Our Merlin Malt gravel bikes have been a robust vendor over the previous few years. We specced our first gravel bikes again in 2017 and the most recent Malts are the results of tweaks and updates over the previous few years. The bikes from 2020 onwards featured up to date geometry and extra inclusive sizing.

Consolation

Whereas consolation is subjective, we pitched the geometry of the Malts between gravel and highway, discovering a ‘sweetspot’ which ends up in frames which carry out brilliantly, sure-footed on each highway and off-road. In addition they look extra like a highway bike than a few of the extraordinarily excessive entrance finish ‘uglier’ finish of the gravel bike market.

Weight

The G2P and G2X bikes are comparatively gentle weight due to the triple butted aluminium body tubing. They’re additionally dependable, that includes Shimano Tiagra and GRX groupsets and our personal Merlin model wheelsets. Constructing a G2X frameset offers you free reign to spec your gravel bike the way you need it. Relying on construct specification, bikes sometimes weigh between 8 and 11Kg.

Why Aluminium?

Our aluminium Malt mountain bikes from the Nineties had a fame for being properly specced, nice worth and as robust as outdated boots. The Malt gravel bikes comply with the identical monitor. Trendy aluminium tubing is right for making gravel bikes. Our Malt G2X bikes and frameset builds supply comparable ranges of efficiency and light-weight weight as entry degree carbon bikes (8-10Kg). Nevertheless, aluminium is extra strong and resilient to common knocks, scrapes and prangs – to not point out these pesky rocks which regularly get flicked as much as impression the downtube throughout off-road rides. For off-road purposes, respectable high quality aluminium simply makes extra sense than costlier, entry-level carbon.

Flexibility

The ‘swiss military bike’ tag on gravel bikes raised a couple of eyebrows 5 or 6 years in the past – when the primary bikes acquired squeezed by the bike business machine. This tag turned out to suit fairly properly, gravel bikes are most likely essentially the most adapable single bike you may personal. My G2X construct is barely a kilo heavier than my high finish highway bike, but it has the flexibility to trip MTB trails, filthy paths, pump tracks and gravel paths and but is barely marginally slower on tarmac. Proudly owning a spare set of highway wheels & tyres to fit in, only for road-use reduces this distinction to a really, very negligible one.

ReCycle

Our Malt framesets matched with fats gravel tyres are a wedding set to final into the long run (There are many Malt MTBs from the 90s nonetheless in motion immediately), nonetheless once they do come to the top of their life, aluminium frames might be recycled, versus carbon fibre which normally finally ends up patched up & ‘dwelling on a prayer’ or in landfil. Recycling aluminium retains a reported 95% of the aluminium processing price by way of vitality utilized in manufacturing, in comparison with manufacturing recent aluminium from Aluminium Ore / Bauxite. So in a world of finite assets, respectable high quality aluminium frames can nonetheless make extra sense than entry degree carbon, significantly within the rough-and-tumble of off-road driving.