The recent Roval Terra press camp wasn’t just a showcase of trick new wheels. Thanks to Mike Yakubowicz and his shop, Blacksmith Cycle, we were treated to a veritable smorgasbord of beautiful custom bikes from all over the world.
Here’s a gallery of the bikes we rode during our time in Downieville:
Beauty is more than skin deep with the Alfa Allroad from Allied Cycle Works. Built with a SRAM Force 1 mechanical drivetrain and Roval Terra CLX wheels, it was one of the lightest bikes at the press camp (according to my finely calibrated arms).
One of my favorite bikes of the Roval Terra press camp was this custom gravel model from legendary Italian builder, Barco. Built from Columbus XCR stainless steel tubing, and featuring an eclectic 1x drivetrain with Roval Terra CLX wheels, this is the personal bike of Blacksmith Cycle owner, Mike Yakubowicz.
This is the Soul, from Italian builder, DeAnima. It’s a great example of the rare and special bikes Blacksmith Cycle sells. The matte carbon finish and understated graphics of the Roval Terra CLX wheelset complimented the beautiful handmade carbon fiber frame very nicely.
Norwegian brand, Fara, was one I was completely unfamiliar of prior to the Roval Terra press camp, so I was blown away when I loved spending two days riding their new F|Gravel bike. Equipped with 700c Roval Terra CLX wheels and a SRAM Red eTap groupset, the F|Gravel was fast, confident and fun to ride during our time in Downieville. I’m hoping to get more time in on this bike on more familiar roads soon. Look for that review to come.
Another bike I hadn’t seen prior to the Roval Terra press camp was the Rover from Czech brand, Festka. With a weight of less than 1,000g and 24 available sizes (with custom sizing available), it’s a bike I bet would appeal to many performance-focused gravel cyclists.
Easily the most stunning bike at the Roval Terra press camp, this incredible All-Season from Isen Workshop in London, England. It’s built from a mix of Reynolds, Columbus and Dedaccai steel tubing. Mike at Blacksmith Cycle built this beauty for his wife. Now that’s love…
The smooth lines of the Low MKIII Gravel Road frame fooled me into thinking it was built of carbon fiber. To my surprise, it’s actually incredibly well-finished aluminum. Impressive, to say the least. Equipped with SRAM Force 1 and a sub-1300g Roval Terra CLX 700c wheelset, it gives away little if any, weight-wise, to its carbon competition.
This Shimano GRX Di2-equipped Mosaic GT-1 gravel bike was aesthetically one of my favorite bikes of the Roval Terra press camp. While I didn’t get to ride the bike extensively, I suspect it rides even better than it looks.
I’d hoped to get some time in on this 650b-equipped Rodeo Labs Traildonkey 3.0 x Rapha Limited Edition during my time at the Roval Terra press camp, but it just didn’t work out. Equipped with SRAM’s latest Force eTAP AXS 1x group and 650b Roval Terra CLX EVO wheels, the bike looked fast, even standing still.
This custom steel Sklar gravel bike belonged to Billy Sinkford, our photographer during the Roval Terra press camp. Equipped with Roval Terra CLX EVO wheels and massive 700x55c slick tires, it easily rolled over everything in its path and was surprisingly fast too. In terms of smiles per mile, this bike is nearly unbeatable.
The incredible paint on this Stelbel Nina made it one of my favorite bikes of the Roval Terra press camp. It’s a thoroughly modern steel bike, with through axles, flat-mount disc brakes and clearance for up to 2.1″ tires on 650b rims. It’s shown here with Roval Terra CLX 700c rims and S-Works Trigger 38c tires.
This is the Flexy F-GR02 gravel bike from Italian brand, Titici. The dramatically flattened sections of the top tube and stays are said to dramatically reduce vibrations that reach the rider.
About Blacksmith Cycle
Since 2011, Blacksmith Cycle has been a leading source of high-end custom bicycles, not just in its home in Toronto, Canada, but for buyers around the world. The shop claims to offer more NAHBS builders than any other bike shop on the planet, and based on the bikes we saw and rode at the Roval Terra press camp, we have no reason to believe that’s not the case.
Blacksmith Cycle is a performance-oriented bicycle shop, fit studio and design consultancy rolled into one, but most of all, they are purveyors of premium road and gravel bikes, with a focus on fit, materials and technology.
Learn more about the Roval Terra CLX and Terra CLX EVO wheelsets at RovalComponents.com.
Note: All images credit: Roval Wheels. Roval Wheels covered travel and expenses for Riding Gravel’s trip to California for the Terra press event. We are not being paid or bribed for our coverage, and strive to give our honest opinions throughout. Special thanks to Blacksmith Bikes for providing the Fara F|Gravel we rode.
