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Looks like a late 90s high spec hard tail with discs, a dropper and some drops.
Just needs a rear disc wheel and john tomac on board
Want
They're based in Cologne, I see
Luckily not all that far from the sea
erm, that's a hardtail MTB
Blimey, I'm a trend setter!
They appear to have made a bike that will do everything but will be a bit shite at it all.
I’m coming round to the thinking that the real world benefit of these things is approaching zero. You could do a 200k off road race on it and find that it’s the perfect weapon for 500m, but for the rest...
Hyper Gravel?
What utter bull sh**. Lol
Bike looks fine but why do they have to come up with a stupid new name for yet another niche.
What's more, loads of guys have bikes similar to that on here already. How is it new exactly? 😉
Basically what we called Monster-Cross.
But welcome nonetheless because the best thing for gravel is high volume tyres, and anything that popularises that is all to the good.
Ditch the suspension fork though - unnecessary weight and tech.
unnecessary weight and tech.
Exactly what people said in the first days of MTB suspension!
What next, 500mm flat bars and some 2.1 Panaracer Fire XC's? Hold on a minute, maybe a frankenroadbike isn't actually that great off road and riding on 'gravel' (where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?) is actually a bit boring, so let's try and make it a bit more capable, oh...
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
The middle of France.
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
Mid-west USA?
Whether “hyper-gravel” will become a thing is yet to be seen
I can't quite believe I actually read that
The ArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
North of Scotland.
CaptainFlashHeart
Exactly what people said in the first days of MTB suspension!
We haven't gone away yet. Still rigid and singlespeed. 🙂
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
I'm pretty confident i could get from peebles to newcastle on forestry<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> and Estate tracks and disused railways. Kielders has loads as does the highlands and the west coast if scotland.</span>
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist
Quite a lot of miles of it in New Forest too
Could you not just buy a Sonder Camino AL then chuck forks and a dropper at it for a lot less money.
Exactly what people said in the first days of MTB suspension!
Ive two rigid mountain bikes that see more use than my full sus bike.
I like my gravel bike but that looks shit.
Ive two rigid mountain bikes that see more use than my full sus bike.
I've got a commuter bike that sees more use than my full sus bike. I'd still keep the full sus if I could only keep one bike. This is my commuter bike, BTW.
I'm holding out for Super-Mega-Turbo Gravel, myself.
Settle down people. This is not in the least bit new. Cannondale Slate comes with a short travel fork, and fat tyred drop bars have been here for a while. Salsa, Genesis etc.
That's just a MTB with shit bars. Next.
I welcome these kind of bikes because bigger tyres and drops can work. But the main problem is that it's an expensive, heavy, drop bar mountain bike with only 40mm of suspension. I don't see how that mix of compromises is good for much. On the spectrum of 'gravel' bike - mountain bike, they appear to have found the spot where just a normal mountain bike would probably be better. But fair play to them for trying.
I also can't help but think I could make a better version of this by putting drops and an 80mm fork on my old scandal 29er frame (or any other pretty bog standard hardtail). It'd be lighter and a darn sight cheaper too!
Suspender-Cross innit...but yes suspension is overkill for that sort of bike.
Personally I don't see much point in gravel bikes unless you can get decent width tyres & keep the weight down 🙂
I'd take a drop bar Swift over that, any day.
Personally I don’t see much point in gravel bikes unless you can get decent width tyres & keep the weight down
I don't even need decent width tyres. I was using a frame that took 43c tyres and was using 43c tyres but it felt a bit mountain bikey. I then switched to 38c tyres and it was a bit more road like but ultimately have gone back to a frame that only takes 25c tyres and I enjoy it most. I find no great loss of comfort from smaller tyre and grip is not an issue when riding on straight gravel roads.
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
Funny, I've been having a great time planning routes on gravel tracks, it's basically the terrain I don't get to/wouldn't want to explore when mountainbiking, road biking or hill-walking. Whole new areas to play in!
For "gravel" riding on the UK, I'm struggling to see the disadvantages of an XC MTB.
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
Norway too 😛
Looks great...but then I ride a drop bar MTB monstercross thing or a CX anyway depending on terrain.
"where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?"
I have a 300 mile route that is 90% gravel right near me. I live in the UK.
I like riding gravel routes, endless views, peace and quiet, trees. Suits me just fine for most of my bikepacking to.
unnecessary weight and tech.
Exactly what people said in the first days of MTB suspension!
Yep, but of course these days we already have MTBs so why complicate "Gravel/adventure/Gnarmac" type bikes with droppers and suspension?
These are just higher maintenance, more likely to fail items borrowed from modern MTBs.
Part of Gravel type bikes appeal is their simplicity, yes I understand gears and discs are a higher level of "tech" and of course if I were a purist I'd be riding a fixie round the countryside. But up until recently they've just been taking the robust, mature elements from MTB/Road/CX bikes and combining them to make bikes that you can trundle along your local tow paths on, or do a few miles on the road or load up and go for a bigger expedition on, good multi-purpose bikes with little to go wrong which can be relatively cheap to own...
Adding this sort of crap is kind of missing the point a bit, it's a shite MTB with some drops fitted and isn't really a product many people actually need or seem to be looking for, so it's going to be another invented niche to sell more bikes to people with too much money and aimless aspirations, but no real ability for critical thought...
For “gravel” riding on the UK, I’m struggling to see the disadvantages of an XC MTB.
Well apart from the disadvantages mentioned above (un-necessary heavy suspension forks and droppers) there's also the position (great for MTB but a bit restrictive for long hours in a relatively static position) and yes, even the aerodynamics of having a gaping great hole between the crown and the arch of the forks.
My definition of 'gravel' is trying to ride like you would a road bike, e.g. distance at pace, but on gravel roads.
I don't include 'hyper gravel' in that definition though, wouldn't fancy trying to twiddle the silly small gear on that Bombtrack over 150km of gravel tracks...
Wasn't this kind of bike dubbed 'monster cross' a couple of years ago?
where the **** do these endless miles of actual gravel exist?
I rode a load of them in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania last month. The ones in Latvia were shitting awful - total washboards that were painful to ride. We were all relieved when they ended. The ones in Lithuania and Estonia were fine, and importantly they were quiet. The Latvian ones would have been improved with something like that Bombtrack, but it would have been awful for 95% of the trip. If you were riding stuff like that all the time I could see the use of it, but the reality is that it's awful to ride on, so why not do something else?
Yeah the hyper gravel name is silly. Monstercross it is to those of us already there.
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/888/41975652555_e1cfbb04be_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/888/41975652555_e1cfbb04be_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/26Xfc6v ]unnamed1[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152483482@N05/ ]Shawn McFarlane[/url], on Flickr
So am I the only one that likes the concept of these kind of bikes?
Surely it's not about which is best / fastest for the job at hand but more about what's the most fun?
Saying that, that's coming from someone who regularly rides the rockiest of Peak District (even the Edale loop!) on my Pickenflick with 40c tyres. It's much slower than my MTB but there's just something much more rewarding about cleaning tricky climbs on one and picking your way down techy descent. Makes you look at the terrain in a totally different way.
I agree a dropper is unnecessary for riding gravel roads, but I've never had the urge to fit one to my bike in the first place!
I ride an old full suss Anthem, fairly stretched out, with bar ends, and have found that comfortable for 200km+ days on off road tracks. Most estate roads and landy tracks get pretty loose, rough and potholed, and the MTB just rolls through that stuff.
Looks a lot like Sanny's favorite bike from 7 years or so ago, albeit with a dropper and sus forks added.
Or Tomac's bike from millions of years back, as mentioned above.
I'd probably use something like that for club rides/winter, but I'm planning on chucking drops on an old frame once I've sorted a suitable seat for my boy to fit with drop bars... 🙂
I don’t even need decent width tyres. I was using a frame that took 43c tyres and was using 43c tyres but it felt a bit mountain bikey. I then switched to 38c tyres and it was a bit more road like but ultimately have gone back to a frame that only takes 25c tyres and I enjoy it most. I find no great loss of comfort from smaller tyre and grip is not an issue when riding on straight gravel roads.
With respect, you can't be riding very far or fast on average 'gravel' tracks and forest roads if 25C is still comfy or doesn't pinch flat? I'd kill my 25mm road bike wheels or I'd loose ability to grip the bars if I took it to Wales or similar to ride service roads.
I welcome these kind of bikes because bigger tyres and drops can work. But the main problem is that it’s an expensive, heavy, drop bar mountain bike with only 40mm of suspension. I don’t see how that mix of compromises is good for much. On the spectrum of ‘gravel’ bike – mountain bike, they appear to have found the spot where just a normal mountain bike would probably be better. But fair play to them for trying.
It could be a bomber tourer, but so could a rigid 29er on 2.4s. Depends what you like the feel of I guess, not much more in it than that. The Slate works really well as it's light, stiff and feels really tight and road-like, yet the Lefty does add control off-road while feeling really stiff when locked out. This looks to be a quite different way of doing a drop bar 650 hardtail.
I don't want it or need it,but I do think it looks nice.
The article links to another article about the Niner FS gravel bike. This got me wondering if I could convert my short travel Kona Heihei FS to a FS gravel bike!
Might work. Looks like there's enough clearance for 700x40c at least. Reach is approx 490mm.