OPEN UPPER Gravel Frameset - Matte Black

Superlight version of the U.P. Combines performance-oriented road geometry & parts with clearance for mountain bike tires. Start on asphalt, try gravel, hit single track. Its geometry makes you fast; its tires unstoppable. The U.P.P.E.R. accepts flat-mount brakes and ships with an OPEN U-turn fork.[split]

The U.P.P.E.R. frameset saves approx. 180g over the UP, other than that, there is no difference between the U.P. and U.P.P.E.R. in geometry, durability, stiffness, tire clearance or capability.

• With road tires, it is a very fast road bike
• With big road/cross/gravel tires (32-40mm), it’s a go-anywhere bike perfect for mixed surface rides and most gravel routes
• With 650b mountain bike tires, it's unstoppable on very tough terrain yet much faster on pavement than you'd expect thanks to the road position

So the position lets you get out of town and reach the gravel/dirt/trails quickly (unlike a mountain bike). Space for big tires lets you tackle any route (unlike a road bike). And you can do that with one type of tire for everything or finetune your ride with multiple wheelsets or tires.

Tyre clearance
The U.P. fits 650b (27.5") mountain bike tires up to 2.1” wide. But you can also fit a 40mm cross tire, or a 28mm road tire, or anything else in-between (exact tire sizes depend on manufacturing tolerances and rim width, so this is a guideline. Always make sure you have 6mm clearance between tire and frame). You’ll hardly notice a difference in geometry swapping 700c cross/road and 650b mountain bike tires on the U.P., while 29er tires would make a total mess of the handling. There is a second reason we designed for 650b and not 29er tires. They would require very long chainstays, while the U.P. now sports a very short 420mm rear end. Most gravel and cross bikes have longer chainstays than that yet they can't fit anywhere near the same size of tire.

Crank clearance
Behind the bottom bracket, the chainrings, frame and tire all fight for space. And with the need to fit big mountain bike tires and narrow Q-factor cross/road cranks & chainrings, the U.P. presents the toughest possible packaging problem. Dropping the right chainstay moves it out of this crowded area, allowing it to be wider and therefore stiffer (a huge effect; with the same amount of material, twice the width will give you eight times the stiffness!).

U-turn Fork
We designed a new fork that accepts flat-mount calipers without the need for an adapter. So you can get your Shimano or SRAM flat-mount caliper, remove the standard adapter it comes with, and bolt it directly onto our fork. This saves weight and increases the stiffness of the braking system. We do this by making the fork dedicated for 160mm brake rotors and using the same through-bolt design that is normally reserved for the rear. Some may not like the exposed bolt heads on the front of the fork leg instead of them being hidden, but we actually like it. It’s a technically superior design, so this engineering choice should be clearly visible. But the U-turn fork doesn't just save you weight on the flat-mount brake, it is also extremely light itself. At 375 grams, it is by far the lightest fork that fits GravelPlus tires. 

Features
TRCinTRS™ technology
Wire-stays
Flat-out downtube
Zero-setback seat tube
Fully-internal cables/hoses
ThruThread dropouts
Toptube bag mount
SafePost™ Pilot hole

Specifications
BB standard: BB386EVO pressfit 86x46mm BB shell
Shimano crank fit: All road cranks
SRAM crank fit: All GXP road, all DUB road, Force 1 BB30
Front derailleur mount: Bolt-on, removable
Recommended ring shape: Flat (for example Wolftooth)
Maximum 1x ring size: Clearance depends on crank & chainring model. 2mm space is required. For most current generation cranks, the following applies: 50t (flat ring), 46t (SRAM offset ring)
Maximum 2x ring size: Clearance depends on crank & chainring model. 2mm space is required. For most current generation cranks, the following applies:50t (outer ring), 36t (inner ring)
Rear thru-axle: 142x12mm superlight X-12
Front thru-axle: 100x12mm superlight X-12
Front disc rotor size: 160mm only
Front brake mount: Smartmount 160 system with direct-mount, no adaptors
Front brake bolts SRAM: 37mm “REAR” brake bolts for 30mm “chainstay” (SRAM part# 00.5318.005.008)
Front brake bolts Shimano: 43.2mm “REAR” brake bolts for 30mm “chainstay” (Shimano part# Y8N208030)
Rear disc rotor size: 140mm or 160mm
Rear brake 140mm mount: Direct mount
Rear brake 160mm mount: Use adaptor for SRAM (00.5318.018.001) or Shimano (ISMMAR160DDA)
Rear brake bolts SRAM (140mm & 160mm disc): 2x 27mm (SRAM part# 00.5318.005.004)
Rear brake bolts Shimano (140mm & 160mm disc): 2x 33.2mm (Shimano part# Y8N208010)
MultiStop internal system: 1x Mechanical, 2x Mechanical, Di2, eTap
Headset: Integrated IS42/28.6 | IS52/40
Seatpost: 27.2mm diameter, standard set-up zero-offset
Cage mounts: Seattube, downtube, under downtube
TT bag mount system: 100mm front-post-to-headset-edge

Mfr Claimed Weight
880g (M)
370g (Fork)

Note: Listing is for frameset and included parts as described. Complete bike build is for illustrative purpose only.