Masi’s venturing into the gravel adventure road bike scene with the new CXGR, a double butted chromoly frame made to tackle the rough and tumble terrain we’re longing to see more of.
They’ve done cyclocross bikes in the past, and this one is closely based on those, except with spec aimed at longer, somewhat more relaxed rides exploring backroads and trails. To do that, the smaller size frames get slightly slacker head and seat angles and a bit more BB drop, and all sizes get 7mm longer chainstays. That gives the bikes a bit longer wheelbase for more stable handling compared to the racy nature of CX bikes. It’s also available in a wider variety of sizes ranging from 49cm up to 60cm. All come with their RS Cross carbon fork with 7075 alloy steerer.
The best part? The price puts it well within reach of the gravel curious…
Retailing for just $1,469, it’s decked out with Shimano 11-speed 105 shifters and derailleurs with an FSA Gossamer compact crankset, all turning an adventure ready 11-32 cassette. Brakes are TRP Lyra mechanical. The cockpit is Deda EL (alloy), and wheels use Weinmann rims with wire-bead Clement X’Plore USH 35c tires. To us, that’s a smart use of resources, putting a quality drivetrain on board wheels that’ll get the job done until you’re ready to upgrade to a lighter weight tubeless setup.
The Evoluzione remains their top level carbon race road bike, and for 2015 it gets updated graphics and spec. Last year, they had a Di2 model that topped out at $11,000. That’s great to have, but it’s not the stuff that sells day in and day out, so they reined it in a bit. Now, it tops out at $6,500 with Dura-Ace mechanical and Ultregra Di2 (shown) models, and start out just over $2K with a Shimano 105 build.
We spoke with Masi’s new marketing communications person, who came from Schwinn and is also assisting with product development. He indicated Masi’s brought on quite a bit of new talent lately and that we should be expecting some big things from them over the next couple years. Can’t wait!
