If you were to build a dream all-road or gravel race bike frame, what features would you add? That seems to have been the thinking behind the latest iteration of the Sage Barlow, which improves almost every specification and drops a bit of weight.
About the only thing that didn’t change was the max 700×40 (or 650B x 50) tire clearance, so the bike sticks to its racy motives. Or, honestly, just leans way more toward “all road” than “gravel”.
That said, they hint that the current ENVE All Road fork is the limiting factor, so swapping to a different fork might net you a little more leeway for off-pavement exploration…but also likely change the geometry. OK, here’s what’s new…
2021 Sage Barlow gravel bike specs
Key updates to the Barlow gravel bike are:
- T47 BB (upgraded from 68mm BSA BB)
- Internal rear brake line routing (saves weight by removing five brake saddles and the welding required to place them)
- 27.2mm seatpost (down from 31.6)
- Hooded dropouts (replaces heavier plate style dropouts).
- S-Bend / Curved seatstays (replaces straight seatstays, adds comfort/ compliance)
- 62cm frame gets a 1cm taller head tube to fit taller riders better (geometries on other frame sizes carries over unchanged)
The new dropouts and curved seatstays are both borrowed from their Skyline road bike. That fact, combined with the narrow-for-gravel tire clearance suggest this would also make a killer endurance, do-anything road bike.
A stock frame retails for $3,000 (up from $2,900), and a frameset with fork and headset is $3,700. Want this fancy paint or a complete bike? Here’s a few options:
- Super-shiny polished frame +$1,750
- Polished frame + seatpost + seatpost collar +$2,000
- Complete show bike build (SRAM Red AXS, ENVE, Chris King) is $13,125
Need something in between? Build your own on their website. Oh, and this shiny build? It was made for the Chris King open house, where they teased a few new component colors.
