SAGE TITANIUM: THE PRICE (& PURPOSE) OF A POLISHED FRAME

Already celebrated as their top-selling model, Sage Titanium founder Dave Rosen recently upped the aesthetic ante along with some keen updates to the Barlow gravel bike.

Key for Dave was to save some frame weight without sacrificing the performance and handling attributes that have helped make the Barlow so popular. In addition to the new S-bend seatstays borrowed from the Skyline road bike, Dave also downsized the seat tube from a 31.6mm to a more standard 27.2mm size to bring some added compliance to the ride. The Barlow now has added a larger-diameter T47 bottom bracket shell to provide a more efficient pedaling platform.

Tire clearance remains at 700×40 and 650×50. The Enve All-Road fork still limits tire clearance.

BETTER THAN PERFORMANCE GAINS?

Although still available with its original bead-blasted finish, what really caught our eye was the new polished frame option, which adds $1750 to the $3000 frameset price. Expensive, yes, but it’s one of the more worthy, slave-to-fashion upgrades we can think of!

The Barlow also now has an internally routed brake hose while still using Sage’s patented CCS for the internal electronic or mechanical drivetrain, making the frame cross-compatible for life. And last are the hooded dropouts, which help save even more weight over the previously used plate style.

THE STATS

Frame: $3,000/$4750
Frameset: $3700
Polished frame, seatpost and seatpost collar: $5000
Complete bike build (Red AXS, Enve and Chris King): $13,125

www.sagetitanium.com