Opus Horizon - Review
 

Lineup - https://www.opusbike.com/en/bikes/1-road.html

Bike in question: https://www.opusbike.com/en/bikes/1-road.html

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...68a93572c5.jpg

Frame Design: The frame is a fairly aggressive design for a standard gravel bike, definitely more geared towards the performance side with a minimal sacrifice in long distance comfort. Think of it as an endurance *almost race* bike. Frame geometry is very similar to road bikes in my size, with the exception of slightly longer chain stays and top tube, and better tire clearance. My frame. fits me absolutely perfectly as is stock. 180mm over the stock 175mm cranks would have been nicer, and I would have preferred a stock bar that is 48 rather than 46cm.. These are small gripes and mostly issues which only those who are at least 6'2" would complain about.

Parts: An ideal groupset which is both cost effective and highly functional. Dual piston Promax brakes offer excellent feel and stopping power even when compared to hydraulics. This is the first time I have dealt with SRAM, and I have came away very impressed. The material and build quality is very good. I am not the biggest fan of the double tap shifting when compared to Shimano's dual lever design. It is easier to mess up a shift when you are hard on the bike and it makes for shifting down through multiple gears a finicky process. Shimano's 105 hoods offer marginally better ergonomics, but SRAM's groupset fires one back by using better feeling materials and a slightly better build quality.

Crankset - I have tried many different cranksets in many sizes, but the Apex seems to be the best in terms of pedaling stiffness, ergonomics, and an overall direct feeling transfer of power from rider to rear wheel.

Shifting/Rear Derailleur, Rear Cassette - I have direct comparison here with my Felt XC bike, which also uses an 11 speed cassette with nearly identical ratios in the 11-42t cassette. SRAM's shifting feels somewhat more precise and engages a bit smoother, but the difference is fairly marginal I can certainly feel a more direct transfer in power from the cassette, through the hub, to the rear wheel.

650b Wheelset: What really attracted me to the purchase of this bike was the 650b wheelset. They seem to roll faster and respond better to inputs. I feel like 700c with 45mm wide tires is very excessive in overall diameter, even at my height of roughly 6'3". I get the same cushiness from 47mm tires, but with a wheel diameter which is more reasonably suited to my needs as well as proportions.

Handlebars: The Satori X-Race Aero bars which came stock with this bike were great. However, I had some Surly Truck Stop bars which I intended to use for another bike. the extra 2cm in width along with less flare at the drops helped get my arms at shoulder width while offering a more relaxed wrist angle. Also, the 3cm of rise allowed me to remove almost all of the spacers underneath my stem, which now gives me the room to play with stems with negative degrees for a more aggressive riding position. The reach at the drops with these bars were about 8mm longer than stock. Also, mounting the stem lower on the steerer tube also increased reach marginally due to the way the steerer tube is angled toward the rider, inside of the head tube. By switching the stock 110mm to a 100mm stem, I was able to almost perfectly negate these increases in reach, and maintain the same riding position as stock. In the future, I would like to try out a 90-95mm stem with 0 degrees in rise, so that I can bring the bars a little bit lower and closer to me.

If you have gotten to this point of my review, you might be asking, how does it ride?

The answer would be, well. Absolutely brilliant. There was no "learning curve" when riding this bike for the first time as there was on my KHS road bike I owned previously. I got on and was able to push the thing to its limit very quickly and easily. The handling is brilliantly balanced, with beautifully controlled front grip which transfers towards easily controlled rear drifting. The ride feels extremely efficient, light, easy to operate with fast, supremely stable and highly confidence inspired predictablity over rough/uneven surfaces. I have tried to carry some relatively heavy grocery loads with this bike, which I can't say was handled quite as commendably as expected. I would usually leave this type of riding towards a bike with longer chain stays.

Overall, as a "sport touring" bike, being capable of fast paced tours with relatively light loads (easy to balance the load amongst several mounting points all over the frame and fork), this bike is a fantastic entry for me into the gravel bike world, having good experience with both XC and road bikes. I am very much looking forward to trying out other gravel bikes in the future.

https://www.opusbike.com/en/product/...?CouleurId=319
The bike.


Since you bought the XL(based on crank length), it looks like the bike has a stack height of 630mm and a reach of 400mm. Chainstays are 429mm and both HTA as well as STA are 72.5 degrees.
Seems like a pretty neutral geometry for that frame size.

How about a pic of yours?

Yes, it's an XL. it's standard geometry for a gravel bike and I don't think it's that radically different from a road bike either.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dc1cd88654.jpg

What happened to all your snow?

I took this picture before it started to snow again, lol

lol is right! :roflmao:

And yet, in a month or two you'll be posting about your next "perfect" bike. Then rinse and repeat.

Gravel Bike on Singletrack..
 

I took the bike on a thorough 1.5h thrash on some singletrack near my house. Mostly tight, winding, flowing hard packed sand, ridden with rocks, roots and short but steep elevation changes.

- the ​40t front ring didn't place me at any significant disadvantage, as the bike is quick .

- the bike performed admirably over everything, including moderately challenging bits of terrain where even my carbon 29er would have broken a bit of a sweat.

- The bike was very fast, agile, planted and supremely balanced.

- To put the singletrack I ride into perspective, something like a 26x2.4 tire seems to be the most ideal tire diameter for these tight turns while offering ideal cushioning. The 650b x 45 still felt a tad clumsy and under cushioned around some bits.

- I​​​​​​I was surprised that bottom bracket clearance wasnt too much of an issue here. My XC bike has an extra 25mm of clearance, yet it didn't make much of a difference.

- I was chasing after a highly experienced rider on a Trek full suspension 29er, which really helped me gauge the pros and cons of each bike. Sometimes I struggled and lost time on sections with short, steep climbs ridden with tree roots, sometimes we were more or less even, other times, I was easily able to gain on him. (Mostly because he let me) :D

I enjoyed the experience tremendously, although some parts of the trail I would definitely avoid riding on my gravel grinder next time. The bike performed quickly, accurately, and with excellent stability on some really challenging sections of the trail while still holding its own in places where speed and agility couldn't be used to its advantage. For a bike with geometry shadowing that of a road bike, it's incredible how composed it manages to be over some truly rough terrain.

Although I'm not a novice, the guy I rode with was able to smoke me no matter the terrain. This helped me fortify on the idea that the quality of the bike you ride is virtually irrelevant without the right rider.

After some experimentation with lots of riding (mostly pavement, some singletrack and gravel, long gravel trip soon to come), I've finally got my beloved Opus dialed in!
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d61045ac64.jpg

Some comments :

Currently using rockbros pedals, but will be trying out the Deore clipins included by the original owner sometime .

- saddle height is set roughly 1-1.5cm below baseline for better balance/centre of gravity.

- using surly truck stop bars

- Satori seatpost with 24mm of setback. The saddle is mounted all the way back at the max line. I ordered a Satori suspension seatpost to prepare myself for a long gravel trip.

- Tried out a couple different stems before settling with this sturdy 100m?MTB stem. Total reach to the handlebars identical to stock.

- the Apex 1 version of the Horizon was fitted with 650b wheels, but this frame is designed to fit up to 700x45 (or 650bx50) .

Only real gripe would be the front brake and its overall stopping power. Its lacking during hard stops and seems to have detoriated in performance rather quickly under spirited use. I'll try cleaning the pads first and might eventually upgrade them to a better quality compound.

​

Finally got the bike dialed in! The performance is incredible!

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2e6f2d97d0.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0a48ba8c5c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f36eacf02a.jpg

I am now riding using that same suspension stem, but with an Easton 46cm bar (130mm drop, 75mm reach.)

I will be changing to a 110mm stem, -7°, slammed.

With the way my fit is progressing, I'll have to change to a more aggressive frame!

Consider using full fenders if you often ride in wet conditions. In fact, you'll also need long mudflaps on the front fender almost touching the ground to fully shield the drivetrain from mud and dirt.

I also noticed the seat is tilted up noticeably. It's probably okay if you ride in a relatively upright position. But that amount of tilt can be uncomfortable on long climbs and can hurt your lower back if you hunch down. The majority has their saddle level. Mine is tilted down a bit. If you're doing it to reduce the pressure on your arms, you probably need to correct something somewhere, fit, technique, posture, etc.

If I do need to ride in the rain, I'll take my E bike which was fitted with fenders stock. This bike used to have a rack on, but I mainly use it for hard, short bursts of spirited thrashing about... So it's set up pretty Bare as of right now.

When I was riding in the relatively upright position as seen in these photos, I could have gotten away with the saddle tilt... I have since adjusted it to be almost level, which feels more comfortable..

Almost level saddle is OK. I noticed the mud on you bike, gave the impression you often ride in wet conditions or the gravel paths you use are often wet.