Reviewing my Bombtrack Beyond+ ADV after 16 months of riding

Since I've got quite some questions in this thread/via DM on my Bombtrack + I feel like reflecting about my time with it, here's a little review. Hope you find it interesting (or helpful if you also considering getting one :))

Also, if you have any questions about this bike / my setup etc. feel free to ask!

Overview / sizing

I ride the 2014 model in M. I'm 1,74m tall with a inseam of 83. To me the bike feels perfect in that size, no need to change the stem, only adjusted the saddle.

Info about the build kit can be found here.

Why & where I ride it

It's marketed as an adventure/bikepacking bike. I think that's pretty much on point: The geometry, paired with the Jones Bar, makes it feel extremely comfortable, especially considering long and/or multiple days in the saddle.

Bikepacking-wise there are all the mounts you could wish for. On top of that I found that there's quite a lot of space on the downtube if you keep riding it with a rigid fork. I can easily attach a long water bottle + a pair of saddles + tent poles. But most importantly, the bike still feels really nice and stable when fully loaded. Plus the gear range of the SRAM GX is incredible and 30t in front / 52t in the back allows to climb with ease even fully loaded.

This is not the Bikepacking-subreddit though and I don't just ride if for bikepacking. It's a bike that invites a more layed back pace but is still fast enough to keep up with my gravel buddies. It's fun to climb, descend and on trails (as long as it doesn't get too wild). It feels playful yet stable.

I basically ride it as a gravel bike that is capable to handle more rough or technical stuff with more confidence and ease. When riding with friends (which mostly ride gravel bikes) I often feel the advantage of the bigger, more forgiving tires and the wide (flat) handlebar.

A friend of mine always calls it a 'monster gravel bike'. And while it is, technically speaking, a MTB, and I have different kinds of bikes in mind when hearing this term, the way and where I ride it definitely leans more towards gravel. It's not a bike I would take to the bike park (but then again, I have no proper MTB experience to really judge that).

I would add though that it's not a bike I would pick for routes that are exclusively flat – for that I still prefer my gravel bike. It's not that I have problems spinning out with the gears – it's just that it doesn't feel at home here. It needs hills (and the occasional singletrail). Generally, any (dirt) route that's too monotone I'd rather pick a gravel bike.

What I changed

Rims/tires: The bike comes with i45 (front) and i40 (back) rims and 3" tires. At some point that felt a bit unnecessary big for me, especially considering the area I'm riding (I live in Western-Germany/NRW). Also, I felt a bit restricted with those rims in case I'd have to replace my tires unexpectedly on a trip – plus size tires are definitely harder to come by. The i30 rims (Sunringle Duroc) definitely give me more flexibility to go lower if needed. Been riding 2.6" Vittoria Mezcals for about 8 months now and think that's a nice sweet spot. Grip is a bit lacking but they're really really fast. Also no punctures so far and good durability. Rim+tire combo overall feels more agile which is nice.

I think 3" definitely has its place, especially when riding routes with wilder conditions. It's also great how low you can go with the tire pressure – 2.6" can go quite low too but sometimes I miss that extra bit of lower tire pressure (and roll-over-anything feeling) a bit. In hindsight I'm not sure if I'd change it again, but I'm also happy where I'm at now. Both are great.

Fork: Changed the original carbon fork to the steel equivalent from Bombtrack (actually Seido, but that's the same company) – just not a fan of carbon.

Saddle: Went for a Brooks C17 which I really really love and also ride on my gravel bike. However the original saddle is already surprisingly comfy and I only changed it because I wrecked it in a crash.

Other than that I feel no need to change anything atm. Like I said happy with the gear range/GX group and the Jones Bar (more on that below). The brakes, coming from a gravel bike, are also worth highlighting – the Magura Trail Sport with 4 pistons front and 2 in the back have much more braking power than anything I'm used to and are also very low maintenance – in 16 months and after countless km I only had to change the front brake pads. Still riding the original brake pads in the back, though I guess replacement should be due in a couple of weeks.

The Jones Bar

Actually one of the reasons I've got interested in the bike in the first place – because to my knowledge there aren't any other bikes other than Jones Bikes that come with it by stock + are designed around it.

They're famous for comfort and I'd absolutely agree with that. However you can also ride in a more aggressive position. That's one of the things that's so great about the handlebar: Due to the long grips you can slide around seamlessly to switch between more upright and aggressive position + you can use the front loop to get into an aero-bar kinda position. Nothing I can ride in super long but can be pretty cool on long stretches. I also like to have my hands kinda over the brakes/shifter as an in-between position.

The big sweep is probably not for everyone but for me it's really great in terms of comfort – I always struggled with regular flat bars. The sweep gives me a much more natural hand position (although it takes some time to get used to the new pressure points on the hands).

There are some disadvantages though. While I do think the bar still feels surprisingly good in technical sections, a more regular flat bar would probably still give a greater sense of control and confidence. Also, when you crash, due to the big sweep you can either have that bar end up in your rips or get 'tangled up' between the bar and the stem – both things happened to me already.

I'd be interested how, for example, a SQ Labs bar with 16° sweep would feel in comparison (perhaps also with Innerbarends to still have another hand position). Might try that someday. But I'm sure I'd also miss the Jones Bar a lot, it's really special and fun to ride!