an against-the-odds humdinger.

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At the heart of the Soho is a fairly standard but perfectly decent steel frame. The top tube isn't truly flat, marking a slight departure from genuine old-school aesthetics, but it's very nicely finished and would make quite a funky piece of wall art for space-limited city dwellers.

On the road, it generally feels as good as it looks. The round steel frame tubing and matching steel fork do a fine job of insulating you from bumps and lumps. Interestingly, bobbly surfaces come through slightly more than one-off big hits, but this is a perfectly comfy place to ride. My only complaint would be in terms of fit – I tested the larger 58cm frame, which would normally be perfect for me, but it came up just a little bit short in length.

Handling is good, and you'll find direction changes lively but predictable. It's hard not to mention other ingredients beyond just the frame because control is affected by the fairly narrow handlebar. Initially this takes a little getting used to and you might find the handling just a tad twitchy to begin with, but once you understand its behaviour, it's a perfect tool for weaving through the urban jungle.

Balance at high speed is very good – from a ride quality and handling point of view, there's little to complain about. Considering the compliance of the frame in terms of comfort, it's surprising that power delivery is also pleasingly direct.

Gearing

That brings us on to the Soho's gearing. You have a choice of two gears... sort of: a 48-tooth chainring allied with a 16-tooth fixed gear; or you can flipflop the rear hub and there's a 16t sprocket sitting on a freehub. I'm not a sadist, and I live among a few hills, so for most of my time with the Soho I stuck with the freewheeling option.

Thank goodness I did. I'm not going to wax long and geek-out about chain lengths, I'm just going to say that getting up to speed on road surfaces much beyond horizontal requires the quads of Chris Hoy. If you intend to buy the Soho, factor into its price the cost of a pair of non-skinny jeans – you'll need them soon enough.

The unbranded chainset is nothing special but just about good enough. As you could probably guess, it's fitted to a tried and tested square-taper bottom bracket. It's all simple, proven and, let's face it, old-school technology. Not particularly plush, but straightforward at least.

Brakes

That fairly high gearing means you're going to definitely pick up some velocity in the right conditions, so you're going to need something to help you stop. Here's where running the fixed gear comes in handy, because resisting the motion of the pedals is a big help in slowing down. Using the shiny unbranded side-pull rim brakes and short-arm brake levers alone offers very limited stopping ability. They'll slow you down a bit, but I wouldn't want to rely on them in an emergency.

Although I appreciate these fit the retro-inspired fixie vibe, I would suggest that for an off-the-shelf bike at a reasonable price, the Soho really could do with much better braking. The sort of people who buy this bike probably won't be cycle courier-level urban warriors used to resistance braking, but more likely novices dipping a toe into the steel-framed world. When they reach for the brake levers, they're going to really want something with reassuring stopping power. This isn't it.

Wheels

Like the frame, the wheels with their bright orange deep rims look the part for an urban hipster's runaround. They roll pretty well too, and the fact that they are bolted in place makes for a stiff experience – in a good way – although they do feel a bit heavy.

The 25mm Mitas Syrinx tyres are decent, too, and offer acceptable comfort and grip.

It has to be said, though, the wheels do have the slight whiff about them of catalogue-style 'bike shaped object' rather than serious bike. They perform well, but I would venture they've been picked to fulfil an aesthetic rather than for practical ability.

Finishing kit

The quill stem is a pretty rare option these days, although you can find adjustable modern quill stems on lower-end leisure bikes. This isn't one of those – this is a proper old-school effort where adjustment is limited to height only. As with the wheels, there's nothing wrong with it in use, it just feels a bit basic. Also, replacement quill stems aren't the easiest thing to find these days, so requiring a longer or shorter one is far more of a palaver than simply swapping in a new aheadset stem.

For the praise I gave the handlebar earlier, it's not perfect. Yes, it feels ideal for threading your way through the cityscape, but get on a hill and you'll find the slightly limited width restricts your ability to get out of the saddle and muscle the bike up the climb. The grips are fine, though, and come colour-coded to match the rims.

The Selle Royal Mach saddle also has flashes of orange branding and causes no complaints – it's another ingredient in an overall comfy riding experience.

Before I start rounding things up, the Soho's weight of almost 12kg does feel rather generous, though. Without gears to help, getting up to speed is already more of an energetic experience than it might otherwise be, but the lack of derailleurs and cassette means a lighter total mass perhaps should have been possible.

Value and conclusion

It's tempting to think that, by definition, a singlespeed bike is always going to come with limitations, but it's not necessarily as true as you might imagine. I tested the Pearson Once More Unto The Breach a while back and while it now costs almost £999, it is a truly fantastic bike. The Genesis Flyer is also a highly-capable modern singlespeed, albeit at £699.99.

It's unfair to directly compare the Velobello Soho with these far more expensive alternatives, but there is a fair selection of decent singlespeeds at lower prices, too. The Mongoose Maurice is just £225 and Decathlon's angular Elops Singlespeed 500 is £249.99. Both come with steel frames and spec sheets that largely match the Soho, albeit with a few modern touches like aheadset stems.

> Buyer’s Guide: 8 of the best urban commuter bikes

In comparison, the Velobello Soho does seem just a little pricey. I think at least some of that premium is justified in the prettiness stakes and fairly accurate retro vibe. In performance terms, though, a nod to modernity wouldn't have gone amiss, particularly in the braking department. Similarly, while an aheadset stem would have ruined the looks, it would make it significantly easier to set up in terms of fit. Considering the potential in the Soho's frame, I'd be tempted to sacrifice aesthetic details for better all-round performance.

If somebody had put this bike together as a result of their own efforts and preferences, you'd say, good on you. But this is a commercially available product aimed at the general public and, to that end, it does fall down just a bit. There's no shortage of charm, though, and the ride quality is good, so if Velobello can sort the Soho's limitations, it might have a little gem on its hands.

Verdict

A fun retro-inspired steel bike that's very good for flat commutes, though some speccing falls into 'style over substance'