Mondince new 2026 Aero Gravel

[Japeke]

Finally managed to swap fork and test the bike also with the 420mm one
I did 600km with the 395mm fork and around 250km with the 420mm

FM316 with 395mm fork
-Ride feel is more similar to a road bike.
-Stable also downhill on gravel as you feel more "in" the bike rather than on top of it.
-Using the flip chip with 50mm rake steering feel was alright with cheaper aluminium wheels but using carbon Tagoola XPLR it's started to be a bit twitchy  on uneven gravel, I'd probably switch to 45mm rake.
I'm using a negative 6 deg 80mm stem, which can give its contribution to the steering responsiveness.
-Main drawback of this configuration for me was ground clearance, no problem on flat gravel roads but on very easy trails with rocks and roots pedal strikes are quite frequent even if I ride carefully. I had to keep in mind ground clearance also pedaling in roundabouts on tarmac where I never had problems with the road bike.
170mm 2x grx cranks.

FM326 with 420mm fork
- Front end of the bike is definitely higher, I completely slammed the stem and I'll change it to a -17deg to lower it even further.
- The steering feels much more solid and precise especially on fast but uneven gravel.
- Agility of the bike is not compromised though, the feeling of being "in" the bike vanished but the bike feels more playful overall; agility is now more a side-to-side freedom of movement rather than linked to steering responsiveness.
- I tried my idiotic roundabout test and the limit of pedal strike is definitely higher now, it makes little sense but it gives me peace of mind when pedaling mid-corner.
- Drawback of this combo is mainly related to my positioning on the bike, I really liked the 75deg seat tube angle and now I have to run my saddle all the way forward on the rail to try and replicate the same position.

All things considered I think I like the 420mm fork more because it's more versatile for the type of terrain around here and overall the bike feels more playful.
The FM316 stack and reach figures with a higher BB would be ideal.

Tyre size what you use? I hope that 2.1" thunderburt will fit, so i can use 395mm fork.  Maybe burt front and 50mm g-one rear.  Think that 50mm rake is better for burt.

I order both fork too.

Same gray color as C.J bike, but wiht glossy finnish.

[Alfiie]

Where did you find these parts from them?
On the homepage I can see frames but nothing else (but perhaps that's just me)

I just asked the seller and he sent some drawings of stem and handlebar.
The price was only 80 USD extra wich sounded very cheap and made me a little scared about the quality.

[Vaclav]

Is the ground clearance really that low? I am using 172,5mm cranks and plan to use this frame not only with gravel tires but also with road tires (32mm nominal, approx. 34mm measured in reality)  Has anyone measured the height from the ground to the center of bottom bracket? And of course, what is tire high that you using.
Thanks Václav

[v0llhirsch]

I guess if you trust the quality of a 550$ frame, you can trust the quality of a 80 $ handlebar.
The stuff on AliExpress is not that much more expensive.
Can you share what you have?
It would be great to know what specifications they have.
I am planning to start with a semi integrated solution and price wise that doesn't sound too bad.

I just asked the seller and he sent some drawings of stem and handlebar.
The price was only 80 USD extra wich sounded very cheap and made me a little scared about the quality.

[hunker]

Is the ground clearance really that low? I am using 172,5mm cranks and plan to use this frame not only with gravel tires but also with road tires (32mm nominal, approx. 34mm measured in reality)  Has anyone measured the height from the ground to the center of bottom bracket? And of course, what is tire high that you using.
Thanks Václav

Hi! You can check 'Pedal Spindle to Ground Clearance' and 'Bottom Bracket Height' parameters here https://bikeinsights.com/compare?geometries=6903c6ae07e4a3001a6c0175,6903c6ae07e4a3001a6c0175,&builds=,6952a53757482e001a4890bb,

[impmonkey]

Anyone having trouble trying to calculate stem length with the STA and the longer reach I would recommend putting all your existing fit numbers and the new ones in chat-gpt.
Surprisingly useful.
STA alone eats up 12mm of reach at my saddle height.

[mudfisher]

I am not familiar with this headset system either. It seems that the headset cap moves when you steer, rotating with the direction of steering. It also seems that any spacers above also rotate. Is this how a fully built bike works as well? And has it been an issue for anyone?

Also, forgive me if this was already discussed but I did not see any posts in a quick scan, but does anyone have issues with the cable bends for mechanical shifting, especially the sharp bend up to the front derailleur?

Thought this might help others with their builds.  Does anyone have experience w/ this type of headset cap?

The provided cap has 4 holes w/ 4 open caps pre-installed and 2 closed caps provided separately

• You'll only want 2 open caps if running electronic shifting (to prevent dirt/water from entering)
• You'll want to decide which holes are closed BEFORE installing headset/hoses/etc.
• In my case, the rear hose is routed through the left hole (to the right brake lever) while the front through the right
• The disparity in angle/tension caused the cap to settle in a skewed position
• I think this type of cap fares better with more spacers but my stem is pretty slammed
• Not an issue per se, more of an aesthetic thing

Perhaps the cap would align better using different holes, routing the front hose around the steerer tube, or both?

You may want to experiment before securing hoses.

[Vaclav]

Thanks for the link. I put the numbers into the calculator and it looks OK. For a 172.5 mm crank and MF326 frame, spindle-to-ground is 95.5 mm with a 32 mm tire and 108.5 mm with a 45 mm tire.
My cyclocross bike has 113 mm (33 mm CX tire) and my road bike has 97 mm (25 mm tire).

Hi! You can check 'Pedal Spindle to Ground Clearance' and 'Bottom Bracket Height' parameters here https://bikeinsights.com/compare?geometries=6903c6ae07e4a3001a6c0175,6903c6ae07e4a3001a6c0175,&builds=,6952a53757482e001a4890bb,

[v0llhirsch]

This is what ChatGPT told me, I already had a longer chat about setup and frame sizes.
The Mondraker has the identical geo as the FM326. The Vaast is my current bike, setup by a bike fitter and my known good configuration


---

## 🚴‍♂️ Direct Position Comparison: *Vaast A/1 L* vs. *Mondraker Arid Carbon M/L*

### 📌 Reference setups

**Vaast A/1 – size L**

* Setup: **90 mm stem, −6°** + **2.5 mm spacer**, 420 mm handlebar
* Effective reach: **≈ 485 mm** (horizontal distance to handlebar clamp)
* Effective stack: **≈ 591 mm** (handlebar height above BB)
* Rider reach: **≈ 239 mm** (horizontal distance saddle → handlebar)
  *(Calculated from your real setup using standard bike-fit formulas)*

**Mondraker Arid Carbon – size M/L**

* Frame geometry: **Reach 411 mm / Stack 591 mm**
* Compared to the Vaast, the Arid has a **similar stack but a longer frame reach**, combined with a steeper seat tube angle and a more modern gravel geometry.

---

## 📊 1:1 Comparison in a Single Line (rounded)

| Bike                                                | Eff. Reach       | Eff. Stack       | Rider Reach      | Comment                                      |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| **Vaast A/1 L (90 mm, −6°, 2.5 mm spacer)**         | **≈ 485 mm**     | **≈ 591 mm**     | **≈ 239 mm**     | Your current reference position              |
| **Mondraker Arid M/L (70 mm, −6°, 0–10 mm spacer)** | **≈ 482–492 mm** | **≈ 584–605 mm** | **≈ 248–268 mm** | Slightly longer, depending on stem & spacers |

---

## 🧠 What this means in practice

### 📍 Horizontal (how long the bike feels)

* **Vaast ≈ 239 mm rider reach** → compact, comfortable
* **Arid M/L with 60–70 mm stem ≈ 248–258 mm rider reach**
  → noticeably more stretched, but still well within a sporty gravel range

### 📍 Vertical (handlebar height)

* Arid M/L stack (**≈ 591 mm**) is **very close to the Vaast**
* With fewer spacers and a modern front-end layout, the Arid usually **feels lower and more active** at the bars
  → this can reduce neck and shoulder strain if you prefer a sportier posture

---

## 📌 Key differences to keep in mind

### Seat tube angle effect

* **Arid: 74° effective STA**
* **Vaast: ~72.5° STA**

The steeper seat tube on the Arid moves you **forward over the bottom bracket**, which slightly reduces the *perceived* reach despite the longer frame reach.

### Stack / reach balance

* Same stack, longer frame reach on the Arid
* Reach difference must be managed via **shorter stem and low spacer stack**

### Stem & spacer influence

* **60 mm stem** → compact, controlled
* **70 mm stem** → closer to your current Vaast feel
* **10 mm spacers** → raise the bars without changing reach

---

## 🧭 Practical setup recommendation (short)

**Mondraker Arid M/L if you want a Vaast-like feel:**

* **Stem:** 60–70 mm @ −6°
* **Spacers:** 0–10 mm
* **Rider reach:** ~248–258 mm
* **Bar height:** similar to or slightly lower than Vaast

**Frame choice:**
✔️ **M/L is correct for your height (~181 cm)**
✖️ M would be too compact, L too long

---

## Confidence & transparency

* **Confidence level:** ~85–90%
* Based on:

  * Manufacturer geometry data
  * Trigonometric reach/stack calculations
  * Your real-world feedback (neck discomfort with higher bar positions)

If you want, I can also provide a **visual reach/stack chart** comparing Vaast vs. Arid M/L for different stem/spacer combinations — very useful for dealer discussions and test rides.

Anyone having trouble trying to calculate stem length with the STA and the longer reach I would recommend putting all your existing fit numbers and the new ones in chat-gpt.
Surprisingly useful.
STA alone eats up 12mm of reach at my saddle height.

[v0llhirsch]

My wife has a cube NuRoad where the semi integrated solution works just like this. When you move the handlebar, the whole stem with spacers and cap move along. It was also new to me, leaving me a bit puzzled at first.
The curves on the cube are a lot tighter and they work without issues on a 1x12 GRX

I am not familiar with this headset system either. It seems that the headset cap moves when you steer, rotating with the direction of steering. It also seems that any spacers above also rotate. Is this how a fully built bike works as well? And has it been an issue for anyone?

Also, forgive me if this was already discussed but I did not see any posts in a quick scan, but does anyone have issues with the cable bends for mechanical shifting, especially the sharp bend up to the front derailleur?

[gribs]

I am not familiar with this headset system either. It seems that the headset cap moves when you steer, rotating with the direction of steering. It also seems that any spacers above also rotate. Is this how a fully built bike works as well? And has it been an issue for anyone?

Also, forgive me if this was already discussed but I did not see any posts in a quick scan, but does anyone have issues with the cable bends for mechanical shifting, especially the sharp bend up to the front derailleur?

It does all rotate together when fully built, but that's how all aheadset (threadless headset) systems work . I'm running 2x12 mechanical GRX and it works fine. 12spd mechanical appears to be less sensitive to tight bends than my old Ultegra 6800 was. I was more worried about the bends out of the headset cap whilst running minimal spacers.

[pavlo.k]

My Spcycle version of this frame just arrived. Size XL light purple metallic. I paid 578 USD for it including the paint job and tax-free shipping to Poland.
Overall it looks pretty good: no visible flaws in the carbon, everything fits really nice, paint job is nice. It comes with hanger, axles, headset and a headset cover with cable entries for a normal non-integrated stem, steatpost clamp but without a seatpost.
However there's one details that I'm sure going to annoy the hell out of me.
The frame should not have seatstay mounts for the rack just like the latest iteration of the Mondince frame and it "kind of" doesn't. It actually has blanked out mounts that were painted over. It probably not going to cause problems but I just hate how it looks.
I looked at the pictures of the frame on the spcycle website and it looks like it also has those blank mounts but hard to tell a 100%.

[impmonkey]

My Spcycle version of this frame just arrived. Size XL light purple metallic. I paid 578 USD for it including the paint job and tax-free shipping to Poland.
Overall it looks pretty good: no visible flaws in the carbon, everything fits really nice, paint job is nice. It comes with hanger, axles, headset and a headset cover with cable entries for a normal non-integrated stem, steatpost clamp but without a seatpost.
However there's one details that I'm sure going to annoy the hell out of me.
The frame should not have seatstay mounts for the rack just like the latest iteration of the Mondince frame and it "kind of" doesn't. It actually has blanked out mounts that were painted over. It probably not going to cause problems but I just hate how it looks.
I looked at the pictures of the frame on the spcycle website and it looks like it also has those blank mounts but hard to tell a 100%.

At least the color is beautiful

[Grailer]

Got the video! Frame ready to ship out.

[v0llhirsch]

Joining the club