I can only compare my new Burls Titanium road bike to my wife when she's had her hair cut. She knows her hair looks great, it suits her, does what she requires and makes her feel vibrant. All Sarah wants is for my reaction to be positive without me being prompted. It was exactly the same for me when I took my new Burls Titanium road bike to make its road race debut.

I knew my bike looked great when I picked it. From the moment I perched my backside on the (expensively comfortable) Fizik Arione saddle the position felt spot on. My initial testing sessions were carried out on the short sharp hills of the Stour Valley. These undulations which form the Essex / Suffolk border proved that the bike was light (16lbs.) and especially responsive up the inclines which are at the heart of 'Constable Country'. Straight away it was ten out of ten for ride quality and comfort.

So, on race day, just before the commissaire's pre-race talk, I put my new bike through what will probably be its harshest critical assessment - a chat with a very vocal group of former club mates. "That's a fantastic looking bike you've got there" was the first reaction I received. "All the gear and you have actually got some idea," came the next complimentary piece of banter. Sadly, my race fitness was not up to the standard of my new machine. I certainly felt the benefit and responsiveness of the bike on the climbs and when accelerating out of the corners. It also handled beautifully on the long descent in wet conditions (ironically a chase to regain the bunch).

My Burls semi-compact frame, as like all Burls Ti frames, is Grade 9 titanium (TI 3Al-2.5V), an alloy which consists of 3% aluminum, 2.5% vanadium and 94.5% titanium, which has a yield strength similar to that of the best alloyed steels. It has a high tensile strength (the force required to pull something to the point where it breaks) and excellent corrosion resistance. One particularly tall, large and unbelievably strong local rider has put his Burls Titanium frame through eight months of severe testing and racing, with no problems whatsoever in terms of flexing - and has race results to match.

My frame has an oversized down tube, a diamond shaped top-tube and curved seat stays, which help take the bumps out of the road before they reach the more sensitive areas of my body!

Brett Travers