The 'all-road' road bike has been around for a few years now. Call it a ‘gravel’ racer, an urban cross bike – whatever, its something we like.
Now GT doesn’t call its offering – the Grade, which we first got a taste for last year – a ‘gravel bike’, thinking that it sounds a bit too niche. Instead the firm describes it as ‘adventure road’. You might worry that’ll make the design a bit too off-road, in other words short in reach, tall in riding position and ungainly (for ground clearance). GT’s designers, however, have been pretty clever in creating a bike that not only has great on road manners, but proves capable off-road too.
- Highs: Unique, smooth, fast and capable
- Lows: Some may not like its individual looks
- Buy if: You want genre-busting bike that’s a blast to ride
Comparing the geometry and shape with a ‘standard’ road bike – in this case our 2014 Bike of the Year, Cannondale's Synapse – the Grade has 9mm more stack (627mm) and 10mm less reach (382mm). When you take into account that the Grade has a 10mm higher bottom bracket, though, the actual ride position and feel is very similar, and doesn’t seem at all compromised at all when you're on the road.
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The frame angles, at 72 for the seat and 72.5 for the head, are pleasingly standard but are accentuated by the super sloping frame design – making the bike look much slacker and more mountain bike-like than it actually is. With the stretched-out 1035mm wheelbase-adding bags of stability on road, the Grade is a superb high-speed cruiser for rolling terrain.
Glass fibre and carbon seatstays give maximum flexibility and comfort
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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