Great video! Entertaining and informative! Great presenter to boot! These bikes are a bit on the mountain bike end of the gravel spectrum for my riding, but absolutely love that the segment is expanding with more options! What a time to be alive 😋
This is an awesome video! I’m a bit surprised the Stigmata didn’t make an appearance. I’ve been trying to decide between it and the Chamois Hagar. Now I’m looking at the Cotic since you put it on my radar. 2.4 tires on a gravel-ish bike sounds like a ton of fun and capability! I have some 520mm PNW drop bars that need a bike to control.
Glad you enjoyed it! The Stigmata is actually surprisingly tame given Santa Cruz’s MTB roots. That and the Chamois Hagar are pretty dramatically different when it comes to geo, with the SC being more focused on traditional gravel riding/racing and the Evil catering more towards single track shenanigans. You can compare the two bikes side by side on our website, check it out! 99spokes.com/compare?bikes=santacruz-stigmata-rival-1x-axs-carbon-cc-2025%2Cevil-chamois-hagar-rival-axs-2023
Love Marin. Beautiful, affordable, and capable. The list is a little bit incomplete without the original unhinged gravel bike/dropbar mountain bike, the Salsa Cutthroat, particularly considering the inclusion of the Cotic.
Marin remains underrated indeed. I had the Four Corners for six years. The whole bike in my country cost about 100 dollars more than the Surly frameset. Was an amazing bike and comfy for days on end.
The Cutthroat was really close to making it on this list, and you’re right, when it was first released it really was leading the pack in this regard. But since then quite a few others have caught up and surpassed it. But that’s not at all to say it’s a bad bike! If anything it’s a better more well rounded which could be a better option for a lot of folks.
Giant also has a very similar offering to the YT Szepter with the Revolt X series, the 2024 models also come with a mullet setup for range. Same goes for Canyon although they only use the 30mm Rudys for whatever reason (why do these even exist?)
Great video! I have a Salsa Cutthroat and just love this class of bike because of their capabilities. I own both a full suspension and hard tail mountain bike but by far, most of my miles are on the Cutthroat.
If money was no object, I'm going for Evil's beautiful and aggressive carbon frame, but since money is a factor, I did buy the similarly capable Marin for an astonishing $1,500. It was such an absurdly cheap price for such a well spec'd bike, I could not resist. The mega cheap pricing seems to have been an effort to blow out last years model to make room for the current model, which is now selling back at the regular price of $2300. Both models have the same frame, but there are new color options, and the 11 speed GRX 800 groupsets have been replaced with Sram 12 speed stuff. Either way, you're getting an extremely capable bike, that will feel more natural than most if you're coming from the mountain biking side of the sport.
Nice, thanks for sharing your experience! We have the Gestalt XR in for review right now and I’ve been loving it, though I feel like the stack height could be higher
@99spokes Yes, the stack is low on these. It was giving me numb hands on longer rides. There's an easy fix for this. You'll notice the stem has a couple degrees of drop to it. If you flip the stem around, it gives it a slight rise instead. This was the sweet spot for me. I did a century ride the next day, and I was very comfortable the whole way.
I absolutely hate wide handlebars. My 2018 cyclocross bike came with 46 (replaced with 40/42cm) and my endurance road bike came with 44cm (replaced with 38/40cm). It does not have the same effect as on a MTB. Just feels like steering a truck or bus...
@@99spokes We are the same length. My shoulder width is just above average; 15 years ago the advised me a 42cm handlebar. But the 46 I definitely felt like a gorilla 🦍...
@@billydeewilliams8909 question why is the trend to smaller up front, and much larger out back. You are limited up front on chainring size because of the newer frame designs to accommodate larger tires out back An experienced rider when purchasing a new bike must choose between pure climbing ( 11x 42-52) or multi use (11 x 34- 36) cassette out back. The choices are limited
They’re all between 36 and 40t. You can actually find all of the spec info and compare them side by side on our website, check it out! 99spokes.com/compare?bikes=yt-szepter-core-4-700c-2024%2Ckona-ouroboros-supreme-2024%2Cmarin-gestalt-xr-2024%2Ccotic-cascade-drop-bar-platinum-sram-force1plusx01-axs-1x12-2024%2Cevil-chamois-hagar-sram-rival-axs-2023
I would've picked Kona Sutra LTD for this list instead of Ouroboros, given that it is basically the same bike, but in steel and has clearance for 2.4" tyres.
Cannondale posts geo as a photo rather than as text, and sadly our code can’t read that, so every model would need to be entered manually and we sadly don’t have the manpower for that 😕
Nice review, good to see a little MTB DNA getting into gravel bikes! By the way, from Cotic's web site: The name Cotic comes from a nickname for our founder, Cy Turner, from his university days. Cy-Cotic - 'psychotic'. It is pronounced 'Cot-ick', not 'Coat-ick'.
Great video, love the versatility of these bikes!
They’re pretty exciting aren’t they!!
Great video! Entertaining and informative! Great presenter to boot! These bikes are a bit on the mountain bike end of the gravel spectrum for my riding, but absolutely love that the segment is expanding with more options! What a time to be alive 😋
Right on, glad you enjoyed it 🤙🤙
This is an awesome video! I’m a bit surprised the Stigmata didn’t make an appearance. I’ve been trying to decide between it and the Chamois Hagar. Now I’m looking at the Cotic since you put it on my radar. 2.4 tires on a gravel-ish bike sounds like a ton of fun and capability! I have some 520mm PNW drop bars that need a bike to control.
Glad you enjoyed it! The Stigmata is actually surprisingly tame given Santa Cruz’s MTB roots. That and the Chamois Hagar are pretty dramatically different when it comes to geo, with the SC being more focused on traditional gravel riding/racing and the Evil catering more towards single track shenanigans. You can compare the two bikes side by side on our website, check it out! 99spokes.com/compare?bikes=santacruz-stigmata-rival-1x-axs-carbon-cc-2025%2Cevil-chamois-hagar-rival-axs-2023
Love Marin. Beautiful, affordable, and capable. The list is a little bit incomplete without the original unhinged gravel bike/dropbar mountain bike, the Salsa Cutthroat, particularly considering the inclusion of the Cotic.
Marin remains underrated indeed. I had the Four Corners for six years. The whole bike in my country cost about 100 dollars more than the Surly frameset. Was an amazing bike and comfy for days on end.
The Cutthroat was really close to making it on this list, and you’re right, when it was first released it really was leading the pack in this regard. But since then quite a few others have caught up and surpassed it. But that’s not at all to say it’s a bad bike! If anything it’s a better more well rounded which could be a better option for a lot of folks.
Giant also has a very similar offering to the YT Szepter with the Revolt X series, the 2024 models also come with a mullet setup for range.
Same goes for Canyon although they only use the 30mm Rudys for whatever reason (why do these even exist?)
Great video! I have a Salsa Cutthroat and just love this class of bike because of their capabilities. I own both a full suspension and hard tail mountain bike but by far, most of my miles are on the Cutthroat.
Right on, thanks for sharing!! The cutthroat almost made our list!
If money was no object, I'm going for Evil's beautiful and aggressive carbon frame, but since money is a factor, I did buy the similarly capable Marin for an astonishing $1,500. It was such an absurdly cheap price for such a well spec'd bike, I could not resist. The mega cheap pricing seems to have been an effort to blow out last years model to make room for the current model, which is now selling back at the regular price of $2300. Both models have the same frame, but there are new color options, and the 11 speed GRX 800 groupsets have been replaced with Sram 12 speed stuff. Either way, you're getting an extremely capable bike, that will feel more natural than most if you're coming from the mountain biking side of the sport.
Nice, thanks for sharing your experience! We have the Gestalt XR in for review right now and I’ve been loving it, though I feel like the stack height could be higher
@99spokes Yes, the stack is low on these. It was giving me numb hands on longer rides. There's an easy fix for this. You'll notice the stem has a couple degrees of drop to it. If you flip the stem around, it gives it a slight rise instead. This was the sweet spot for me. I did a century ride the next day, and I was very comfortable the whole way.
Good call, thanks for sharing!
I absolutely hate wide handlebars. My 2018 cyclocross bike came with 46 (replaced with 40/42cm) and my endurance road bike came with 44cm (replaced with 38/40cm).
It does not have the same effect as on a MTB. Just feels like steering a truck or bus...
@@detmer87 Yeap. For off-road, heck, for urban assault, you want the control of flat bars.
I think a lot comes down to height/wingspan/shoulder width as well. I’m 6’1” and find 460 mm bars fit well, 480s felt a bit awkward for me though
@@99spokes We are the same length. My shoulder width is just above average; 15 years ago the advised me a 42cm handlebar. But the 46 I definitely felt like a gorilla 🦍...
Great video as always
Glad you enjoyed it!
What chainring size are these bikes using
Something in the range of 40-44, afaict, except the Cotic in the base model, which looks to have a 32 or 34
@@billydeewilliams8909 question why is the trend to smaller up front, and much larger out back.
You are limited up front on chainring size because of the newer frame designs to accommodate larger tires out back
An experienced rider when purchasing a new bike must choose between pure climbing ( 11x 42-52) or multi use (11 x 34- 36) cassette out back. The choices are limited
They’re all between 36 and 40t. You can actually find all of the spec info and compare them side by side on our website, check it out! 99spokes.com/compare?bikes=yt-szepter-core-4-700c-2024%2Ckona-ouroboros-supreme-2024%2Cmarin-gestalt-xr-2024%2Ccotic-cascade-drop-bar-platinum-sram-force1plusx01-axs-1x12-2024%2Cevil-chamois-hagar-sram-rival-axs-2023
I have been looking at the GT Grade Carbon X. Unfortunately, I don't have a dealer to test ride locally.Anybody have opinions?
Looks pretty rad, but sadly never ridden one
Basically older style XC bikes, nothing wrong with it but it’s definitely blurring the lines a bit.
Very true!!
Drop bars only kept me watching.
I would've picked Kona Sutra LTD for this list instead of Ouroboros, given that it is basically the same bike, but in steel and has clearance for 2.4" tyres.
Another great option 🤙
How come your site doesn’t have geometry for Cannondales?
Cannondale posts geo as a photo rather than as text, and sadly our code can’t read that, so every model would need to be entered manually and we sadly don’t have the manpower for that 😕
@@99spokes Ah, understood. Love the site btw. I use it *very* often. The comparison helps me in figuring out fitment based on bikes I’ve ridden. 👍🏼👍🏼
Right on, thanks for sharing 🤙🤙
Solid video, but you missed the Salsa Cutthroat and Chumba Yapoun.
Both rad bikes, thanks for chiming in!!
Nice review, good to see a little MTB DNA getting into gravel bikes! By the way, from Cotic's web site: The name Cotic comes from a nickname for our founder, Cy Turner, from his university days. Cy-Cotic - 'psychotic'. It is pronounced 'Cot-ick', not 'Coat-ick'.
Right on, thanks for sharing!
The Evil CH is an absolute dog to ride. An example of a “cool” design idea that turned out to be a flop once manufactured.
I think it really depends on the terrain you're riding it in!
@@99spokes have you ridden it?
0:32 Drop bars only? Stopped watching here.