Ty's Rides Unboxes His New MMR Gravel Bike
We are all gravel geeks here at Obed, and we've put a lot of time and effort into creating the gravel bikes that we want to ride. We hope that they're what other gravel riders want to ride too. That's why we LOVE seeing people who are stoked with our bikes.
Our new friend, Tyler Epstein, known on YouTube as "Ty's Rides," is now one of those people! He recently took delivery of a brand-new Obed MMR. Watch as Tyler unboxes his bike and explains why he chose the MMR:
"I wanted a lightweight bike with wide tire clearance that could be ridden anywhere. I believe for the price, this one might be hard to beat!"
Tyler explained that one of the events he does every year is Rule of Three in Bentonville, Arkansas. Rule of Three is a notoriously hard race, and it gets its name from the three surfaces riders have to navigate: tarmac, gravel, and singletrack. Gravel bikes are generally undergunned on the singletrack sections, which means a gravel bike designed to fit MTB tires, like the MMR, is an ideal choice.
"This bike really blurs the line between gravel bike and cross-country trail bike," Tyler said.
Knowing how rough Rule of Three gets, I'd personally want a gravel suspension fork. Tyler ordered his MMR with a rigid fork, which will be great for his future bikepacking goals (he wants to ride Tour Divide someday!), and he does plan to eventually swap in a RockShox Rudy XL that he already owns.
To make swapping forks easier, he chatted with one of our customer service reps before ordering and got his front brake routed externally. This will allow him to swap forks without disconnecting the brake hose or bleeding the brake after a swap. Customization and personalization are a huge part of what Obed offers, so we're always happy to handle requests like this. Never hesitate to ask!
One more thing Tyler pointed out is how well the MMR was packaged. Our bike box design is something we're incredibly proud of. It keeps the bike very well protected, and it allows us to ship our bikes nearly fully assembled. One thing I love pointing out is that we protect our bikes using a long sheet of recyclable packing paper. This keeps the amount of plastic and foam used in our shipping process to the bare minimum.
Tyler said he'll post a full review of his new MMR after he's had more time on it, but he shared some very nice initial thoughts with us:
"I didn't think I was buying my dream bike when I bought it, but now that I have it, I actually think this is my dream bike," he said. "I honestly wouldn't trade it for a bike that costs 3x as much. Your customer service has been incredible and you all delivered a great product."
To follow Tyler's future exploits on his new MMR, check out his channel at: Ty's Rides.