I’ve got two mountain bikes that are over five figures added together. I got tired of have nice bikes, but poor fitness. Based on the price, I picked up the G.1 for training and now ride it more than my mountain bikes. It’s versatile, I don’t worry about it being stolen, I can ride it right out my door. The only problem I had is with the brakes, which was easily remedied with the Zoom XTECH brakes for $40. It’s such a fun bike. Have fun upgrading. I look forward to future videos
Another great video. I’ve been a lifelong rider (XC/Dirt Jump/Downhill/BMX) but the cycling industry has got out of hand and your videos really do a great job of keeping it real on a sensible budget 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸
80 bikes wow, that must take up a lot of room, shows us a pictures if you don't mind, I would love to see what that looks like. Keep up the awesome work.
Try the Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires. Only 42’s so only a little larger, but they are great, smooth rolling because of the center solid strip, supple for the bumps and gravel chatter, and good puncture resistance for how supple they are and being tubeless. They still have some knobs on the shoulders for loose stuff, but it’ll wake up on the road compared to those Kendas. If you can fit it, source some 47mm Pathfinder Pros for more off roading.
I picked mine up today! I knew nothing about gravel bikes, didn't know they were a thing... Saw this bike looking for ways to rebuild an old mtb. watched a bunch of reviews, and went to get mine today!
It's a good bike. My wife and I have had a pair of em for a couple weeks and have put probably around 150mi on them so far. The only thing I've upgraded was the brakes with a set of Zoom HB100s so I could recycle the factory brake lines. 10/10 choice for ease and performance.
I started working at Walmart last December. I already knew about their mountain bike and have helped sell two of them. When I first saw one of these I knew it was a real gravel bike although with entry level components. I sold one to a serious mountain biker earlier this year and tried getting him to do Gravel Locos in Hico. If I were a bike shop owner, I would buy one of these and upgrade everything with lots of carbon fiber and SRAM electronic drivetrain. I look forward to seeing your upgrades!
Updates I would do (from a roadie), as Wolfman mentioned, carbon fork, carbon seat post and lighter seat, aluminum crank set. I would leave the brakes and just adjust them better as well as bed them in. If that fails, just replace the calipers with better mechanical calipers. That would make the bike much lighter (maybe around 20lbs) and capable. Skip the suspension seat post. They’re heavier than carbon. BTW: you shouldn’t get pedal strikes on a gravel bike unless you take it more into Mountain Bike territory.
For my Bohe, Last years version of this, it depends on what one means by brakes not working. They stop well. They just let the whole neighborhood know about it. On the plus side no need to yell on your left. Wolfman is right they are the new do a little of everything bike. I do use the Bohe for commuting.
How do you like the Bohe? Considering getting the Bohe or the OZT G.1, but the Bohe I’m looking at is used, but has several upgrades seller is asking $175
I love my G1 and can't wait to see what you all do to it. I changed the brake pads, seat post, pedals, and stem so far. It rides great with some tuning!
I run 50cc on my explorer. I also ride an evil chammis haggar. Ozark trail is fun too. I bought 2 pot 32 dollar mechanical brakes from amazon for this they work great do it.
That is a good looking bike, here in Mexico we have something like that, almost same frame, and weights only 26.8 pounds for $260 including taxes. Great video as always
That Intense bike for $2000.00 is a steal, I paid $2550.00 + taxes+ shipping and handling for my 2022 Giant Trance X3 27.5" and is not even carbon BTW that bike looks legit.
I love this bike. It may have some MINOR drawbacks but they can be easily overlooked at the price. Man do you make me miss my youth, when suspension was new and gravel bikes weren't a thing yet. I rode a bike not too unlike this & did some crazy stuff. I think you'll be surprised at what it can do. I'd hold off on the CF fork until you've tried out on some trails (CF is expensive and you might break it on trails). That said be prepared for more repairs than a MTB & keep your tires at max inflation to reduce flats. The suspension seat post is a GOOD IDEA. I really hope you have a lot of fun on this bike! I don't know about others but I hope this expands your content because I already value your opinions on mountain bikes.
I’ve had the cyclocross bike for going on 6 years, and they are somewhere between a road bike and gravel bike kind of a gravel bike predecessor. It has a carbon fork and bars and have take it off some light jumps and single track they’ll hold up if you get the right stuff. I’ve also had a gravel bike for about a year and it came with a dropper post and suspension fork and it is nice and smoothing out the ride and giving a little room for descending on a tech trail or getting a little more aero tuck. Definitely don’t need them but they are nice more so finding a saddle that agrees with your body makes a big difference. As for tires you can gravel tires that will perform well on pavement as well, they have tires with faster rolling centers that can still grip in mixed terrain and have more aggressive lugs on the outside tread. Also tubeless and wider tires will allow you go with lower pressures to give some of that compliance. Last thing 1x gravel is my preference and would recommend if you can do it on that bike.
I’m probably a little tall for one of these but if I were to buy one I think I’d go Toseek carbon fork, seatpost, stem and bars, Elite carbon wheelset, Sensah SRX 1x11, and Juintech cable actuated hydraulic calipers. But then I’d also media blast that frame to get rid of that Walmart branding. 😂
Love seeing the gravel bike. I am considering picking up a Poseidon Redwood which runs 27.5/650B tires and has some extra clearance. I think it would suit the sandy Florida trails better than some of the other gravel bike options I am seeing. Will probably end up having it as my "do everything" bike.
Toseek has a 700c full carbon fork that's about half the weight of that steel one. Gravel bikes are great to jump on and go exploring straight from your house. I can hear everyone saying but i can do that on my hardtail ! Of course you can but longer distances are way more comfortable on a drop bar bike. Wolfman has the use case nailed on this one.
The look on Wolfman's face over the expelled sealant was priceless. Gotta take it down the Cat's Meow otherwise it's not a real real-time reveal. That Intense bike would be a nice addition to your quiver. My local Walmart had the motherlode of bikes last week. These were all on the shelves, G.1, Ledge X1, Ledge X2, Axum Comp, Axum Sport, Axum X?, Hyper ebikes, the other Ozark Trail bikes (Vibe and whatever the other one is). Those brakes look turrible.
if you want to race short distance gravel thats more like mtb trails lighter is great but for the best ride steel everything. seat post, bars, fork, frame. absorbs all the shocks and bumps. when its flat and youre riding 50 miles that steel really helps and the heavy bike holds speed well once you get moving. night and day
The rotors come with a thin layer of wax to prevent rust from the shipping across the Pacific. You're going to want to spray and clean the wax off of the rotors with brake cleaner spray.
I have a small frame of this bike and it arrived with 165mm cranks. I still get occasional pedal strikes with 165mm. I've done about 400 miles on mine with a lot of upgrades.
They do make manual dropper posts that have a lever on the seat that you can get for this thing pretty cheap. My buddy got one for his road bike that was only about $88 I believe
The reason for not doing qr freewheel axel is because they snap easily on the freewheel side. Kids love jumping Walmart bikes and a solid axle is alot less likely to snap. The first upgrade my GF GT aggressor got was a solid axle because I know how easy they break on alex rim hubs
The LTWoo stuff surprised the hell out of me. It is definitely inexpensive, but it works once adjusted correctly. You guys could shed some serious weight with some carbon parts and mayybe some Carbon wheels?
I want one.... but I can't do the Medium. Customer service said there's a Large frame ordered from the supplier.... I don't know that I trust that... 6'3" and people I've talked to that are that tall said it is actually too small for them or cramped, needing the larger frame. Carbon fork will definitely help soak up vibrations and such.
Great video. I’ve tried making a few about this bike but they definitely aren’t great compared to professionals like yourselves. I’m trying to decide what upgrades to do to mine right now. I’m going to try and keep mine with the group set it came with. Unless microshift wants to send me a sword group set or shimano wants to send me a grx but with 2 subscribers and one of those being my wife I doubt that’s happening. 😂
Someone already did the suspension fork. The brakes. Can be ok. Just adjust them. Let me know what you think of the hoods or cows. I got the medium and small. Ones is mine other for the wife. I road mine. So far. Shifting is janky. Adjustment for sure. But some upgrades the bike can be even better.
I have a steel branchi road bike. It flys. Now that Ozark gravel. Not so fast. I rode it on the streets and trail so far. Not bad just needs things changed on it.
It does have very bad brakes. I borrowed old Tektro calipers I removed from a Trek Marlin 5 and it's better. I will be upgrading to a Magura Trail Sport brake set so my wife doesn't die on this thing. The small I received came with 165mm cranks. It also doesn't have the Explorer G.1 sticker on the top bar. Go figure...
On my Gravelbike (old version Trek Checkpoint SL) I usually ride 42mm WTB Resolute tires (come up to 45mm typically) at 2.5 bar (35 PSI). Pretty sure at your weight you can get easily down to 30 PSI - I'm a big guy at ~100KG. With this setup I'm still really fast on the road - 40KPH is no problem and 50 is doable. Setup tubeless and at that pressure, they also roll over roots and well...Gravel really nicely. On a Gravel or fire road you can do 30 KPH easily, especially if you got some compliance in the frame or seatpost (Checkpoint SL has that build in). So, a good flexible carbon seatpost is a nice investment I would say. I also ride the Redshift suspension stem for some compliance in the front. With all that it's a comfortable and fast ride and on green trails and some blues I can overtake heavier MTBs any time.
80+ bikes, give them to so needy children. Have a podcast for the search of very poor families with childen that could use thw bikes. It would first be a smart decision and most likely a great spiritual decision! 80 + bikes, oh my!
You think they could just give away bikes that have parts that are over $1000 bucks, you must be delusional if you think anyone who spent a lot of money and time on their bike would just give it away
Riding a road bike on a gravel road has to be about the stupidest thing in cycling. Get a mtb for that. There's a good reason they have a totally different setup and geometry.
Try the Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires. Only 42’s so only a little larger, but they are great, smooth rolling because of the center solid strip, supple for the bumps and gravel chatter, and good puncture resistance for how supple they are and being tubeless. They still have some knobs on the shoulders for loose stuff, but it’ll wake up on the road compared to those Kendas. If you can fit it, source some 47mm Pathfinder Pros for more off roading.
I’ve got two mountain bikes that are over five figures added together. I got tired of have nice bikes, but poor fitness. Based on the price, I picked up the G.1 for training and now ride it more than my mountain bikes. It’s versatile, I don’t worry about it being stolen, I can ride it right out my door.
The only problem I had is with the brakes, which was easily remedied with the Zoom XTECH brakes for $40. It’s such a fun bike. Have fun upgrading. I look forward to future videos
Let the upgrades begin!
Another great video. I’ve been a lifelong rider (XC/Dirt Jump/Downhill/BMX) but the cycling industry has got out of hand and your videos really do a great job of keeping it real on a sensible budget 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸
80 bikes wow, that must take up a lot of room, shows us a pictures if you don't mind, I would love to see what that looks like. Keep up the awesome work.
I swapped out the kendas for continental ultra sport IIIs in 28mm. Was mainly riding city and paved trails, so far feels great!
Awesome to hear!
I am all for seeing a gravel bike get upgraded. Though I am starting the likes to go get the Costco bike! 😂
The Intense 951Trail/XC from Costco? Or a gravel?
Try the Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires. Only 42’s so only a little larger, but they are great, smooth rolling because of the center solid strip, supple for the bumps and gravel chatter, and good puncture resistance for how supple they are and being tubeless. They still have some knobs on the shoulders for loose stuff, but it’ll wake up on the road compared to those Kendas. If you can fit it, source some 47mm Pathfinder Pros for more off roading.
Great review looking forward to more videos on the gravel bike.
Great job guys and I cant wait to see rides and upgrades.
I was looking forward to this one, many people online with opinions but those are all one-offs I wanted to hear your guys take on it.
I picked mine up today!
I knew nothing about gravel bikes, didn't know they were a thing...
Saw this bike looking for ways to rebuild an old mtb.
watched a bunch of reviews, and went to get mine today!
Yup ,Jack of all trades. I run 650b 2.2 , all year around !
It's a good bike. My wife and I have had a pair of em for a couple weeks and have put probably around 150mi on them so far.
The only thing I've upgraded was the brakes with a set of Zoom HB100s so I could recycle the factory brake lines. 10/10 choice for ease and performance.
I started working at Walmart last December. I already knew about their mountain bike and have helped sell two of them. When I first saw one of these I knew it was a real gravel bike although with entry level components. I sold one to a serious mountain biker earlier this year and tried getting him to do Gravel Locos in Hico.
If I were a bike shop owner, I would buy one of these and upgrade everything with lots of carbon fiber and SRAM electronic drivetrain.
I look forward to seeing your upgrades!
Tan seat too!
Updates I would do (from a roadie), as Wolfman mentioned, carbon fork, carbon seat post and lighter seat, aluminum crank set. I would leave the brakes and just adjust them better as well as bed them in. If that fails, just replace the calipers with better mechanical calipers. That would make the bike much lighter (maybe around 20lbs) and capable. Skip the suspension seat post. They’re heavier than carbon. BTW: you shouldn’t get pedal strikes on a gravel bike unless you take it more into Mountain Bike territory.
How about a carbon fiber wheelset? Expensive I know, but just thinking.
In Washington we had a radio station do a bike drive bikes for kids around Christmas
For my Bohe, Last years version of this, it depends on what one means by brakes not working. They stop well. They just let the whole neighborhood know about it. On the plus side no need to yell on your left. Wolfman is right they are the new do a little of everything bike. I do use the Bohe for commuting.
How do you like the Bohe? Considering getting the Bohe or the OZT G.1, but the Bohe I’m looking at is used, but has several upgrades seller is asking $175
For mtb, 1x all the way. For gravel, I love having a 2x. This is a great starter adventure bike.
I love my G1 and can't wait to see what you all do to it. I changed the brake pads, seat post, pedals, and stem so far. It rides great with some tuning!
I run 50cc on my explorer. I also ride an evil chammis haggar. Ozark trail is fun too. I bought 2 pot 32 dollar mechanical brakes from amazon for this they work great do it.
That is a good looking bike, here in Mexico we have something like that, almost same frame, and weights only 26.8 pounds for $260 including taxes. Great video as always
That Intense bike for $2000.00 is a steal, I paid $2550.00 + taxes+ shipping and handling for my 2022 Giant Trance X3 27.5" and is not even carbon BTW that bike looks legit.
I love this bike. It may have some MINOR drawbacks but they can be easily overlooked at the price.
Man do you make me miss my youth, when suspension was new and gravel bikes weren't a thing yet. I rode a bike not too unlike this & did some crazy stuff. I think you'll be surprised at what it can do. I'd hold off on the CF fork until you've tried out on some trails (CF is expensive and you might break it on trails). That said be prepared for more repairs than a MTB & keep your tires at max inflation to reduce flats. The suspension seat post is a GOOD IDEA.
I really hope you have a lot of fun on this bike! I don't know about others but I hope this expands your content because I already value your opinions on mountain bikes.
Such a cool bike. I cannot wait to see what you guys do with it!
Wish it had a granny gear.... And maybe a large size, but other than that... A very good effort.
Cool channel. I like the thoroughness of info.😊
I’ve had the cyclocross bike for going on 6 years, and they are somewhere between a road bike and gravel bike kind of a gravel bike predecessor. It has a carbon fork and bars and have take it off some light jumps and single track they’ll hold up if you get the right stuff. I’ve also had a gravel bike for about a year and it came with a dropper post and suspension fork and it is nice and smoothing out the ride and giving a little room for descending on a tech trail or getting a little more aero tuck. Definitely don’t need them but they are nice more so finding a saddle that agrees with your body makes a big difference. As for tires you can gravel tires that will perform well on pavement as well, they have tires with faster rolling centers that can still grip in mixed terrain and have more aggressive lugs on the outside tread. Also tubeless and wider tires will allow you go with lower pressures to give some of that compliance. Last thing 1x gravel is my preference and would recommend if you can do it on that bike.
lookin forward to it ! it's nice kind of bike to goon in and out of town.
Wonder how this bike would ride with flat bars and rapid fire Shimano shifters… 🤔
I’m probably a little tall for one of these but if I were to buy one I think I’d go Toseek carbon fork, seatpost, stem and bars, Elite carbon wheelset, Sensah SRX 1x11, and Juintech cable actuated hydraulic calipers. But then I’d also media blast that frame to get rid of that Walmart branding. 😂
Love seeing the gravel bike. I am considering picking up a Poseidon Redwood which runs 27.5/650B tires and has some extra clearance. I think it would suit the sandy Florida trails better than some of the other gravel bike options I am seeing. Will probably end up having it as my "do everything" bike.
This would be a good bike to use a Shimano Cues drivetrain
One thought. You may want to flip the stem to give yourself a more upright riding position. That's how mine came and it ups the comfort level.
Remember you have some South African viewers as well. Also using the metric👋
Toseek has a 700c full carbon fork that's about half the weight of that steel one.
Gravel bikes are great to jump on and go exploring straight from your house.
I can hear everyone saying but i can do that on my hardtail !
Of course you can but longer distances are way more comfortable on a drop bar bike.
Wolfman has the use case nailed on this one.
You could upgrade the wheelset with any existing qr 29er wheels you have and you can also replace the chainring to 1x by using an mtb crankset
The look on Wolfman's face over the expelled sealant was priceless. Gotta take it down the Cat's Meow otherwise it's not a real real-time reveal. That Intense bike would be a nice addition to your quiver. My local Walmart had the motherlode of bikes last week. These were all on the shelves, G.1, Ledge X1, Ledge X2, Axum Comp, Axum Sport, Axum X?, Hyper ebikes, the other Ozark Trail bikes (Vibe and whatever the other one is). Those brakes look turrible.
I almost bought this bike today.
if you want to race short distance gravel thats more like mtb trails lighter is great but for the best ride steel everything. seat post, bars, fork, frame. absorbs all the shocks and bumps. when its flat and youre riding 50 miles that steel really helps and the heavy bike holds speed well once you get moving. night and day
Had 3 of them at my local Walmart yesterday, almost bought 1
This is the Ford Mustang of bikes.
The cables are routed incorrectly.
I ride a Niner RLT setup with flat bars and 45c tires great for any terrain if skilled.
The rotors come with a thin layer of wax to prevent rust from the shipping across the Pacific.
You're going to want to spray and clean the wax off of the rotors with brake cleaner spray.
I have heard these bikes have bad brakes too. My brakes are just fine and stop nicely without the squeal!👍
Been waiting on a video lol
47 Spec Pathfinders should fit just fine
I have a small frame of this bike and it arrived with 165mm cranks. I still get occasional pedal strikes with 165mm. I've done about 400 miles on mine with a lot of upgrades.
KevCentral mentioned putting a dropper on his too. If I had it I also would. All bikes need droppers imo
They do make manual dropper posts that have a lever on the seat that you can get for this thing pretty cheap. My buddy got one for his road bike that was only about $88 I believe
The reason for not doing qr freewheel axel is because they snap easily on the freewheel side. Kids love jumping Walmart bikes and a solid axle is alot less likely to snap. The first upgrade my GF GT aggressor got was a solid axle because I know how easy they break on alex rim hubs
The LTWoo stuff surprised the hell out of me. It is definitely inexpensive, but it works once adjusted correctly. You guys could shed some serious weight with some carbon parts and mayybe some Carbon wheels?
I am thinking of putting a suspension fork on my G.1 Explorer.
I want one.... but I can't do the Medium. Customer service said there's a Large frame ordered from the supplier.... I don't know that I trust that... 6'3" and people I've talked to that are that tall said it is actually too small for them or cramped, needing the larger frame. Carbon fork will definitely help soak up vibrations and such.
We need a vid of Tick doing karaoke of "Shoop". He has teased us with singing it in a few vids now. 😉
I am a mountain bike guy have em all 2x on gravel is what you want. you can true the cranset like disk brakes.
hey i got me some ozark trail padals set to go on my bike
Great video
Great video. I’ve tried making a few about this bike but they definitely aren’t great compared to professionals like yourselves. I’m trying to decide what upgrades to do to mine right now. I’m going to try and keep mine with the group set it came with. Unless microshift wants to send me a sword group set or shimano wants to send me a grx but with 2 subscribers and one of those being my wife I doubt that’s happening. 😂
Looks great but the tires ? Have some pretty slippery trails here in az . Like River or wash sand like trails.
Falcon FW-740
Put on some of those cable pull hydraulic calipers you guys tested in the past
Hey Tick, cool shirt! Is there a Pep Boys Speed Shop near you? We used to have one near me in Marietta, GA.
Take off every deflector and or anything the bike doesn't really need a weigh it again. Curious if you can drop under 29lbs
Don't forget to do a wheelie test
I live in Bentonville and see gravel bikes on our green trails all the time.
Someone already did the suspension fork. The brakes. Can be ok. Just adjust them. Let me know what you think of the hoods or cows. I got the medium and small. Ones is mine other for the wife. I road mine. So far. Shifting is janky. Adjustment for sure. But some upgrades the bike can be even better.
I put a dropper on mine
Are the hubs and headset sealed or loose bearing?
Shout out to the Anzacs - Aussies and Kiwis, separate but the same 😊
I wish I could find a Intense 951 carbon frame!! I already have better components for it.
I have a steel branchi road bike. It flys. Now that Ozark gravel. Not so fast. I rode it on the streets and trail so far. Not bad just needs things changed on it.
I would like to see how light you can get it.
Oddly that bike costs around what converting my hybrid bike to gravel (tires bars n rigid forks)
Post mount brakes? Try replacing it with your juin tech hybrid calipers while waiting for your new groupset...
One good upgrade for that is a short travel gravel fork.
36 spoke wheels are good
What is the black plastic thing between the fork and headtube? Bearing? Spacer?
I'm sold and want to buy the 50CM but there's none to be had.
Is the bike you have in the video as size small or medium?
Small
It does have very bad brakes. I borrowed old Tektro calipers I removed from a Trek Marlin 5 and it's better. I will be upgrading to a Magura Trail Sport brake set so my wife doesn't die on this thing. The small I received came with 165mm cranks. It also doesn't have the Explorer G.1 sticker on the top bar. Go figure...
Supposedly just the pads are bad. If you replace them the brakes are fine.
The brakes are terrible. I bought this bike over the weekend. It sounds like metal grinding against metal. Upgraded required
I haven't had any issue with the brakes.
Did you weigh it?
New video!
I got a small and I am 5’7. Should I have gone with a medium?
$250. Amazing value
The bottom line is that for $250 you're not going to get anything better than that. I'm amazed to be honest.
17.5" equals 44.5 cm, bikes are made in China, Malasia or Taiwan, they all use the metric system ( mm-cm-nm ).
I know it looks road bike but gravel bikes should have a more relaxing geometry and be more comfortable then a full on road bike
Could drop weight with lighter aluminum or carbon wheels, carbon handle bars, going tubeless. I bet could hit 20lbs
On my Gravelbike (old version Trek Checkpoint SL) I usually ride 42mm WTB Resolute tires (come up to 45mm typically) at 2.5 bar (35 PSI). Pretty sure at your weight you can get easily down to 30 PSI - I'm a big guy at ~100KG. With this setup I'm still really fast on the road - 40KPH is no problem and 50 is doable. Setup tubeless and at that pressure, they also roll over roots and well...Gravel really nicely. On a Gravel or fire road you can do 30 KPH easily, especially if you got some compliance in the frame or seatpost (Checkpoint SL has that build in). So, a good flexible carbon seatpost is a nice investment I would say. I also ride the Redshift suspension stem for some compliance in the front. With all that it's a comfortable and fast ride and on green trails and some blues I can overtake heavier MTBs any time.
A little too excited...and that's why Wolfman wants you to get off his hand!
80+ bikes, give them to so needy children. Have a podcast for the search of very poor families with childen that could use thw bikes. It would first be a smart decision and most likely a great spiritual decision! 80 + bikes, oh my!
You think they could just give away bikes that have parts that are over $1000 bucks, you must be delusional if you think anyone who spent a lot of money and time on their bike would just give it away
temu carbon parts? lol
Riding a road bike on a gravel road has to be about the stupidest thing in cycling. Get a mtb for that. There's a good reason they have a totally different setup and geometry.
I'd go 50mm on the tires.. Upgrade that cassette, and upgrade the brakes... The Brakes are the weakest link on the bike for my fat arse.
"don't step in it, you might get pregnant"
-Jeremiah 2024
Try the Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires. Only 42’s so only a little larger, but they are great, smooth rolling because of the center solid strip, supple for the bumps and gravel chatter, and good puncture resistance for how supple they are and being tubeless. They still have some knobs on the shoulders for loose stuff, but it’ll wake up on the road compared to those Kendas. If you can fit it, source some 47mm Pathfinder Pros for more off roading.