I flew to Norway to ride this bike

A few weeks ago I got asked to head out to Oslo, Norway to ride a brand new gravel bike from Fara I don’t say yes to these kind of things that often, but the bike had a lot of things going for it (57mm tyre clearance, internal frame storage, adjustable cockpit, light, fast etc) and so I was pretty excited to head out and give this thing a run around the Norwegian gravel forests.

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0:00 – intro and bike
4:43 – sunset ride
7:30 – day 2 (rain)
11:28 – Norwegian fjord sauna
13:32 – epic ride day
24:13 – wrap up

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Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/grantritchie/
Strava — https://www.strava.com/athletes/6460943

I also run a creative studio — https://www.studioyoke.co.uk/

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Supported by:

Bikes and Equipment: Sigma Sports
GPS Cycling Computer: Wahoo ROAM
Shoes: Lake
Helmet: POC Ventral Air
Clothes: Universal Colours (Grant15 for 15% off)
Turbo Trainer: Wahoo Kickr
Nutrition: Styrkr (Use code ‘GRANTRITCHIE’ for 25% off)
Insurance: Sundays Insurance (Grant15 for 15% off)

The small camera I use: https://geni.us/small_camera
The big camera I use: https://geni.us/big_camer
The mount I use for cycling: https://geni.us/my-mount

#cycling #gravel #norway

[Music] Yeah. When your people need your teaching, let your vision be your guide. Be your leader in your power. Okay, welcome back to the videos. We are continuing an incredibly busy September and I’m actually going to be doing a couple of firsts over the next couple of days. It is my first time in Oslo. My first time in Norway. I’ve just flown in, just arrived. And the reason that I’m in Norway is to visit this brand, Farah Cycling, who are a Norwegian bike brand. They make road bikes, they make gravel bikes, but they have just launched a very, very interesting gravel bike, the GR4. And that’s why I’m here. I’m here to ride this bike for the first time. We’re going to be going out into the Norwegian forest to take this thing out to see what it’s like. It’s got some incredible specs, but I’ll get into all of that later. I’ve just arrived. I’m going to go and find my bike and then I actually think we’re going to go out tonight because the weather tomorrow looks absolutely horrific. And so, we’re going to go out tonight for an hour or two. I need to get in. I need to get my bike sorted. I need to get my kit sorted. I need to get my head in gear because I was not expecting to ride tonight. And so I thought I’d take you with me. We could experience this together. We can experience Oslo for the first time. Experience this bike brand and this bike for the first time. And I’m sure it’s going to be an enjoyable couple of days. So yeah, let’s let’s do it. [Music] [Music] Okay, we’re not messing about. I’ve got the bike and we’re going to get out and do a little bit of a ride before the rain comes in. Let me very quickly talk to you about this bike. So, it’s called the GR4 by Far of course. And this bike has a lot of things going for it, which is partly why I said yes to coming out and doing this because, as you know, we’ve been talking about gravel bike builds recently, and this thing ticks so many boxes. And so, I wanted to come and take it for a spin, see how it rides, and see if it’s as good as it is kind of on paper. So yeah, it’s a fully carbon frame. It’s light. I think it’s around 8 kilos or something like that. It looks comfortable. The geometry is good. On the frame, we’ve got a couple of guards. We’ve got like a scratch guard underneath. We’ve got a guard on the top of the chain stay, which is nice. This handlebar system is really cool. And so it’s Farah’s own handlebar. It is carbon, and it has an adjustability forward and backwards. So you can change the length of the effective stem by like 10 mil, which I really like. They’ve they’ve clearly thought about it. The design is nice and so yeah, be interesting to see how that works in person. But one of the main things with this bike is the tire clearance. So this bike has tire clearance for up to, I think, 57 mil. And so we have got here some basically mountain bike tires. Yeah, I think these are 2.1s I think. Schwabby Thunderbirds. But anyway, mountain bike tire clearance, which I think is the move for gravel bikes. And so this thing is going to be really fun to ride out on the sort of more technical stuff. We’ve got some internal frame storage on this. This is the final version of the prototype and so the internal storage isn’t working on this bike. Um, but it’s going to have some internal storage right there. And so, yeah, all in all, oh, and the bike is equipped with Zip 303 Explore wheels and a brand new ShraMM Force Axis Explorer group set. And so, this bike is an absolute weapon and I can’t wait to get out and ride it. Man, this is this is the best job in the world. Okay, we’re on the bike. We’ve done a quick set up and we are heading out to in search of some gravel. We’re literally in the center of Oslo, but I’ve been told that within 20 minutes, you get to some proper gravel. And so, we’ve got Jorgen, the tour guide from Farah, and he’s uh he’s taken us out. And so, yeah, got the bike. Got a beautiful evening cycling in Norway. Let’s go. [Music] How did I get so lucky? I die when I look in your eyes. Then I come back alive when you touch me. You’re the one for me. So here I am to give all I have. I’m in love with you and you know that it’s true. You can always count on me to carry you through. And so yeah, 20 minutes outside of Oslo city center, we’re on beautiful Champagne Gravel. It’s lovely. Welcome to Norway, I guess. [Music] When your people need your teaching, let your vision be your But if your mother, he’s on your doorstand. That’s insane. [Applause] Well, good morning. It is Thursday morning and oh, the weather’s coming. This is the day that we were meant to be getting out and doing like four or five hours on this bike out in the Norwegian forests and the weather is not playing ball. It is pouring. There’s literally floods running down the street. And so I’ve uh I’ve come out in the search of coffee. At least at least Oslo is going to have some good specialty coffee. So, I’m getting absolutely soaked. But I’m desperate to get out on this bike again. Desperate to get into the the gravel forest around here cuz you know, as you saw last night, it’s so nice. So nice. [Music] [Music] Yeah. [Music] Morning. Yeah. [Music] Okay, so we just had a little bit of a uh presentation from the guys here at Farah just going into the brand, the bike, all that good stuff. Uh the rain is still very much coming down and so we’re not going to be able to get out and ride the bike at least this morning. Maybe this afternoon, maybe this evening. But yeah, it’s been fun like learning a little bit more about this bike. It’s super unique. Like, it’s such a distinctive bike and some of the decisions that they’ve made on there with the tire clearance, with the cockpit, the geometry. We’re just doing something a little bit different, a little bit different design, a little bit different aesthetic, some really like practical choices around the design. And it feels like that’s what they’re doing with this bike as well. It’s got practical choices, and it all comes together in something that’s very enjoyable to ride. We’re going to have to wait for now. Then we’re going to go and do a little bit of sightseeing since we’re since we’re in Oslo. A little bit of trivia for you. This hotel behind me on that balcony is where every year the Nobel Peace Prize winner will come and present their award. And sometimes like a 100,000 people gather in this in this little square. So there’s a little bit of local trivia for you. got nothing to do with bikes, but you can have that one for free. They lot in agencies and stuff a flat white from Roast Works in Oslo down by the fjord, down by the harbor. Would recommend. I would give this this is a solid 8 out of 10. I did ask if they had decaf, though, because it’s 3:00 in the afternoon, which is well out of my coffee window, and they didn’t. They had no decaf. Feel like that’s that’s mad. That’s mad that a good coffee shop wouldn’t have decaf. But maybe that’s a scandi thing. I don’t know. You tell me. Next up on the uh tour guide of the day, we’ve got the Oslo Opera House, which is actually a sick building. But the stop after this I’m genuinely excited about. We’re going to a classic Norwegian sauna. It’s right on the fjord. And then I think you can go straight from the sauna and jump in the fjord and then back in the sauna. And so that should be pretty fun. And I’ve been planning a ride for tomorrow, guys. I’ve been planning a ride. This is going to be epic. [Music] Come on. Yeah, baby. [Music] me. [Music] My eyes meant [Music] Okay, we have completed the sauna and uh this was actually a really cool experience. I mean, look how beautiful this is. And it stopped raining down on the fjord. I’ve learned all about fjords. Actually, I didn’t actually know what a fjord was earlier. Um, I didn’t know that it was ocean, which seems like such an idiotic thing to say now, but I just didn’t know. So, yeah, this is the ocean, but it would take you hours and hours to get out proper uh to the ocean. Ocean ocean. Anyway, you’re not here for ocean chat. This has been a nice little experience. Feels very scandy to come down and do a sauna and and jump jump jump in the water. So, we’re going to go get some dinner. We’re not riding today, but I’ve got some riding planned for the morning and I’m going to try and convince the guys to do like a good old ride out. I want some proper time on this bike to get to know it. So, I’m excited about that. The sky is clearing. It’s got to be good news. Really excited to be riding the morning and I think I will catch you then. Okay, good morning. Welcome back. It is day three of our trip in Oslo. I’m back at the fire store. We got the bikes. I’m in Kit, which means we’re going for a ride. And at the moment, the sky, you can see up there, it is blue. It’s a little bit cold, but the sky is blue. There’s no rain, but I’ve just checked the forecast, and it looks like there is some proper rain coming in. And so we’re gonna get out. We’re gonna see how far we can get. I really want to do like three or four hour ride to properly test this thing, but we’re gonna have to just see what the weather’s saying. I’m going to get in, maybe get a coffee, and then we will hit the trails and finally get this ride in. Okay, it’s it’s not just dry, it’s sunny at the moment. Oh yeah, we got to warm up and enjoy this before it changes. There is some like ominous black cloud right in front of us. But I think once you get going then the rain is kind of less of a big deal. Starting in the rain though. Savage. [Music] Okay, so we properly reached the uh Norwegian countryside at this point. Got mist at the end of the lake. We got the the forest trees. This is uh exactly what I had in mind when when I knew I was coming to Norway. got this beautiful bike which I have to say I’m enjoying riding out here. This tire clearance, man. These are 2.1s, so 55 mil and tire clearance fits 2.2s, which is 57 mil tires. And so you’re riding around on this 8 kilo bike, but it’s got essentially mountain bike tires. And it just gives you like a real confidence on the trails, but then when you hit a climb, it feels light and agile and lively. It rides actually very similarly to the Mog that I’ve been riding all summer. But there’s a couple of additional features on this that I quite like. Like this handlebar is actually really cool. You can move it forward and back by 10 mil. So you can essentially adjust the uh the the stem on that which which is really nice. And just generally like it feels super comfortable. And you can get down into that like arrow position because of the flat tops and it’s just got this really interesting geometry on it. So I really like that bar and obviously it just looks absolutely sick. I mean this paint job is definitely my favorite. You I mean you know I’m a fan of purple at this point. I think this is a bold claim. I think it could be the best looking gravel bike on the market. What do you think? Leave a comment down below. Let me know what what you think. Let me I’m going to and let me put some B-roll in so you can make a proper decision. Let’s cut to B- roll. [Music] [Music] Uh, here’s the question, Chris. How much to jump off the end of the pier? Like, what are we talking? What sort of figure would make it happen? Can maybe 10 croner, 100 kroner. What’s 100? 100 krona. Do you want to split that? Can’t even You can’t even buy a beer for that. I’d split that. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat [Music] up [Music] here. [Music] [Applause] Oh yeah. Oh, that’s the stress. Speaking of which, my legs are ropey at the moment. Yeah. Things I’ve learned so far is one, Norway is beautiful. People are nice. The gravel is is unreal. And I’ve been told it gets even better the further you go from Oslo. I have really enjoyed meeting the Farah guys. Love how they approach their brand and their business. They are not in the game for the sort of fast fashion side of cycling. They’re here to make timeless long-term bikes. And I really like that personally. And this bike especially, they just listen to what people want and they’ve made a bike with it. You know what I’m saying? Yeah. [Music] Let’s go. Let’s test this thing. Oh, it’s beautiful. [Music] could have got another [Music] [Music] So, so our tour guide organ has uh his battery ran out and so he’s decided to cut out early and go back down the big old hill back into Oslo. Chris and I were going to attempt the rest of the route and it’s not raining. Not going to rain. We got no tools. Do not advise this kind of behavior. But in and contrary to Wales and Scotland, we got 5G, so should be absolutely fine. [Music] NP hot. could burn on my sun. Curt pop star. [Music] Oh, look at that view. Wow. Yeah, that is nice. And it’s nice to know that you’re up on high ground cuz then it means we’ve only got to set. [Music] That’s my one criticism. Norway. There’s too many trees. It obstructs the views. There you go. I’m stopping. I’m stopping. That’s too good in a minute. [Music] Take a kind of ride. Come on inside. [Music] What kind of m kind of ride kind of drive kind of [Music] Oh, we just found this beautiful little peninsula on this lake. Just this little this little section. And we got a lake on that side, lake on this side, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I just want to like go for a swim, but we don’t have time. And it’s probably absolutely freezing. I mean, it’s actually not that bad. If I was into fishing and knew how to do that, just like fish for some food, that’d be nice. It’s just so peaceful and still. I presume the weather gets pretty bad here sometimes, but at the moment it’s nice, right? As much as I’d love to hang out here all day, I think we need to get back. We got flights to catch. Oh, it’s just so beautiful. I don’t want to leave, Chris. friends. We are back to where we started. But yeah, I’ve had a cracking couple of days. Massive thank you to the guys at Farah for having me out here and being able to come and experience Oslo for the first time. Never been to Norway before. And I really, really want to come back. I want to ride north up into some of the more kind of remote areas. There’s some cabins. There’s some high mountains. So, I need an excuse to come back and do a little bit of that. But, as for this trip, we’ve come to an end and I’ve had a cracking couple of days and just gassed that this is something that I can call work. Thanks very much for watching. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I will catch you in the next one. Cheers.