Is a Suspension Fork and Dropper Post on a Gravel Bike Worth It?
Our friend Tyler of Ty's Rides is back again on his Obed MMR. After his initial MMR review, he wasted no time in making a few modifications to his bike. He's added a RockShox Rudy XL gravel suspension fork with 60mm of travel and a RockShox Reverb AXS XPLR dropper post, transforming his MMR into a singletrack slaying machine. Not only that, he's pushed his bike further into the MTB realm with a bigger 10-52t cassette and MTB derailleur.
To test out this burly new setup, he took his bike to the legendary trails of Bentonville, Arkansas, in his latest video:
After four hours exploring mountain bike trails, Tyler had this to say about the MMR: "This bike does really, really well on flowy mountain bike trails set up as it is, and unlike mountain bikes, it doesn't suck on pavement and gravel."
Tyler is exploring a niche of gravel biking that some refer to as "underbiking." Maybe you could call it "do-it-all biking." He chose the MMR because he wanted a single bike that could handle the widest possible range of terrain from pavement to gravel to singletrack. With the combination of drop bars, gravel-focused geometry, and wide 2.25" MTB tire clearance, the MMR provides the capability and versatility needed for epic rides on the most varied terrain.
Interesting note: After Tyler experienced a sidewall puncture during his ride, he might have documented the first case in the wild of the MMR's downtube storage being used to fix a mechanical and save a ride!