{"id":42391,"date":"2022-10-14T15:33:07","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T13:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=700760"},"modified":"2022-10-14T15:52:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T13:52:14","slug":"onguza-launches-gravel-model-1-at-bespoked-handmade-bicycle-show","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/onguza-launches-gravel-model-1-at-bespoked-handmade-bicycle-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Onguza launches Gravel Model 1 at Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Stan Portus\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 14 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Onguza has launched its first bike, a steel-framed gravel bike<\/a> called the Gravel Model 1.<\/p>\n

Displaying the Gravel Model 1 at the Bespoked Cycle Show in London, Dan Craven, the brand\u2019s founder and a former professional cyclist, says the bike is intended to represent the small town of Omaruru, Namibia in Africa, where Onguza is based.<\/p>\n

Craven says the bike also has features that should make it appealing to an international market.<\/p>\n

Onguza first launched in 2021, but it is only now the brand has officially launched its first bike, with 15 framesets and five complete builds available.<\/p>\n

Craven says when the bikes are gone, they are gone, and you will have to wait for Onguza to release a new batch of bikes in the future.<\/p>\n

Why make a gravel bike?<\/h2>\n
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The Gravel Model 1 is the first Onguza bike available to buy.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Craven spent his professional career racing on the road, completing the Vuelta Espa\u00f1a and being crowned the national road champion of Namibia four times.<\/p>\n

He also planned to race an Onguza road bike at the Tokyo Olympics last year, before he had to withdraw after contracting Covid-19.<\/p>\n

As a result, the fact that Onguza\u2019s first publicly available bike is a gravel bike may seem unusual. Surely, the road racer would start a brand with a road bike<\/a>?<\/p>\n

However, the reason Onguza has launched a gravel bike first can be put down to an attitude Craven will share with many people who have taken to this style of bike.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason gravel bikes are so popular is that you can do everything with them,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when I was living in Girona training for the Olympics, the only bike I had was a gravel bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Namibia and beyond<\/h2>\n
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The seatstays have a dramatic kink.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In a bid to make the Gravel Model 1 as versatile as possible, Craven has designed the bike to be fitted with 700x42mm gravel bike tyres<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Craven says in his time riding in the UK, Girona and elsewhere, this was the most popular gravel tyre size he saw.<\/p>\n

He puts this down to the capability of the tyre off-road, but also the fact it doesn\u2019t limit you too much on the road.<\/p>\n

A gravel rider in London, for instance, is going to spend a lot of time riding on roads out of the city to find gravel tracks.<\/p>\n

Having said this, Craven still wants the Gravel Model 1 to reflect where he lives in Namibia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still want the essence of the bike to be so you are able to cycle across Africa,\u201d says Craven.<\/p>\n

To this end, you can fit 650b wheels<\/a> into the Gravel Model 1\u2019s frame for extra tyre clearance, which would help you take on the terrain around Omaruru.<\/p>\n

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A Chris King headset, naturally.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cIf you want to ride around London on the bike, you can do that. But if you want to go to far-off, magical places, you can put other wheels on it and discover that magic,\u201d says Craven.<\/p>\n

In Namibia, the theory is that the bigger the tyre you run, the more comfortable the bike will be, due to its rigid frame.<\/p>\n

But ultimately, Craven doesn\u2019t see this as ideal for a global audience: he says a narrower gravel tyre will be more suitable for those needs.<\/p>\n

The Gravel Model 1 might not be \u2018correct\u2019 with road wheels and tyres, but it will still be a great ride, according to Craven.<\/p>\n

The beauty of small places and the practicality of standard frames<\/h2>\n
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The Onguza Model 1 comes with top tube mounts.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Having drawn on the expertise of the Bicycles Academy, Matthew Sowter of Saffron bikes and frame builder Robin Mather, Craven believes Onguza will make beautiful bikes \u2013 especially due to the skills of those he works with.<\/p>\n

\u201cNamibia\u2019s a land of makers,\u201d Craven adds. \u201cThe skills people in Namibia have mean they can do things without tools \u2013 it\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Craven says he wants to build bikes that are \u201cdoing something else\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a nutshell, I believe in the beauty of small towns. When you ride your bike through London, it\u2019s a blur of people and things. But if you go out in the Scottish mountains, you\u2019re not just going to cycle past another person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come to Namibia and you cycle on our gravel roads and see another cyclist, you are stopping. You\u2019re getting off your bike to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
This Gravel Model 1 is built up with SRAM Eagle XX1.<\/span><\/figcaption> Stan Portus \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

This is why the bike can fit 650b or 700c wheels, but also why it\u2019s available in stock sizing rather than as custom builds, like many of the other bikes on display at Bespoked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy faith in stock geometry is very different to people at Bespoked,\u201d says Craven. He says he raced for many years on stock bikes, descending mountains at over 100kmph.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy philosophy is there\u2019s a time and a place for custom geometry, but I think your average person can be very happy on stock geometry,\u201d adds Craven.<\/p>\n

The other reason for creating bikes with stock rather than custom geometry is location.<\/p>\n

Namibia is far away from many of the markets Craven wants to sell into, so building custom bikes is logistically hard.<\/p>\n

Craven believes creating standard frames will enable Onguza to sell into these markets and help achieve one of his other aims: changing people\u2019s perceptions of where he is from.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t used to beautiful things coming out of Africa. So, what if you make something that goes overseas? Suddenly, it\u2019s spreading the love and showing small towns can come out and be seen.\u201d<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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