OPEN U.P. Ltd. Frameset

OPEN U.P. Ltd. Frameset Info

The Open U.P. is proving to be one of the most popular bikes on the market. The U.P is designed as a quiver-killer, holding its own on nearly any terrain you could possibly encounter. This frame essentially gives riders multiple bikes in one and can race and ride on road and off, and handle cyclocross in style. It has the manners to feel comfortable at both low and high speeds and can print in a straight line just as effectively as it can whip around a tight corner. This “gravel plus” style is everything you could need in a daily bike.

Open is the latest project of Gerard Vroomen, a co-founder of Cervélo. He is a restless thinker and Open gives him the opportunity to find the U.P.’s (unbeaten paths) in all of cycling. Some features are things he championed since his Cervélo days, some are new ideas. All are executed brilliantly.

This bike is designed to accept both 700c and 650b wheels. You can run up to a 40mm wide 700c tire and up to a 2.1” wide 650b (aka 27.5”) tire. That 40mm ‘cross tire actually results in an 8mm greater diameter than the seemingly large 2.1” 650b. While the flexibility is nice, wheel options improves performance in all conditions. The 420mm chainstay length is rather short for this application, and it’s a performance benefit. A shorter wheelbase, lighter frame, snappier responses to power spikes is the result.

The gearing is more flexible than tire choices. You can run a single or double ring, with electronic, mechanical, or hydraulic shifting. The inner ring max is 36t, the outer ring max is 50t. When you’re running single chainrings, you can go up to a 46t single if it’s an offset style like SRAM’s, or a 50t if you’re using a flat style ring. The front derailleur hanger is included and is removable.

The seat-angle is 73-degrees which results in a lighter system because you can use a zero-setback seatpost. The seatpost also helps strengthen the frame. To ensure the proper length, there’s a pilot hole in the seat tube. So long as the post can be seen (and it’s precise enough that it doesn’t let water in), you’re good. The shaping of the seat tube is almost square at the bottom, and it tapers to a round 27.2mm size at the top. This is better for a light, compliant, round post.

The post is at the top of the seat stays, which themselves are super-thin and flattened for vertical flex and torsional stiffness. The downtube has been designed for torsional stiffness. It features high-modulus carbon on the sides, and lower-modulus in the middle. Likewise, the top and downtubes are as widely-spaced as possible to improve torsional strength for the fork. This is why the top of the headset is flush with the top tube. Internally, The U.P. runs a tapered 1 1/8” to 1 ½” steerer, also for rigidity. To top it off, the brake attaches via post mounts, with the max rotor size 160mm. The U.P. is reinventing the world of gravel riding and this limited-edition frame is as good as it gets.

FRAME SPECIFICATIONS

• Frame:  OPEN UP Carbon frame, Flat mount brake standard (1,040g)
• Fork: OPEN U-Turn Fork; flat mount brake standard