Long rides chasing that late summer light. That was the inspiration of our latest custom Open project bike. A light and capable UPPER with a dialed build kit tailored for the rugged California terrain and a paint job celebrating the coastal golden light.
A Sunset Over Paradise
The Open UPPER has been one of our most popular platforms and easy to see why. It's impressively light, shockingly versatile, and is truly just a dream to ride. We also love that Open encourages personalization by making their bikes readily available for custom paint like this bike here. Once again, we partnered with our talented friends at Véolocolour to make this dream a reality. Clearly inspired by the mesmerizing sunsets over the California coast.
As the rest of the pieces arrived, it was time to bring this beauty to life. Every single project that enters our workshop is tended to with the utmost care.
The Range to Ride it All
A Red Sram AXS mullet system takes care of the bikes shifting and braking. The 10-52t cassette enables bigger, longer, and looser climbs than ever before while its shimmering rainbow finish perfectly compliment the bikes sunset theme. 172.5 arms are mated to a Quarq power unit. The flat mount Red Calipers clamp down on 160mm Centerline rotors.
An Enviable Cockpit
The cockpit comes in the form of a custom painted Enve ensemble. A 120mm road stem holds a 42c aero road bar. These bars have been a hit on gravel bikes as they've got mild, pleasant flare and a surprisingly comfortable compliance. The hooks are wrapped in the grippy and cushy Enve tape. A zero setback Enve post holds a Form Cycling Throne RS saddle.
Hand Laced Perfection
With a paint job as bright and vibrant as this, we wanted to pair it with a touch of old school class. The custom built wheels feature a shining set of polished silver Chris King R45 hubs (with ceramic bearings, no less) and Sapim CX-Ray spokes. They're joined to a pair of Enve G27 650b rims, our stand out favorite gravel hoops. Finishing it all off are a pair of René Herse Juniper Ridge tires. 650x48c with a standard casing.
It's all in the Details
Of course we couldn't let a bike like this leave without the finest of finishing touches. A Chris King Ceramic dropset keeps the steering on point and is accompanied by featherweight EE compression plug and top cap. The bars a capped with EE bar plugs as well. Because there can never be enough ceramic (Seriously, though. The feeling of ceramic bearings is real) we outfitted the bike with a coated Ceramicspeed bottom bracket as well as an OSPW rear derailleur system. Finally, we've got to call attention to the paint matched Enve bottle cages.
A stunning machine that looks as inspiring as the terrain it was designed to explore. We couldn't be more thrilled with how this beauty came out. We can't wait to see this one out on the trails. Projects like this are exactly why we do what we do.
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