Gravel riding and racing is changing fast and this small UK company is shaking up the gravel industry with its range of bikes. Get an inside look at their philosophy, the bikes and much more.
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50 Comments
For me Tufo Thundero 48, as wide and lighter as Conti 50 Terra Hardpacks, and rolls similar or even better with plenty of Wet Grip!
Looks like Cannondale slate frame
I switched back to my hardtail MTB after 1 year of riding my gravel bike (Diverge). I really enjoy the Diverge, but it really is more for smooth gravel along rivers and parks. The 80-100mm front suspension is really the game changer here for rough gravel and roots. Of course, lower tire pressure on a gravel bike is said to be equivalent, but… it isn't! It's making the bike far slower. My new project now is a monster gravel with 80mm Rockshox on the front and drop bars. That should be a real game changer. And mountainbikes are really cheap these days as everyone is selling them to buy a gravel bike.
After 2 years riding gravel bikes I figured out that the fastest and best gravel tire is simply the trusty Schwalbe Marathon 38mm to 42mm. The Schwalbe Marathon Almotion beats every other gravel tire. Runs crazy fast on road and has enough grip for most gravel roads.
Wow what a great chap… and presentation with logic attached. 😉
Because wide tires at low pressure = suspension. Every industry always circles back around and calls it something new. This is how we ended up with mountain bikes. Personally I will never understand running a ridged frame drop bar bike off of a paved surface. I just don’t get it. There is a better tool. Don’t seek your mounting bike just yet folks. This will morph back in to mountain bike.
And what if you just took a XC frame set, with option to use a suspended fork with 100mm of travel or a rigid fork, put a drop bar on it and call it a day? The one and only true do it all bike is a XC hardtail with 29" wheels. If you need 50mm or more to be comfy on your gravel bike, a MTB is going to be much better.
It's getting into ridiculous range quickly now with these crazy bike prices. Or it's been loke that for a while yeah. 50mm tyre clearance is soon worth another 100% on the bikes price 😏
One thing I don't (I like most of this frame, mind you) is the very wide top tube. This will rub my knees for sure. There is no need for that other than it's easier to line up with those widened seat stays.
Lovely clean smart engineering that will surely catch on,with the bigger brands.
I've got a Cannondale slate with fat tyres from 2017 it's more of a MTB than a gravel racer,I'm definitely in the camp,when it comes to riding wider tyres i can total see the benefits!
I Don't think people should complicate the joy of riding in the countryside off road away from our towns and cities in comfort,whichever style of bike you choose.
But the frame has no UDH. Right? Missed oportunity 🤔
It's made to work with SRAM without cable ports but no UDH? 😂 That's an instant deal breaker.
Gravel bikes perfect for Englands crapy roads
Well… I run this tyre size on a 19lb racey 29er and don't have much problem keeping up with most roadbikerists on the road… so why not? Wide is not as slow as you'd think, with the right supple tyre at the right pressure… its the main lesson from the last decade of bike design.
4 ME is a gravelbike a bike that easy to maintain wen you Trevel whit it Everthing is mechanical and outer cable routing… and wee dont need the hipsters shit
Is this news? I bought a rigid 29er mountain bike with 2.4” tyres 15 years ago 😂 I still have the the bike (Jones Spaceframe)
I'm a little skeptical of the "bigger is better" tire trend for gravel racing; perhaps for adventure riding it is more intuitive. I was new to gravelI in 2023, so before deciding on how to spend a lot of money, I decided to experiment a bit. I started by fitting 2.2 Race Kings on an old cross country frame fitted with drop bars. On gravel trails/roads in my area, it was like riding on pillows, but the wheels felt way too heavy and overkill 90% of the time. This season I will be trying the 40c Challenge Strada Bianca tubeless tubulars. The wheels are half the weight. With no rim flanges or inner tubes, I can run super low CX pressures (< 20 psi) on the really rough stuff with no risk of air loss. Using sealant and plugs instead of an inner tube in a tubular is long overdue……
Nice bike, love the color and the seat stays which are very similar to my Cannondale Synapse, however I'm still a 2x guy for gravel.
No UDH and pressfit. Yawn.
No mention of Lauf. I see them as the real pioneers.
Looks (a lot) like my grx Crux…
No UDH, No front hanger (fit a clip on?) No muddguard mounts..
I admire the design of the frame! Very clean and timeless in that it looks advanced while also looking familiar. Hope in the future there is a UDH option!
Well engineered but I draw the line at 7grand plus
I like the way this guy thinks.
nice bike – and I would be interested in one. – but I just cant do 'hot pink'. Need to offer the 'race' version in another color.
Really interesting interview.
I have 2.1s on my Lauf and I wouldn't go back. The bikes excellent
Nice fella terrible price
Ouch. Good luck selling this outside of the UK or Europe. Ribble(also a UK company) sells a Ti gravel bike, depending on spec that is $3k, or more, less(also hand made). For us in North America this Vielo is a hard pass. Ti is almost always more expensive. Not in this case. This bike is wildly overpriced, and that's saying something in this bike market.
Salsa Cutthroat, drop bar mtb that allows 2.4inch tires on 29s and is still a fast bike.
Bomtrack had a drop bar bikes that could fit 700x55mm since 2017. CS is closer to a typical stable gravel bike, but otherwise it's a sweet bike. I would like to see you review the drop bar Beyond model please.
A few neg vibes but I love the passion and the carbon stuff was very interesting. And the bike just looks so good – understated class. I reckon the Cycling Tattooist is a perfect match with this brand 🤔….
Fascinating interview! 🥸
Thoughts on this frame and bike vs. Lauf Seigla? Similar tire clearance and wireless intentionality.
Why is this such a big deal? Canyon grizl has had clearance for wide tires for years, for a third of the price
David, any chance for you to review the Pinarello XC hardtail (Dogma or non-Dogma version)? Thanks👍🏼
Thank you Dave for a very well presented video and everyone’s comments and debate. Over the last week it’s been interesting for me to view the range of comments and debate and offer some replies. Comparing Vielo to other brands posted here: I will let you make your mind up and choose what is suitable for you and your type of riding. I can present how and why we do our thing. Price: Always a point for debate and comment. Especially with the current global oversupply of stock and brands trying to clear their inventory. There will always be somebody trying to sell cheaper. Since Vielo moved to consumer direct, we are in a similar ball park to other consumer direct price if you compare spec for spec. But I know our customer service, including bike fitting is far beyond what other consumer direct brands offer. UDH: Right now, there are still updates from Shimano for their standard of rear mech fittings. We are finalising these details, before we commit to a system that will accommodate all types of rear mech fitting for the future. Our goal is to have these details finalised soon, test the system and roll out on our frames middle of 2025, subject to any other industry standards changes. Have a great weekend and keep tapping it out.
Bergamont Grandurance and Canyon Grizl have been out for more than 3 years and have the exact same advantages and half the price. This bike is not the future, it was the future 4 years ago. The future today is 55+ clearance, and to normalise never getting a non UDH compatible frame ever again.
Just put a flat bar on it and finish transitioning to a mountain bike already! 😂
Wish id if got a gravel bike years ago instead of a road bike. The comfort these would offer over bad roads and the occasional requirement to ride over literal gravel in Italy or Croatia would have been ideal on a gravel bike.
This is actually an awesome interview… loved the new trends and rationale discussion 👍🏾
Good on you if you live close enough to plenty of gravel paths, have space for multiple road inspired bikes, don't have the desire to race or go fast, or have the disposable income for such a niche segment. But for most people, the vast majority of our time is spent on roads, while barely being able to justify these large purchases.
I'm convinced that the "gravel bike" segment was created solely to convince cyclists that they had to have big ol wheels , and that their forever bike isn't good enough.Much like the mountain bike craze of the 90s.
As a kid, I just had to have a mountain bike. Never took the bike off road once. I would've been better off with a single speed bike back then.
Great interview David. For you to own a Vielo is a significant endorsement, but a clearly worthy bike. Incredibly informative frame designer.
Right now there is a sale – so great value even compared to the likes of Canyon, and upgrades are reasonable value also (Zipp wheels like yours can’t be passed up)!
I was really interested in buying a V+1 … until I read maximum system weight of 110kg. Not suited to me at 194cm and 101kg (winter clothing / bike / water bottles would put me well over the limit unfortunately)
Id rather pay the bare minimum to get essentially the same experience. Paying thousands of dollars for minimal improvements is just unnecessary.
Let's be real. The reason gravel bikes are popular is that people like the way a road bike looks with big tires. It's 90 percent vanity.
I've been out of the bike scene for about 10 years and so many little things have changed which is amusing to see. For example, in my area XC mtn bikes were hardtails (or very small amount of travel in the rear) with 80-100mm of travel forks, flat bars, race-like steertube angles, and 1.95-2.2 tires. Bikes with 2.4+ tires were considered Downhill bikes. Now, bikes like the Giant Fathom are basically Downhill hardtails. People who had 3-4 inches of travel in the rear now have enduro bikes. Yet, road bikes are evolving to gravel bikes and tire sizes are growing to XC sizes. Wild. I've even heard gravel racers say they have a hardtail mtn bike with 1.95 tires, 100mm of lockout forks, with dropbars…. So an XC race bike from 10 years ago with drop bars! HAHA And to think all of us started on BMX bikes doing everything from road, gravel, mtn, and everything in between.
The Fairlight Secan can fit 50mm tyres with a 1x drive train. The drop outs are modular and support UDH. Also the frame set and bike is a lot cheaper.
Is this bike really any good? Is there anyone who has one and can tell me about their experience? I'm thinking of buying one.
Such a great watch 👍