Quick spin review: Bombtrack Cale 2020

 

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A brand new model for 2020 the Bombtrack Cale takes the essence of the existing Beyond+ and Beyond ADV models and then distils it into nitro fuel! Fun is clearly high on the agenda, but not at the expense of practicality. The Cale is an adventure bike to get you up and over anything and then rip down the other side!

All new design

While it’s made from tough 4130 CrMo and runs 27.5+ tyres like the Beyond+,  Bombtrack haven’t just plugged a suspension fork and a dropper post and conjured up a new model. The Cale is an all-new design with 73.5°seat tube and a 67.5° headtube angles (Steeper and slacker respectively, compared to the Beyond+) and an extra 10mm reach, depending on frame size. The Cale also a gets a higher spec drivetrain coming with GX Eagle as opposed to the NX variant on its little brother.

Built for Adventure

One look and there’s no mistaking what the Cale is designed for!

While the compact frame design only allows one bottle cage inside the front triangle, the Cale comes equipped for long distance travel. There is an additional cage mount under the down-tube and rack mounts on the rear. While racks are heavier than a seatpack they have the advantage of not interfering with the dropper post operation.

MRP Ribbon SL

The MRP Ribbon SL is not a fork you see often, but in custom matched decals it suits the style and the intent of the Cale perfectly. The reverse cast arch is a great feature for mud-plugging riders!

Magura Trail Sport Brakes

With a four-piston caliper up front and two-piston at the rear, bringing the Cale to a halt is a piece of cake. Even loaded up, stopping will be no issue. Top marks for Magura for their reversible levers. Switching from UK to Euro brake setups was a doddle.

Big wheels keep on rolling

Bombtrack have chosen the wheelset with one thing in mind. Grip! With 27.5 x 2.8″ WTB Vigilantes front and rear, traction isn’t going to be an issue for the majority of riders. The front tyre is the Tough/Hi-Grip version mounted on an WTB ST i45 TCS rim. There is a minor concession to rolling resistance out back where the tyre is a Tough/Fast-rolling version on a slightly narrower ST i40 TCS rim. It’s safe to say smooth tarmac is not their forte!

Quick ride review

I took the Cale on one of the organised cross-country rides at the recent Bombtrack Groundwork event. No surprise, the brief road sections were hard going when the rest of the group were on gravel bikes! Once in the woods however the Cale came alive. The 800mm wide, 35mm diameter bars and stiff forks going wherever they’re pointed. The WTB Vigilante tyres brushed aside roots and sought out grip in the loose loamy soil. Fellow Cale pilots Get Wild Matty and Bombtrack designer Marko and I decided instead to play to the Cale’s strengths. Firing up the Trailforks app, we found a network of black graded singletrack not far from the planned route. I’m no regular trail centre rider but the Cale instils confidence no matter how steep or rough the trail gets.

With the ability to both haul kit and smash trails, the Cale makes for a very interesting proposition. Anyone for a spot of Enduro-packing?

The Cale will be available as both a full-build and frameset only.

Quick spin review: Bombtrack Hook 2 and Hook WMN 2020

 

Bombtrack Hook 2, second best?

Having ridden the Hook ADV the day before, I did wonder if the more conventional Hook 2 might seem a little, err, pedestrian. While fitting pedals, Bombtrack’s Manuel Schuerholz came over to speak to me. He smiled and said, “I’m really pleased with how that model came out!”. Even before throwing a leg over the Hook 2 and riding it, you could see why. Bombtrack graphics and colour schemes always look accomplished, but for 2020 the detailing is spot on. Superbly deep paint finishes and subtle graphics that wrap seamlessly around the frame are the trademark here. A welcome change from some German brands that attempt to cover every square inch of the frame in acronyms and buzzwords. The Hook range also gains the Hook WMN (woman) this year. As the two models are similar I’ll cover both here.

Hook WMN

Teal and magenta. The ladies colours of the moment in Bike World.

2020 sees the debut of the Bombtrack Hook WMN, which as the name suggests is the female specific version, or is it? Marcellus Putschli, a designer at Bombtrack, hinted that naming this bike caused them some headaches as to whether having a women’s model was discriminatory. In the end they decided to run with it but added that the bike was designed for adult riders of a smaller stature. In practice, riders should choose the model that best suits their physical build.

Riding the Hook 2

I started this article wondering if the Hook 2 might leave me feeling a bit underwhelmed after riding the all guns blazing  Hook ADV. The reality was quite the opposite. So much fun was had, I forgot to take many photos! On all but the roughest terrain the Bombtrack Hook 2 gave up nothing to its suspended stablemate. Most impressive was how the Columbus steel frame and Carbon fork worked in tandem to smooth the bumps while still responding rapidly to pedal inputs. the example I rode was a pre-production model. The spec was essentially the finished article but fitted with Schwalbe G-Ones. Production bikes will sport WTB Riddlers in a tan wall TCS LIGHT flavour. Considering how predictable the Hook 2 felt on trails with the G-Ones I can only see the Riddlers improving on this.

Natty threads. T47 Threaded Bottom Brackets are now standard on many Bombtrack bikes.

Ease of use

It’s worth mentioning the details that Bombtrack have included in their 2020 range that are designed to make the rider’s life easier. All 2020 Bombtrack bikes will come with a threaded bottom bracket, be they alloy, steel or carbon. The Hook models are no exception and will be fitted with T47 BB shells and utilise Bombtrack’s own 30mm spindle chainsets. The majority of the range will come with tubeless compatible rims and tyres too.

Well, the colour has us ‘Hooked’.

WNM Drivetrain Variations

The Hook 2 and Hook WMN frames are essentially identical, bar colours and geometry. Those aside the biggest difference between the two models is the choice of drive train. The Hook 2 using a SRAM Rival 1×11 system and the WMN comes with a Tiagra 2×10. However, by using their own direct-mount chainset, Bombtrack are able to equip the WMN with 46/30t chainrings and an 11-34 cassette. A set-up far better suited to gravel and adventure riding than the stock road compact gearing. Another difference is that the XS and S sized Hook WMN bikes come with 650b x 40 wheelsets. This allows Bombtrack to deliver the same handling characteristics across all sizes and keep standover and toe-overlap consistent. Both models are fitted with Spyre-C flat mount cable discs.

650 x 40 Byways keep the smaller Bombtrack Hook WMN bikes handling as well as the 700c models

For me at least, the Hook 2 proved the old adage less is more. As much as I enjoyed the Hook ADV, it really is better suited for riders who regularly hit rough trails. The Bombtrack Hook 2 felt sharper and more efficient and, for what it’s worth, the cleaner lines are more appealing. A production model with Riddlers would probably help close the gap on singletrack too.

More details are available at Bombtrack.com

Quick spin review: Bombtrack Hook ADV 2020

 

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Divide & Conquer?

Released last year as a 2019 model the Bombtrack Hook ADV divided opinion like few other bikes. Bombtrack labelled it Hyper-Gravel and proudly stated that John Tomac inspired them. So is this a mountain bike held-back by drop-bars, or a gravel bike lumbered with unnecessary tech?

What’s Hyper-Gravel  anyway?

At its heart the Bombtrack Hook ADV has a steel frame bristling with all the cage, rack and fender mounts you’d expect from the ADV suffix. These features combined with flared drop bars and 1×11 gears are the new norm. Where the Hook differs from the crowd is its the air-sprung fork, stealth dropper and clearances for 2.0″/2.25″ MTB tyres. These upgrades give the Hook ADV the ability to hustled faster down rougher and twistier trails. Of course, this isn’t without downsides. Airsprung forks have an inherent weight and complexity disadvantage compared to rigid forks, and few saddle packs will play nicely with the dropper post.

This is the 2019 Bombtrack Hook ADV model. The revisions for 2020 are covered in the text

How does it ride?

There’s no getting away from it. With all else being equal, adding MTB tyres, a heavier fork and a dropper is going to make for a less sprightly and agile ride compared to a conventional gravel bike. Interestingly the difference isn’t as great as you might think. Sure, you feel it on draggy climbs with a slightly dulled pace and bit of fork-bobbing but it’s never spirit-sapping. Level gravel roads see it fly along nicely, the forks and venture-max bars make holding a line easier on degraded surfaces. Leaving the gravel behind, the ADV shows its worth in the woods where off-camber singletrack and sneaky roots could otherwise conspire to knock you off course.  By trail bike standards the KS post has a meagre 100m drop, all of which I used on the steepest trails. For the most part though I used perhaps half the travel. Dropping the saddle just enough to enable weight-shifts and hopping over fallen branches.

Even hanging in the rack with the rest of the range, the 2020 ADV stands out as a real Bobby Dazzler.

So is it a 90’s MTB?

I have a 90s MTB in the garage with frame, tyre and fork specs that on paper resemble the Bombtrack. The advances in geometry, suspension, braking and gear-shifting technology however, make the Hook ADV a much more compelling ride. As MTB’s become ever more focussed Bombtrack offers you a bike capable of being fun around your local trails, and still being able to shine on the ride there and back too!

The Hook ADV takes the rough with the smooth

What’s changed for 2020?

As a small close-knit team Bombtrack can remain agile with their designs. Responding to feedback, the Hook ADV has a series of subtle improvements for the 2020 model year.

• The rear dropout had been upgraded to that as fitted on the Beyond +. This brings the benefit of being stronger and also reducing the spares burden for the owner and retailer
• Bombtrack have developed their own 30mm axle cranks for the T47 BB standard. Using Sram direct mount style rings, this again makes sourcing and replacement easier for the rider.
• The Hook ADV will come with the standard bar-mounted lever for the dropper as in 2019, however the 2020 model will also have a 2x front shifter so tinkerers can adapt the shifter to operate the lever!
• Perhaps realising that an out-there bike needed a more out-there colour, the sensible silver paint makes way for the stunning glossy orange teal fade.

New Hook ADV models should be landing with dealers this October. Find out more at Bombtrack Bikes.

Bombtrack Groundwork 2019

 

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While I  love the big glossy bike shows, meeting up with the industry’s movers and shakers and so, so, many shiny things to catch our magpie-like eyes! The fact remains though that the very thing that gets us really excited, i.e. riding bikes, rarely happens. Bombtrack realise this and choose to unveil their new bikes at an annual event called Groundwork. What could be better than living and breathing bikes in the environment in which they were designed and tested?

Groundwork HQ

Kürten is a village 30km East of Cologne, where Bombtrack are based. It’s home to the Landgut Breibach, a guest house nestled in a wooded valley and the basecamp for Groundwork. For a twenty year period between the 1930s and 50s it was also the Summer holiday destination for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Mother, Princess Alice. Beats a suburban Travelodge right?

View from Landgut Breibach

Arriving just as the sun began to set, I was greeted by Manuel Shuerholz, the head honcho at Bombtrack. I quickly dumped my bags, grabbed a beer and headed outside to join the other Groundworkers around the fire. Amongst the crowd were the Bombtrack design team, their family of riders, journos and bike shop owners.

Bike. Eat. Drink. Fire. Repeat.

The format of Groundwork is nice and simple. Take your pick from the Bombtrack range and join a no-drop ride around the forests and trails where the designs were conceived. Knowing that tarmac made up less than 10% of the routes I opted for Bombtrack’s most controversial model, the Hook ADV. Touted as a hyper-gravel bike, the Hook ADV fuses the spirit of a 90s Tomac-attack with contemporary tech. For 2020 the spec receives some clever updates and a fantastic Glossy orange teal fade paint finish. Check out our overview of the Bombtrack Hook ADV 2020 right here.

2020 Hook ADV: Confounding and delighting gravel riders in equal measure

The agony of choice, if Bombtrack make it, you can ride it!

With Cologne, one of Germany’s biggest cities only 30km away you could be forgiven for thinking the trails might be choked, but far from it. With a stiff road climb quickly dispatched to clear the valley, 40km of empty trails awaited an eager Hook and rider!

Rag, tag and bobtail assemble for the off

Did I mention the climb out of the valley was steep?

While overkill on the gravel tracks the Hook ADV came into its own own loose and rooty forest singletrack. With 2.0 x 27.5 WTB Ranger tyres, MRP Baxter suspension forks and a KS dropper, I could take liberties with my line choice and carry more speed along the trail. Half-way around, the trail popped us out on the shoreline of the beautiful Grosse Dhünntalsperre reservoir.

The ADV in its element

On the tree-lined banks of the reservoir (2019 colour scheme)

Let’s do it all over again!

After 40km I bumped down farm track and saw the landgut in the distance. With the descent back on smooth tarmac, I locked out the forks and engaged the aero-dropper and blasted my way back.  The routine was to stay the same, choose a bike and hit the trails, then trade your dusty bike in for a well earned beer when you return!

Smooth double-track climb from the Reservoir

Over the course of Groundwork I got to meet the small team behind the brand, many of the riders they support, and to sample the bikes in a great location. With so many great bikes in the range it’s hard to choose favourites, but keep an eye out for features about what I felt were the stand out models.

The weight penalty of the suspension & dropper didn’t unduly affect the Hook’s hike-a-bikeability!

Get on over to bombtrack.com and check out the full range!

For your nearest Bombtrack stockist, visit Lyon Cycle.

Review: BiViBIKES Bunker prototype

 

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BiViBIKES

BiViBIKES is the brainchild of Fraser Barsby, a veteran of the Dirt-Jump/DH scene. After a few years away, Fraser has returned to cycling to apply his years of experience to the gravel and adventure scene. The first two products under the BiViBIKES banner are the Bunker frame and Femur forks.

Go with what you know

Fraser’s long term love affair with Sanko steel has carried over to the BiViBIKES frameset. Unlike his jump bikes, the frame uses sleek tubing with neat welds and subtle reinforcing gussets in high stress locations. The ride promises to be lively rather than heavy and dull.

Both frame and forks feature intricate dropouts using standard 12mm thru-axles. Both tighten with a 6mm hex rather than a QR-lever and have their specification laser-engraved so sourcing spares should be easy.

Backcountry Utility

The Bunker is equipped with all the braze-ons you might expect.

• Rack and guard mounts at both ends.
• Anything cage mounts on the fork legs.
• Triple bottle cage mounts on the frame.

It should come as no surprise that the frame features a threaded bottom bracket shell, and external cables with full outers. All eminently practical stuff.

The, old skool, straight head tube precludes suspension forks or indeed, most carbon forks. I get the feeling that such options are at odds with the Bunker’s off-grid character so it is not really a problem.

Going off-grid with the BiViBIKES Bunker

Frame colours are still to be finalised (apart from the initial run of lacquered raw framesets) but the slate grey on the review bike looked smart and has held up to abuse while on test. Decals will be supplied with production bikes giving the rider the option to fly under the radar or display the bike’s identity. Additionally production frames will have their unique frame number engraved onto the headtube.

That tube

The main talking point about this bike is the extra tube (or Bivi-bar) in the main triangle. It is not just a design confection, a whim thrown in to make the bike stand apart from the rest. It really does have a genuine function. A range of custom, modular frame bags are being developed to fit to the Bivi-bar.

The contentious Bivi-Bar

The larger/lower bag will attach via the three sets of bottle bosses instead of the more usual velcro strips. The obvious downsides are the extra weight and there is less room for your bottles if you do not use the custom bags. If these are compromises too far for you, a regular two-triangle Bunker frameset is on the way. As someone who has already invested in a full frame bag, I would prefer the more traditional frame configuration. That issue aside, the Bivi-bar went largely unnoticed.

Room to manoeuvre

Predictably, both frame and fork have decent clearance for mud-plugging. The forks have generous amounts plenty of room but the stays are a little tighter. For reference, the test-bike was equipped with Mavic Allroad wheels (22mm wide rims) and Challenge’s (true to size) 42c Gravel Grinder tyres. Most popular tyres should fit comfortably. BiViBIKES also have a test-mule built up with 650b wheels so the current crop of Roadplus tyres are also an option.

 

 

Build kit

While the BiViBIKES Bunker and Femur are being sold primarily as a frameset, full builds will be available in due course. Fully custom options will be offered alongside the spec featured here. Suffice to say, the choices made by the BiViBIKES team were pretty sound and suggest they know their onions! The full build weighed in a whisker over 24lbs which, considering the all steel construction, sturdy wheel and tyre combo, and Truvativ MTB cranks is a respectable all-in figure. As ever, saddle choice is a personal thing but the Fabric scoop saddle is a safe bet for  keeping most riders happy. The seat post and stem are supplied by Deda with steering dealt with by the excellent Ritchey VentureMax bars wrapped in Cinelli tape. An FSA headset keeps things smooth and the only generic component I could find was the seat clamp which performed faultlessly in any case.

Wide clearances as standard with the Femur fork.

Drivetrain & Braking

Trusty SRAM Apex 1x performs well

The Apex 1 gears performed well, as did the hydraulic brakes. There is only a minor drop in refinement and power compared to the more expensive Rival & Force stablemates. The 1x arrangement with clutch mech is spot on considering the off road duties the Bunker’s will encounter. Compared to Apex models the Truvativ Stylo cranks might seem like overkill but they offer more appropriate gearing for loaded off-road riding out of the box. They also use SRAM’s new DUB BB system which has been generally well received.

Rolling Stock

It was nice to see good quality wheels and tyres. The 42mm Challenge Gravel Grinder tyres are the premium TLR (Tubeless Ready) versions and can be run happily with 35psi for a supple ride. They rolled well on hardpack and performed better than expected in the slop. Set up without tubes they didn’t burp, weep or leak during testing. Mavic’s new UST Allroad Wheels come, tubeless ready, out of the box. Using 23mm wide rims they can take 28-62mm tyres.

Ride & handling

The Bunker took the loose trails of the Peak District in its stride. You did not need razor sharp reactions to correct it when it bounced off-line, and the skinny steel lived up to its reputation for taking the edge off trail buzz. In short, the handling was predictable and solid, even on steep climbs. The bike also zipped along efficiently on the flat sections.

The wide Ritchey bars enhanced control through tight singletrack and allowed efficient, one finger braking. This spurred me on, confident in the knowledge that it could be easily reined in.

One size fits all?

One issue of course is that the Bunker is only available in one size.  At 180cm tall I found the Bunker to be a good fit. Others might be less fortunate!

Conclusion

There is no getting away from the fact that being available in only one size automatically rules out the Bunker for lots of riders.  However, it still makes for an interesting proposition if it does fit.

At around £500 for the frameset there are few rivals if steel is your bag. At £1579 for the build featured here, the Bunker is in the same ballpark as the similarly equipped Ragley Trig, Kona Rove or Genesis Fugio.

The Bunker is not a speed machine but it is not that slow. With your kit loaded up it makes a great platform for tapping out some sociable miles to a bivi spot. Whether your route takes in tarmac or singletrack you will have fun getting there.

Meet the maker: BiViBikes

 

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BiViBikes: In the beginning

From a evolutionary perspective, being nimble is a real advantage. And within the cycle industry, you have to be small to be nimble. If you can be innovative and still react to changing trends, your business will have a real chance of success. This is why so many micro businesses appear when there is a new game in town.

Within this maelstrom of development however, you need to do something different, something special, to stand out from the crowd.  This is where BiViBIKES enter the fray. Unlike many nascent firms, BiViBIKES already has a long and established pedigree, and this piqued our interest.  So, we met up with Fraser Barsby, the brains behind the range, to find out more.

Moving on

Fraser started his career at Ison Distribution, helping launch the Identiti and Halo Wheels brands. After a while he struck out on his own with 24Seven bikes and forged a reputation for creating strong, reliable and affordable machines. By 2007, and with a young family, Fraser realised that he had outgrown the Dirt Jump and Downhill scene and moved on. That’s not to say he swapped his bikes for a pipe and slippers. Instead of building aggro bikes, he started building burly Land Rover Defender conversions designed for overland trips across Africa!

Fraser Barsby, founder of BiViBIKES

Getting back in the saddle

If cycling is in your blood, you will eventually succumb to its siren call, and so it was with Fraser.

“I’d sold on all bar one of my bikes, a 90’s Kona Kīlauea. I wanted to incorporate the feel of the Kona into a drop-bar bike”

From this germ of an idea, the BiViBIKES Bunker prototype was born. He got back in touch with the frame builders he had used on his earlier projects, who were only too pleased to get on board. From there, he has not looked back. As with the Dirt-Jump bikes, the Bunker uses Japanese Sanko steel tubing, albeit with gauges and butting more suited to a Gravel Bike.

The frame was designed to be stable, but not at the expense of lively handling, and a higher bottom bracket was incorporated for rougher trails. The ubiquitous 12mm thru-axles were a given, less so is the use of gussets at the high-stress areas around the head-tube junction.

Oh, that’s what it’s for!

The elephant in the room is the extra tube in the front triangle. Look closely at what seem to be an additional set of bottle bosses. Fraser explained “I’ve seen a number of bikes where a fully packed, full-size frame bag can bulge and interfere with your pedalling. This design allows the use of modular bolt in luggage that will help reduce bulging”. This is a good idea. Two smaller bags have almost the same capacity as a larger one, and you can just run the top bag with a pair of bottle cages below.

Fraser has some bespoke bags ready for production in June, so the option of adding these to your frame order will be available soon on the BiViBikes website.

But why BiViBIKES?

As the name suggests BiViBIKES is not just about the bike. The clever bit is that the frame will also double up as a support for….you guessed it, a shelter. This is currently under development with a team at Nottingham Trent University. Design and material tweaks should see a finished product ready by early 2020 so watch this space!.

Head over to BiViBIKES to find out more!