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TECH NEWS

Sarto launches new carbon gravel bike… with a kink

Check out those stays

Gravel bikes originated in the US but  their influence is spreading far and wide, with Italian frame builder Sarto unveiling a new Gravel TA Soft over the weekend.

- Buyer’s guide to gravel and adventure bikes

The company already offers a gravel frame in its range, but this new model brings some distinctive new features aimed at improving comfort, namely the kinked seatstays. 

sarto gravel soft 5.jpg

Carbon manipulation is something we’ve seen a lot of over the years by manufacturers seeking to provide a smoother ride. The most famous example is Specialized’s Zertz inserts, where specially shaped fork legs and seat stays are combined with a special insert to dampen vibrations. It’s largely the shape of the carbon, not the insert, that provides the added compliance. 

sarto gravel soft 3.jpg

Sarto has developed the most dramatically shaped seatstays I think we’ve ever seen on a road bike. The idea is clearly to provide as smooth a ride as possible.  The rest of the frame looks fairly conventional. There's an aero shaped seatpost with the clamp hidden in the top tube. 

The TA in the name stands for thru-axle, and the bike swaps conventional quick releases for thru-axles at both ends. It’s a disc-specific bike as well, and all cables and Di2 wiring is routed internally. 

sarto gravel soft 2.jpg

Tyre clearance looks very generous as well. Sarto hasn’t released any detailed specifications for the bike yet, but we have contacted Sarto for more information - we’ll update this story as soon as we get more. The current gravel bike in the Sarto range takes up to 42mm tyres so this bike will be at least the same as that.42mm tyres so this bike will be at least the same as that.

More soon...

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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2 comments

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Eric D | 8 years ago
1 like

If one kink stretches and the other squashes, then the wheel is free to tilt to the side.

Maybe lateral stiffness is not needed for gravel bikes, but won't it waste some effort if pedalling hard ?

Most rear suspension ensures both chainstays rise and fall together - it might feel odd if one rises but the other falls.

Could be they hinge together at the bottom bracket ...

Avatar
ped | 8 years ago
4 likes

It's a mullet bike!

"Business in the front, party in the back".

 

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