In what can almost be called old school anymore, Seven Cycles has busted out a modern gravel grinder for those not quite ready to give up their rim brake wheels.
The new RedSky combines modern frame building and features with medium reach brake calipers. Run it with a racy 700×23, or push things out to a ‘cross ready 35mm, and the bike will look good either way. It’s based off their Axiom and Evergreen road bike platforms, but made to accommodate a little more rubber and bumpier roads. If the morning red sky’s forecast for bad weather doesn’t deter you from riding, your ship may have come in…
The frameset includes a more generous version of their 5E fork, which can be had with any of eight different rakes to customize the ride handling and fit (think toe overlap for smaller riders). It’s hiding fender mounts, which’ll still squeeze 32mm slicks in there when mounted.
The frame is available in steel, titanium or a ti/carbon blend. Bikes start at $4,000 and, according to Seven, can be built up 1.5 to 2 pounds lighter than a comparably equipped disc brake bike. Check their blog for photo comparisons of different tire sizes installed on a SRAM eTap build.
