Spanish brand MMR is one we don’t see too often outside of their home market. But growing steadily out of a company founded distributing other brands’ bikes, their own Machines Made for Racing continue to show promise. Under their latest mask is a carbon prototype destined to be built into both their new Xtour gravel & Attack cyclocross bikes.
MMR prototype Xtour gravel / Attack cyclocross bike
With a current dealer network mostly in Spain – but sales also dripping a bit into Portugal, France & Belgium – MMR already has a pair of separate gravel and cyclocross bikes in their catalog. But those bikes seem to be mostly open mold designs, and MMR’s design team knew they could do better.
Lurking a Spanish designed, combined gravel+cross bike under that prototype camo patterning made us think back to Orbea’s Terra. But this, more angular bike has its own unique touches.
Combined gravel & cross happy medium geometry
As to why they decided to create just a single bike for both gravel & cyclocross, MMR’s design engineer reiterated that most of their true CX race customers actually wanted a bike that was more comfortable to ride off of the cross course. And many of those who bought their Attack cyclocross bike rode it more often like a gravel bike anyway. By creating a single bike that blends traditional cyclocross racing and gravel racing geometry, MMR says that both bikes end up benefiting.
An exact geometry table wasn’t yet available, but the Gravel/CX happy medium geo is expected to have around 65mm of BB drop, 425mm chainstays, and ~72°/73.5° head/seattube angles.
Plus, for a small brand being able to develop a single bike, where tire & component spec is all that differs just makes more economic sense and allows them to create a more affordable bike for the consumer.
Tech Details
Since drivetrain setup variation will be key to different styles of riding, the new Xtour/Attack builds in options. The monocoque carbon bike features a removable braze-on style front derailleur hanger for 2x drivetrains, with both mechanical or Di2 builds possible. All cable routing is internal with modular snap-in guides.
The new carbon bike adopts the most common 12mm thru-axle, flat mount disc brake, and tapered 1.125-1.5″ steerer tube standards.
While the prototype we had a look at, didn’t yet include all of the eyelets, MMR assured us the Xtour would be compatible with full-coverage fenders. They say they worked with an existing fender setup already available, that does not require a bridge across their straight, thin seatstays, bolting just to the dropouts and behind the BB.
Classicists rejoice, the Xtour/Attack features a traditional threaded bottom bracket. MMR acknowledges that it adds a few grams to the frameset, but they prefer the easier serviceability and often longer life bearings available in an external threaded BB cup. The bike also stays classic with a 27.2mm seatpost for added comfort. They said 1x drivetrain riders can also route a stealth dropper seatpost if needed.
Tire clearance on the new bike is stated at 40mm. These Mamba CX tires measured ~36mm on the wide 25mm internal Enve SES AR Disc wheels, with plenty of mud clearance front & rear.
Pricing & Availability
Both the new Xtour gravel bike and the new Attack cyclocross bike builds using this same frame will be available in September 2018. While they don’t have a huge international dealer network, MMR did suggest that they could provide bikes to most customers in the EU who got in contact with them directly.
Each separate riding discipline will get its own unique finish and color scheme. But unfortunately those will not include this prototype camo look that we saw last year with the debut of the new Kenta 29er XC fully. MMR tells us these individual vinyl triangles are laid on one at a time, making this an incredibly time-consuming (read: expensive) finish, but we weren’t the first to ask if they would consider offering it to consumers.
The most affordable build will be a Force 1 version that will be offered for both the Xtour & Attack, but with varying wheel, tire & gearing specs. The Xtour Force 1 will sell for just 2300€ with these 34mm Hutchinson Mamba semi slicks, just without any of this expensive Enve carbon. For the gravel Xtour, a Ultegra Di2 version with a road compact double will also be available.
