If you’ve been following Grava’s naming scheme, their bikes hearken back to the days of booze runners and prohibition. First there was their carbon Maple Sally, so named for the dirt road near the brand’s birthplace and reminiscent of the backroads smugglers used to transport their illicit liquids. Then came the Revenuer, their steel gravel bike named for the tax collectors charged with hunting down backwoods distilleries.
Now, they’re working up the Gauger, an alloy version of their versatile good-for-gravel, good-for-cyclocross frames. The name comes from the person in pre-prohibition times that doled out the licenses to make, sell and distribute alcohol. Word is the position was always a very contentious seat, and the person was virtually always corrupt. Fortunately, the only person cheating anyone here will be you, nabbing a frameset with their new full carbon fork for just $900 when they start shipping in January…
Their goal is to offer a boutique brand’s focus on ride quality and attention to detail, but at mainstream pricing. The Gauger is made of 6061 alloy and will come in XS thru XL sizes to fit folks as short as five feet tall. Up front is a sculpted tapered head tube with head angles ranging from 70º to 71.5° depending on frame size. That gives it slightly slacker head angles and longer chainstays than a pure cyclocross bike, but not so relaxed that you couldn’t race cross on it.
There’s full internal cable and hose routing, popping out just to clear the PFBB30 shell. It’s using flat mount brakes, has a 70mm BB drop and 425mm chainstays. The two smallest frame sizes lose the bridges on the seat- and chain stays. Claimed weight is 1,600g. Price includes frame, fork (below), PMW thru-bolt axles, Cane Creek 40 series headset and seatpost collar. Note: Frame shown is a preproduction prototype and they say a couple small things will get tweaked, but this is darn close.
It’ll ship with their new RE (for “Ride Everything”) fork, which will also be available separately. It also uses the flat mount brake standard and runs a 12mm thru bolt from Paragon Machine Works. Measurements include:
- 397mm axle-to-crown
- 350mm steerer tube length, uncut
- 47mm offset
- 40mm tire clearance
- Weight is 530g with uncut steerer, excluding axle
Fork retail is $375, available in November.
