UP|UPPER 2.0 versus WIDE 2.0

With both our core gravel model lines completely overhauled, we often get the question: How do I choose between these two. So let's break it down:

UP|UPPER 2.0 is focused on fast, anywhere from paved roads to serious gravel and singletrack. The sweet spot is riding on varied terrain, a stretch of gravel here, a connecting road, then some rough stuff, and on. Wherever you ride, it behaves like a nimble road bike. 

In fact, many of our customers use it with two wheel sets, one with 35mm road tires and one with 40-45mm gravel tires. Others have one wheel set with a combo tire, meaning little profile in the center and knobs on the side for when you need it.

Within the model line, we have 3 flavors:

• UP 2.0 as the true all-rounder
  
• UPPER 2.0 as the superlight version
• UP 2.0 Adventure for more fast bikepacking options

WIDE 2.0 is our Big Gravel model. It's also fast and can also be ridden everywhere, but its sweet spot is clearly on the tougher end of the scale. The massive tire clearance lets you ride where others walk, while the geometry is a touch more relaxed. You won't see many of our customers put road tires on the WIDE 2.0, tires upwards of 50mm is where this one feels happiest with 55-66mm the ideal range.

With those tires, its geometry really comes to life and you will be amazed how agile the bike feels, something most people would never think possible with such monster tires. Although clearly not a road bike, it is still fast and fun to ride on pavement (unlike say a mountain bike) so varied terrain topping out at tough singletrack is definitely on the WIDE 2.0's menu.

If you have any questions that are not covered above or below, feel free to ask in the comments section.

There's nothing you cannot do with this bike. Personal note, I was trying to set some new gravel routes in Tuscany this month and it got rough (at some point it took me 30min to cover 100m, safe to say I wasn't riding and there was no trail of any sort, as the blackberry thorns let me know). 

Anyway, at that point it doesn't matter what bike you have, but for the stretches before and after that, the UP 2.0 was perfect. It handled everything well, including negotiating a descent with loose rocks the size of my head. Of course you can't be bombing down such descents like you would on a fully, or even like you can on a WIDE 2.0, but it is fun and engaging and when it was time to go back up (on the slightly more civilized road I finally found), it definitely was nice to have a light, agile bike under me. 

As I had spent too much time hiking my bike, it was necessary to cover some ground quickly with a paved shortcut, and during such stretches it really rides just like a good road bike. Then back into the vineyards it was, flying along the strade bianche.

Most of us don't live in Tuscany, but these sorts of rides can be found the world over. Everywhere I have lived or traveled, I've had similar experiences - in fact this is exactly what inspired the creation of the original UP and created this whole new category in the bike market. The UP|UPPER 2.0 stays true to this inspiration and since this variation in terrain is here to stay, so is the UP|UPPER.

Key differentiating features:

• Simplicity (no internal storage, hidden fender mounts, etc)

• Sleek, classic design (straight chainstays)

• Slightly lower front-end

• Designed for road, combo and gravel tires 35-46mm wide

• Aero or Adventure fork, standard or superlight frame versions

Since its inception, the WIDE with 60+mm tires has held s special place in my heart. I am not really a hard-core racer, I'm more of an amateur-adventurer. The WIDE expands my opportunities to get lost, and gives you the relaxed feeling that everything will work out. The massive tires reduce the chance of flats, give you more grip on the way up, more control on the way down, and just in general take the worry out of everything.

It's also great for the tough races, as it has been used successfully at races like the Traka, Badlands and Unbound by amateurs and pros alike. The reasons for choosing the WIDE may be different from one rider to the next - comfort, mud clearance or puncture resistance are some that are mentioned often - but the WIDE in all its renditions delivers it all at the world's hardest races. In comparison to the UP|UPPER 2.0, there is just one thing I wouldn't do on the WIDE 2.0 and that is putting road tires on. One reason is technical, the geometry just gets a bit off (although to be fair it still handles OK, just not exceptional). The other reason is more vain, it just looks a bit funny to me.

Key differentiating features:

• Internal storage

• Standard aero fork with cargo slots
• More "technical" look with the double-dropped chainstays

• Slightly higher front-end

• Fits combo and gravel tires 50-66mm wide