The Kinesis name is probably best known for producing high quality aluminum bikes at reasonable prices, and the latest from Kinesis UK – the Tripster AT – is no exception. Having been designing & producing affordable alloy bikes to stand up to year-round British riding since 1999, Kinesis UK’s new adventure gravel road bike actually reimagines the all-terrain race frame they first developed in titanium. Developed together with the late ultra-endurance & bikepacking pioneer Mike Hall, the new Tripster AT slashes the price of its ti predecessor, making it easier to get off the beaten track. Check out the frameset and complete bike details after the jump…
The Tripster AT was actually the starting point for Kinesis UK’s cooperation with Mike Hall, and he ended up shaping the details of the bike down to these final graphics. Kinesis supported his endurance adventures around the world, but from what they say it was them that gained the most from working together. Hall delivered a level of feedback and attention to detail that you just don’t get until you ride a bike for a week straight without sleep.
Some of that input was to refine the bike’s 3-bottle cage layout to better work with full bags (including 2 cage positions at the main downtube location), and a flattened toptube to make strapping a bag on top more secure & stable.
Part of that input also came down to the bikes’ graphic design that Hall developed with the Kinesis design team to effectively camouflage bikepacking bag straps so it looked good loaded or not.
The Tripster drops the R for Race of the titanium bike that came before it and sticks with the moniker All Terrain. The aluminum Tripster AT then expands on the second generation of the ti ATR, coming in at less than half the price – just £700 for the frameset. It carries over that same all-day geometry and 7 size run from a the mini 48cm up to a big 63cm.
The alloy bike expands even a bit more than the ti version, with the Tripster AT packing tire clearance for up to 700 x 45mm or even 650b x 52mm tires, with plenty of space around them. The more shaped lightweight hydroformed Kinesium aluminum tubing meant more design flexibility and result in more opportunity to ride farther beyond groomed dirt & smooth gravel roads.
The 12mm thru-axle, flat mount disc bike features modular downtube-internal routing for everything from mechanical drivetrains to Di2, and single or double setups. It sticks with a tried-and-true threaded bottom bracket and a classic 27.2mm seatpost; and also gets full rack and fender mounts.
The Tripster AT is available in two color schemes – Arran blue that takes inspiration from the blue-gray feel of the Scottish Highlands and Seeon yellow which just shouts visibility out on the road. The bike is available for pre-order now through Kinesis Dealers with the first frames expected to hit landfall in the UK by mid-July 2017.
Besides the frameset including thru-axle, seat clamp, tapered internal headset & color-matched full carbon fork, the Tripster AT is also available as a complete bike for £1700 with a SRAM Rival1 group & Kinesis UK’s own Crosslight CX Disc wheelset.
