Open MIN.D. Classic look, revolutionary concept?!

Product news: With the Open MIN.D. the Swiss luxury manufacturer presents their latest racing bike with gravel genes... or rather gravel bike with racing bike genes. This question cannot be answered exactly, because it is only clear that the Open MIN.D. is a very versatile all-rounder.

Even if it seems a bit strange at the moment that a manufacturer known for its gravel bikes is just around the corner with a racing bike. Because with the new Open MIN.D. (Minimal design) the two heads of the company, Andy Kessler and Gerard Vroomen, want to offer a new racing bike that cannot be easily put into one category. And the two founders know what they are talking about, because both were in leading positions at Cervelo or BMC. Even though gravel bikes have been on the Open list so far, the UPPER already showed in which direction things could go.

https://www.velomotion.de/magazin/2020/02/open-upper-gravelbike-test/

With the Open MIN.D. presents a modern racing bike in a minimalist design, which should particularly convince fans of classic racing bikes. With its slim lines and tube shapes and a subtle finish with subtle accents, the MIN.D. in any case an eye-catcher. However, this restraint should by no means be reflected in the performance, because the Open MIN.D. was designed to offer a premium combination of performance and comfort without weighing an ounce. Here, high-quality workmanship and the best materials ensure a high-end racing bike frame for the best power transmission, low weight and high rigidity. The continuous seat tube construction is intended to ensure unique comfort. Everything is rounded off by a tire clearance of up to 32 mm, which gives the bike the necessary all-round capabilities.

Open MIN.D. – “Comfort means driving further and longer!”

“There is so much talk about comfort. But it's not about gimmicks, elastomers, electronic suspension or subatomic vibration-damping graphene-impregnated nanoparticles. Comfort is about finding ways to go further and longer while enjoying the comfort.”

One of the most important points in the development process was the issue of comfort. With this approach, special attention was paid primarily to a comfortable geometry. This was for the MIN.D. inspired and adopted by the Gravel predecessors. The idea is to offer a sporty geometry, but still offer moderate camber and aspect ratio. The steering behavior was also particularly influenced by this, which should ensure agile handling paired with stable running smoothness. In addition, there should be room for wide street tires on the new open road bike, because nothing has more influence on the ride quality and comfort than the tires. Bad roads are one of the worst comfort killers, be it cracks and potholes or just plain vibration. The most effective solution here is to increase the size of the tyres, with the added benefit of lower rolling resistance and better grip.

But not only through geometry and tire freedom, but especially thanks to the continuous seat tube, the frame is said to have been made significantly more comfortable. Because the continuous tubular construction is extremely small with a diameter of 25 mm (30 mm is usually the minimum for 27,2 mm seat posts). Removing the seatpost/seat tube overlap at the top tube also results in uninterrupted seat tube sag.

Open MIN.D. – The R-Turn fork

The Open U-Turn was the first fork to be truly optimized for flatmount brakes by dropping the standard adapter to switch between 140mm and 160mm disc rotors (160mm rotors should always be used anyway to extra security and control with almost no added weight). The adapter is a feature without benefit at the cost of weight, rigidity, and complexity.

The R-Turn uses the same Smartmount direct mount design with thru-bolts without adapters, just like the rear brake. Along with a new shape and a new layup optimized for the road, the R-Turn is the lightest disc brake fork on the market.