BIVIBIKES GRAVELLER
£1499 Liverpudlian gravel machine with a difference
The Graveller is the vision of BiviBIKES founder Fraser Barsby’s perfect adventure bike. To make his dreams become reality, Barsby’s taken a highquality but little-known tube maker in Japan’s Sanko, selected its skinny steel pipes and smartly welded a frame replete with strengthening gussets on the ring-reinforced head tube. Versatile dropouts offer multiple fixings for bikepacking sojourns, while a 73mm mountain-bike spec bottom-bracket shell (1) is threaded to appeal to home mechanics (no press fit creaking woes here). Moving to a wider bottom bracket and mountain-bike cranks (Shimano SLX) means a broader stance on the bike that allows you to nimbly shift your weight around for better handling. It also means better clearance when the bike’s loaded with luggage.
The Graveller’s all about exploring much further off the beaten track than simple byways and fire roads. Yes, it works well there but it also shows prowess on much more technical stuff.
The frameset has all the fixtures and fittings you’ll ever need. There are triple ‘anything’ mounts on the steel fork, plus ’guard eyes; on the frame there are mudguard eyes, routing for two cables, triple bottle bosses, rack mounts and brake-hose fittings.
The Graveller does, however, only come in one size, which is effectively a 55cm. Bivi says that’s good for riders from 5’5” (165cm) to 6’1” (185cm). That’s a helluva range to cover. This tester stands at 6’2”, and while I would have preferred a bigger bike the Graveller didn’t feel horribly small or short and that’s all down to its radical geometry. The head angle is a slack 71-degrees and the seat angle a road-like 73-degrees. The stack of 558mm is low, but the reach is exceptionally long at 409mm (2) (stack is the vertical distance between the top of the
head tube and centre of the bottom bracket; reach is the horizontal distance between the centre of the bottom bracket and centre of head tube). Throw in a fork offset of 51mm that, with the 45c/700c wheel and tyre combo, gives a trail of 77mm (trail is the tyre’s contact point behind steering axis; a small measure of trail makes for a fast-handling bike; more trail slows down the steering response). What does all this mean? In short, its handling and steering responses are the epitome of stability, ensuring it’s the best bike here for traversing rough rocky surfaces at speed.
That ease of control also stems from the short Deda stem and the alloy Pro Discover bar and its subtly flared drops. Ovalized tops also offer a comfortable hand hold. The seatpost is Cinelli’s Vai topped with mountain-bike favourite: DMR’s 25th-anniversary saddle (3). It’s comfy while its texture means that you don’t slip in the wet.
The wheels are Merlin’s GDA-1 gravel-specific with a 32mm-deep alloy rim and a generous 25mm internal width that’s perfectly suited to the 45c Schwalbe G-One tyres. The rims are built onto dependable Shimano RS470 hubs with easyto-service cup-and-cone bearings. With 32 spokes front and rear these are built tough at 970g(f) and 1170g(r).
The gearing combines a GRX rear cassette with an 11-42 range and a 38t mountain-bike chainring. That gives a lower range than you’ll find on the 650b-equipped rivals here, but the 700c wheels counter any gearing shortcomings. The Graveller is the quickest on tarmac, thanks to its largerdiameter wheels and the Schwalbe G-Ones and their less aggressive tread.
On the road, the bike’s longlow position means you can consume the tarmac bits between trails quickly, while the low gearing with a 38/42 bottom gear guarantees ascending ease. The G-Ones are superb on hardpacked dirt but in muddy conditions they are no match for slimy grime.
Overall, the Graveller is a superb all-road machine. Its handling is wonderful and the frameset screams quality. The chink in its armour is the one-size-fits-all approach. Bivi will tune each part of the finishing kit to suit you, but I’d have preferred a bike a little bigger.
The Graveller’s a superb all-road machine. Its handling is wonderful and the frameset just screams quality
Weight 10.8kg (XL) Frame 4130cromo Fork Carbon Gears Shimano GRX400 Brakes Shimano GRX400 hydraulic disc Wheels WTB STI25650bon Nukeproof Neutronhubs Finishing kit WTBSendero 47650btyres, Vitus Cr/Ti rail saddle, Vitus alloystem&bar