That frame is still the brand's gravel race bike, but the newer Grizl offers more aggro and adventure-friendly geometry. Guy gave the Mason Bokeh 3.0 five stars in his review, finding that, “it consistently delighted me with what it skimmed, skipped and floated through with ease compared to the blunter, thumping awkwardness or clattering hysteria of a lot of gravel bikes.”Ĭanyon originally released its Grail in 2018 with a radical and divisive handlebar design. While it’s remarkably forgiving and floated for an alloy bike, there’s none of the slight delay or softness through bars or pedals that you get with steel, or the muted ‘meh’ feel that you get with a lot of carbon. Guy found the faster handling suits the frame feel perfectly too. Resisting the trend to go slacker with steering or fatter with tires keeps the bright eyed vitality and agility that’s always made it a joy to race and chase along twisty singletrack on. Lower front ends encourage the hunt as you hunker down out of the wind or naturally load the front tire more into turns. In our tests, Guy Kesteven found the Bokeh V3 feels as “instantly right” as ever. Other neat fork details include a molded carbon seat for the headset bearing which strengthens the fork, guarantees bearing alignment and minimizes the frame to fork gap. Rear rack and fender mounts include a seat tube securing point and there are two conventional bottle mounts inside the main triangle and another under the belly.įront and rear axles sit in replaceable threaded mounts and Mason’s pull out SwitchLever has a built in 6mm hex head for undoing the rear axle too. Dynamo light routing moves up to the top tube for neater lines though and you get bolted mounts for a ‘Fuel Tank’ bag too. Mason’s super neat ‘MultiPort’ inserts allow you to open or seal the frame holes depending what shifting setup you’re running and the Bokeh still has apertures for Di2 or conventional front mechs. Seat tubes swell from 31.6 to 34.9mm on the largest two frame sizes to increase stiffness too. The rear dropouts are now blended in subtly though and the Ø56mm ThruBB shell lets brake hoses run internally under the crank axle. The mainframe core with its custom-formed Dedacciai aluminum tubing hasn’t changed significantly. The latest 3.0 version of Mason's Bokeh brings it bang up to date with cleaner aesthetics and more cargo options. Guy liked Mason's gravel adventure bike so much he awarded the Exposure bike full marks in his review, describing it as 'masterful' and saying that, "it doesn’t get any more ‘right’ than the beautifully Italian hand-built and impeccable finished Mason/Cicli Barco frameset either which combines charismatic charm and responsive performance with all the practical fixtures you could want." However, Mason gives you the option to swap the wheelset at the point of purchase and even add a second wheelset if you want to really explore the versatility of the frame. Our test bike came equipped with Campagnolo Ekar and a Hunt Mason X Hunt 650B AdventureSport Disc wheelset with chunky 2.35in Vittoria Mezcal XC MTB tires. Large 650B x 58mm or 700c x 50mm tire clearance paired with loads of mounting points for bottles, bags, and accessories means the Exposure can be set up to handle any sort of bikepacking trip. The frame is made from a custom-developed blend of progressive butted Dedacciai Zero and Zero Uno tubing with subtle ovalization and 'DForm' shaping in key areas. Guy Kesteven was quite taken by the Mason Exposure Ekar thanks to its impeccably hand-built, steel, Italian gravel/adventure frame and deliciously lively yet smooth ride vibe. There is also a load of gravel-specific products on the market now, like the best gravel shoes or best gravel bike pedals, which we have written guides on as well. Even the best gravel bikes under $1,000 are more than capable of some off-road adventures. While some of the bikes on this list are priced at the higher end, there are still options for riders looking for ch eap gravel bikes. Our technical editor Guy Kesteven has been riding gravel bikes since their modern onset so knows what works and what doesn't. Our team of experts have tested the best gravel bikes on a range of roads and tracks to assemble this in-depth buying guide. Companies are leaving no stone unturned and are experimenting with specific gravel bike geometry, components, and even gravel bike suspension to try and create the best gravel bike. The best gravel bikes have now truly opened up a new genre that fills the gap between the best lightweight mountain bikes and road bikes. It wasn't long ago that gravel bikes were no more than endurance road bikes or cyclo-cross bikes that had a bit of extra tire clearance.
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