Open WI.DE

[sparky33]

Here is my turquoise Open WI.DE.

The build is Ekar 42x 10-44, Enve 46 gravel bars, G27s on White Industries hubs and RH Umtanum Ridge Extralight 650bx55s.

[superbowlpats]

Fantastic build. Love the color

[Mr B]

A colleague has the same colour, it's fantastic.
Your build is pretty much how I'd do it, Ekar and Enve is a great combo.

[Jmj2323]

Top notch build right there

[madsciencenow]

Wow, really nice! How do u like the Ekar?


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[NHAero]

Pretty nifty! Hope to see it here, let's ride! I have my poor man's version in my Litespeed Unicoi dropbar with 26x2.2 tires.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

Wow, really nice! How do u like the Ekar?


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Ekar is quite good. Braking is excellent. Hoods are comfortable, and the shifting is very Campy-feeling. The array of cogs makes a lot of sense. I might size down to a 40T so I can make better use of the single steps at the top end of the cassette.

This group spend several months on my Stigmata - I like it the more I use it.

[Hilltopperny]

Very nice!

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[Miller76]

Is that the Yeti turquoise? I love it!!!


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[jpritchet74]

Absolutely fantastic build.

I don't see myself ever getting a gravel bike (just none of those roads near me), but if I did, this is EXACTLY what I would get.

[xeladragon]

Love the color! Almost went with turquoise for my road Zanc a few years ago. Anyway...

Hate to be that guy but... what's the difference between this and a rigid MTB? Do you still have your Stigmata and Lauf? How do you choose which to ride on any given day?

Those wheels look terrible BTW. Lemme do you a favor and take those off your hands, so you can upgrade to something nicer.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by xeladragon

Love the color! Almost went with turquoise for my road Zanc a few years ago. Anyway...

Hate to be that guy but... what's the difference between this and a rigid MTB? Do you still have your Stigmata and Lauf? How do you choose which to ride on any given day?

Those wheels look terrible BTW. Lemme do you a favor and take those off your hands, so you can upgrade to something nicer.

You wouldn’t like these wheels - ride like squares.

This WI.DE frameset replaced my Stigmata frameset…a bike I really really liked. The geometry is similar, though the WI.DE is taller overall. Itch scratched. It rides like a good carbon gravel bike and is more comfortable than I had expected. That it fits jumbo tires does not hurt. I can see why Open made this alongside the roadie-er U.P.

So the WI.DE is not a road bike and it is also not a mtb, but it is a really good at being not quite the right bike for many occasions….like on today’s ride which was a bit of pavement, a lot of sandy gravel, and some trail. It was perfect.

The Lauf is currently on a hook, lending parts to other bikes, but the Lauf will roll again. That one is just too cool. What a neat bike.

These new Rene Herse Umtanum 650x55s are the bees knees.
Riding too skinny tires on dirt is dumb. I had enjoyed Thunder Burt 27.5x2.25s…decently comfortable, quick enough and reliable. Though the silly good cornering and pillowy goodness of the Umtanums is remarkable. No, not quick as a plump slick but not far off either. We shall see if the Extralight casing stands up on the irresponsible terrain these tires invite.

[sparky33]

This review of the WIDE on Bikepacking.com is particularly good. Not only is Joe Cruz a capable writer who can clearly articulate nuance, his observations of the WIDE are also spot on. He nailed it. Though I disagree with his opinion that 2.2s and drop bars aren’t necessary - maybe he needed better tires.
Anyway, worth the read:

https://bikepacking.com/bikes/open-wide-review/

[xeladragon]

Originally Posted by sparky33

... like on today’s ride which was a bit of pavement, a lot of sandy gravel, and some trail. It was perfect.

That sounds like my ride today on your old Zanc... lol. Agreed... a road or mountain bike would've been more ideal for stretches here and there, but for a ride that's a mix of everything, nothing beats a bike with drop bars and plump, knobby tires.

Really liked your old Stigmata. Curious how the WI.DE compares after you have some more miles on it.

[4151zero]

Originally Posted by pritchet74

Absolutely fantastic build.

I don't see myself ever getting a gravel bike (just none of those roads near me), but if I did, this is EXACTLY what I would get.

You'd be surprised what these bikes can do, en route to said roads and back!

I never planned on getting a gravel bike, until I did.