There’s something alive about a good, light steel frame: it’s a feeling that you can’t explain to someone brought up on full sussers or jumpy hardtails.

Riding flat out, with your arse on fire, carving the corners, stamping on the big ring is the only way to appreciate our new R8. Like a lightweight racing car with a V8 on song, the R8 bristles with potential speed. It’s a speed that must be earned though. It won’t make you a great rider if you’re not a good rider to start with. It’ll flatter good lines and punish bad ones, but you’ll know when you’re riding just right, as the R8 moves with you – steering with the slightest tilt of the hips as you speeder-bike your way through the singletrack.

We couldn’t have made the R8 without Reynolds. At the heart of the frame is Reynolds’ strong, thin and light 853 tubing. It hardens with welding, making the joins even stronger than the tubes themselves. And it builds into a beautiful machine with the svelte lines of a true classic. There are riders out there who’ve never known the feel – that otherworldly connection with the trail – that a steel frame can give. Pity them. And then leave them in the dust...