$2,865.94

Open Cycles builds light and strong. And they knew they could make their UP frameset even lighter. That meant they had to build one. The result is the UPPER.

Think same geometry, same ride qualities, just lighter. Lighter means a few things here. First, they built their own fork, the Open U-Turn. Second, more complex carbon-fiber lay-up with more expensive carbon plies. Third is flat mount brakes. In all, the bike fits, the same, rides the same, but is trimmed of the precious little fat that Open had actually left on the table.

Flat mount disc brake calipers are the rage. They allow for lighter calipers to be fixed to the frame, but they’re only lighter if the adapters that are usually necessary with flat mount brakes are removed. Open designed their mounts so adapters are unnecessary. The result is an even lighter build and no choice in rotor sizing. It’s 160mm in front, 140mm in back, unless you want to add those adapters back on. A side effect is the bolts go through the fork and frame.

If you’re reading about the UPPER, we assume you know a bit about the UP:  a single bike that can race and ride on road and off and handle cyclocross in style. It has the manners to feel comfortable at low speeds and high, and handle both straight lines and tight turns with aplomb. They call it “gravel plus.”

This bike is designed to accept both 700c and 650b wheels. You can run up to a 40mm wide 700c tire and up to a 2.1” wide 650b (aka 27.5”) tire. That 40mm ‘cross tire actually results in a 8mm greater diameter than the seemingly big 2.1” 650b. While the flexibility is nice, it was to improve performance in all conditions. Part of the performance issue was keeping chainstays as short as possible. In this case, 420mm. It’s a length is rather short for this application, and it’s a performance benefit. Shorter wheelbase, lighter frame, snappier responses to power spikes. You’ll notice that the right chainstay is dropped. This is to fit both the tires and the chainrings without either rubbing the frame.

The gearing is more flexible than tire choices. You can run a single or double ring, with electronic, mechanical, or hydraulic shifting. The inner ring max is 36t, the outer ring max is 50t. When you’re running single chainrings, you can go up to a 46t single if it’s an offset style like SRAM’s, or a 50t if you’re using a flat style ring.

Cables, btw, run internally regardless of the style. The battery, if you choose Shimano Di2, sits inside the post. The single stop on the side of the head tube is small, light, clean, and leads to a system that routes easily and saves weight. They call it MultiStop.

The bottom bracket utilizes the BB386EVO standard. It’s wide, 86.5mm, and large diameter, 42mm, which is a big easel on which to design the points at which the downtube, stays, and seat tube join. Most cranks will fit.

As is designer Gerard Vroomen’s want, the seat angle is 73-degrees. This is for a simple reason. It results in a lighter system because you can use a zero-setback seatpost. Lighter overall system weight, and zero effect on performance. The seatpost also helps strengthen the frame-a too-short post leaves the seat tube unsupported. To ensure the proper length, there’s a pilot hole in the seat tube. So long as the post can be seen (and it’s precise enough that it doesn’t let water in), you’re good. The shaping is almost square at the bottom, and it tapers to a round 27.2mm size at the top. Better for a light, compliant, round post.

The post is at the top of the seat stays, which themselves are super-thin, and flattened for vertical flex and torsional stiffness. The chainstays are as well, though it’s much harder to see.

The downtube has been designed for torsional stiffness. High-modulus carbon on the sides, and lower-modulus in the middle. Likewise, the top and downtubes are as widely-spaced as possible to improve torsional strength for the fork. This is why the top of the headset is flush with the top tube. Internally, The U.P. runs a tapered 1 1/8” to 1 1/2” steerer, also for rigidity. The fork, also set up for wide tires, same widths as the rear end, includes an superlight 12mm thru-axle from Carbon-Ti that tightens via a 5mm hex head key.

The rear wheel attaches to the frame via a 142mm thru-axle. They figured out how to save weight here as well. The axle threads through the derailleur hanger and locks it to the frame. Simple, too. They recommend they send the Carbon-Ti thru-axle, but others work as well. The brake mounts are on the chainstay to allow the seat stay to flex more.

The frame comes with the fork, headset, seat tube collar, thru-axles, two derailleur hangers (one on the frame, one spare), removable front derailleur hanger, cover bolts for derailleur hanger studs, MultiStops for cable routing, chainstay cable exit stop, bottom bracket guide, cable sleeves, foam noise reduction sleeve, bottle cage bolts, and owners manual. You’ll notice bottle bosses on the top tube. They’re a standard dimension and are really designed for securing small bags and boxes there. Only you know what you’ll need on the road. Because this bike is made for your adventures.

The Open Cycles UPPER Frameset goes beyonder.