Meet the TTR: Obed's Drop-Bar MTB Breaks the Rules
We ride a lot of gravel here at Obed. We watch YouTube and scroll Instagram too. We hear all about the hot gravel trends, and we aim to test them all. So you can bet, when marginal gains proselytizers (like Dylan Johnson) started bombarding our feeds with endless drop-bar mountain bike propaganda a few years ago, we had to try it.
Like many others, we hacked together our own drop-bar mountain bikes, swapping out cockpits, shifters, and brakes, ultimately frankenbiking our way into drop-bar MTBs with acceptable riding positions. These early attempts weren’t pretty, but we went shredding and saw the appeal immediately. A drop-bar MTB provides everything the gravel vanguard craves: more tire clearance, more capability, and more comfort, all paired with the efficient, all-day riding position of a gravel bike.
Finally, we are able to offer our own drop-bar MTB, straight from the factory. Say hello to the new TTR.
A Drop-Bar MTB Straight from the Factory
Like any good drop-bar MTB, the TTR is our answer to a simple question: what if we didn't have to choose between a gravel bike and a hardtail? Riders chasing the roughest gravel, the chunkiest doubletrack, and the longest bikepacking routes all hit the same wall. Gravel bikes run out of tire clearance and composure when the terrain gets truly rowdy. Hardtail mountain bikes have the capability, but flat bars and upright riding positions made them less efficient for grinding out big miles between the fun parts.
A drop-bar MTB solves that. And rather than force you to cobble together your own in your garage or shed with a parts bin, we built the TTR to arrive from the factory exactly the way it should be: with drop bars, shifters, and brakes all dialed in from day one.
What Makes the TTR Drop-Bar MTB Different
The TTR is built on a hardtail mountain bike frame, but building a proper drop-bar MTB isn’t as simple as bolting a set of curly bars onto any frame and calling it done. Most modern hardtails with progressive geometry are built with longer reach and top tube measurements that suit a flat-bar riding position. Put drop bars on a frame like that, and you're stretched out further than you want to be. Riders building drop-bar MTBs at home typically have to size down or compromise on their fit.
The TTR's frame goes the other direction. It prioritizes the drop-bar riding position, which means the reach and top tube length are shorter than what you'd find on a typical hardtail. The result: you can ride the TTR in your true size, get the fit and handling the frame was designed around, and skip the sizing gymnastics altogether.
Still, the TTR is built to bulldoze. It fits 2.4" tires front and rear for serious traction and comfort, and you can spec it with either a suspension fork with 100mm of travel for maximum squish, or a rigid fork (coming soon!) if you're prioritizing low weight or extra bikepacking capacity. The compliance-tuned Detour Seatstays are disconnected from the seat tube to help take the edge off impacts, so long days in the saddle feel less like a battle of attrition.
Who Should Ride the TTR?
The TTR is for riders who don't fit neatly into one category and don't want to. If any of these sound like you, you're the rider we built it for:
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The gravel rider who wants more capability or comfort. You've maxed out your gravel bike's tire clearance, and you're ready for bigger rubber, more confidence on descents, more cushiness on the rough stuff, and a bike that can shrug off the gnarliest terrain.
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The bikepacker plotting ambitious routes. Whether it's the Tour Divide or a self-supported route through the backcountry, the TTR is happy loaded down with bags and chewing through everything from smooth gravel to rough singletrack.
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The MTB rider who wants ultimate efficiency for mellower rides. If you love shredding flow trails but hate slogging through fire roads and pavement to get there, a drop-bar setup makes those connector miles faster and less draining, so you show up to the good stuff with more in the tank.
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The one-bike-quiver rider. Not everyone wants a garage full of niche bikes. The TTR is built to be a legitimate do-it-all machine. It’s capable enough for real trails, efficient enough for long gravel days, and adventure-ready for whatever you throw at it.
Your Ride, Your Rules
We didn't build the TTR to fit into an existing category. We built it because we needed a bike to handle the most insane rides we could imagine. It’s built for your local lunch loop shred and for crossing continents. It’s built for the impassable, the unreachable, and the unexpected. It’s for everything big or small. It's not quite a gravel bike. It's not quite a hardtail. It's whatever you need it to be on any given day, in any given moment, and that's exactly the point.
Ready to see what riding without rules feels like? Discover the TTR and drop into your next adventure.