Hey guys,
So I picked up my new gravel bike a couple weeks ago and made this post on my initial impressions on the bike: https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/s/X9Y4ZT2rFP
As I said in that post I wanted to make a riding impressions post too.
Now I’ve had a few rides on it I wanted to make another post about my ride impressions. So far I’ve put about 100km on the bike so I haven’t done any huge rides but I have ridden it on a bunch of different terrain.
As far as my background goes: This is my first drop bar bike but I have been mountain biking for years. I currently own a Full Suspension, Hardtail and Fat bike. I have owned and ridden many other mountain bikes over the years. This bike replaced my old fitness/commuter the Trek FX1 that I set up with gravel tires (700×40 set up tubeless) inner bar ends and a 1×10.
On gravel: I gotta say I’m really happy with it. I was impressed by how it handled the big washboard sections of gravel, it seemed like it didn’t get unsettled or lose speed like my old Trek did. It felt fast, put me in a great position and was comfortable. The gravel I was on was typical gravel roads found here in Alberta.
On singletrack: the bike felt stable, climbed well and descended with confidence. The really steep climbs were a bit of a struggle compared to my mountain bikes. Likely because I’m used to my mtb gearing (30t front ring and a 11-51 cassette). The Obelisk’s gearing has a 40t front ring paired with a 11-48t cassette. On the downs it felt great, the bars have a nice flare which helped me feel confident when things got spicy. I had the brakes dialled in nicely and they had lots of bite. Yes hydraulics will preform better then these mechanicals but for the price point you can’t ask for more. I’ll continue to use these and I may decide to upgrade in the future but at this time I don’t see the need for it.
On Tarmac: I plan to be riding the bike on lots of tarmac too. The bike feels fast and encourages pedalling and makes me hungry for more speed. Just like on gravel I felt like I was on a great position for long rides.
The bike has a solid frame, carbon fork, modern hub spacing and geo. I wouldn’t hesitate to upgrade the bike if I get into more gravel riding. Wheels were easy to set up tubeless and the in-house CAVU branded parts (wheels, bars, etc) seem to be decent quality and look great.
Hope this helps anyone that is looking for a review on the bike.
by 1MTBRider