XMCS: 2026 Aero Gravel bike

[Requiem84]

And just as we are talking about it, I receive these photo’s from Peter. First one out of the mold. Will now going into rigorous testing.

[Asco]

Looks great. I asked a while back about chainring clearance, do you have the info?

[Requiem84]

Looks great. I asked a while back about chainring clearance, do you have the info?

No - didn’t get that info yet. Curious myself too obviously and will test it once I get the frame.

[RDY]

Details are live on Instagram.

Geometry: 57mm clearance without compromises
•⁠  ⁠Unpainted frame size M (incl. mount bolts and hangers): 1035g +/- 30g. Fork 450g +/- 10g. Seat post 190g +/-5g
•⁠  ⁠Gearing: 1X and 2X, electronic & mechanical
•⁠  ⁠UDH
•⁠  ⁠In frame storage
•⁠  ⁠T47 85.5mm
•⁠  ⁠Mounting points on top tube and down tube

2 new handlebars:

•⁠  ⁠GR: AERO
•⁠  ⁠GR: RISE

Same geometry, but GR: RISE adds 25mm stack for riders who prefer a higher position without many spacers.

•⁠  ⁠72mm reach
•⁠  ⁠-8° stem angle
•⁠  ⁠90mm extra width in drops
•⁠  ⁠105mm drop

Price:

•⁠  ⁠Frame USD 1490 (incl 1 custom color, or standard XMCS paint scheme).
•⁠  ⁠both handlebars: USD 330

Package deal 1: Frame + Handlebar USD 1690.

Package deal 2: Frame + Handlebar + 32.5/41mm wheel set (830 USD) for USD 2390

Expected delivery:
•⁠  ⁠Size M in May/June
•⁠  ⁠Size S and L in June/July
•⁠  ⁠Size XL July/August

Pre-order:
If you want to secure a frame as early as you can, you can pre-order with 50% downpayment.

Highly sceptical about usable clearance at the rear with CS / RC of only 425, and usability of FD mount with large tires.

Really no reason not to make it 440, or at least 435.

Wish head angle had been slacker and seat angle steeper, but otherwise ok effort.

[kubackje]

Highly sceptical about usable clearance at the rear with CS / RC of only 425, and usability of FD mount with large tires.

Really no reason not to make it 440, or at least 435.

Wish head angle had been slacker and seat angle steeper, but otherwise ok effort.

Big reason to not make it 440. Such a long chainstay makes the bike boring and sluggish. If you want such a bike, try cube gravel it has 440.

[Requiem84]

The 425mm CS and not ‘too slack’ HTA is part of the philosophy of the entire design. It is, pun not intended, ‘by design’.

Yes: lots of clearance, but not at the cost of making it a sluggish (boring?) bike. It should still be fun to ride. And with around 66mm trail for all sizes, it should still have very good stability when going fast / descending etc.

On 1x vs 2x: in my mind 1x is the way to go for gravel, as the industry is moving towards it for gravel anyway. See for example the new Crux that will - allegedly - be only 1x. I wouldn’t have mind if the frame would have been only 1x tbh. If you’re on 2x I think it’s fair to wait for the real world clearance. I will test it myself when I get the frame to accommodate all the 2x people.

It’s looking like I will het the first frame early May.

[RDY]

I see we're still frantically clinging to the myth that a slightly longer RC or slacker HTA makes bikes sluggish ...

Anyway, the chances this frame can clear any reasonable amount of mud or debris with a 55mm tire at the rear is nil, with that RC.  It'll be bad with a 50mm.

[offspring_fan]

I see we're still frantically clinging to the myth that a slightly longer RC [...] makes bikes sluggish ...

Myth? Tell me you've never jumped or wheelied without telling me you've never...

I agree with you about tyre clearance, but no point in pretending it's not a trade off.

[Asco]

Anyway, the chances this frame can clear any reasonable amount of mud or debris with a 55mm tire at the rear is nil, with that RC.  It'll be bad with a 50mm.

A Lauf Seigla has 425mm chainstays. As does an Ari Shafer in the smallest size. I guess you can argue those bikes can't clear a 55 with sufficient mud, but then you're working with a different definition of tire clearance than everyone else.

[Requiem84]

Rave id2 has a 419 Chainstay in the two smallest sizes with 53mm clearance. And 421 for M and L.

We looked at all competitors when discussing the geo and you see quite a lot of variation in the geo’s. Which is good, more options to choose from and less convergence than the road geo’s.

When deciding on certain geo directions we tried to keep the philosophy/concept of the XMCS gravel bike in mind. One of those fundamentals that I felt was important is to limit the geo compromises (or ‘changes’) you make to accommodate bigger tires. We tried to keep the geo as dynamic as possible.

No geo is perfect for everything in any case, so we didn’t try to make a jack of all trades, master of none.

Had we gone for 440 Chainstays, one person here would have been happy. But by the looks of it we would have made others unhappy.

We can’t please you all and we are aware of that. I’m also not interested to argue ‘why we are right’, because there is no right and wrong. I can only share the thinking behind certain choices.

[RDY]

Myth? Tell me you've never jumped or wheelied without telling me you've never...

I agree with you about tyre clearance, but no point in pretending it's not a trade off.

Gravel bikes aren't dirt jump bikes ...

[offspring_fan]

Gravel bikes aren't dirt jump bikes ...

Fair, although I ride my gravel bike at flow MTB trails which are too far away for me to ride my MTB to (I hate driving to ride). But anywaylike Requiem84 says above, it's great that there are frames with different geometries for different use cases.

[gribs]

A Lauf Seigla has 425mm chainstays. As does an Ari Shafer in the smallest size. I guess you can argue those bikes can't clear a 55 with sufficient mud, but then you're working with a different definition of tire clearance than everyone else.

You can make that choice but apparently only with a 1x drivetrain.

[TurboKlemi]

The bike looks fantastic. Really good job with geometry. Front derailleur mount is a bit optimistic with 2.25 inch tires. 
Could we get riser bars with less or no flare? 450mm plus at the drops is too much.
The only thing missing now is a proper 1x 13speed groupset with ~500% gear range. Sram xplr 10-46 is too little for me and the Alps.

[CycOps]

You can make that choice but apparently only with a 1x drivetrain.

Fara G4 has 425mm rear center, 80 mm bb drop and tire clearance of 57mm/2.2"
So that seems doable with a relatively short chain stay. 1x only, OC.