& shaping their hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas into a mountain biking haven. And other direct-to-consumer brands like Canyon have a big head start on Viathon in terms of reputation. I weighed the M.1 later with a handheld scale. The brand also released a blog outlining the six reasons to get a hardtail. Vosper: House of carbon cards, chapter two: Viathon revisited Certainly Viathon's not to that point yet, but time will tell. Is swimming safe? The Viathon G1 Gravel Bike: Fast and Affordable, with a Little Room for In this case, carbon doesnt work entirely to its benefit, and the G1 is a little overly stiff, and calls at least for a more compliant set of handlebars. The M1 carbon hardtail, with a SRAM GX Ealge driveterain comes in at a bargain price of $2,200, with the top-level SRAM AXS electronic drivetrain equipped model hitting $6,500. It turns out that Walmart bike buyers, as much as theyre dismissed or even ridiculed, include some passionate fans. Managing editor Dean Yobbi told the story in BRAIN's May dead-trees issue and online as well. I have been swapping parts around and will finally get to ride it today. Calf muscle pull or tear? Releasing some fluid from the system remedied this, but we can only hope production bikes dont need the same treatment. [, Re: Did Wal Mart pull the plug on Viathon? Look for Viathon bikes online at ViathonBicycles.com in mid-May, and soon after at Walmart.com. I am a professional mechanic, and have a hand built over 175 custom frames from steel or Ti. Who makes Viathon frames? Crickets. Viathon is wholly owned by Walmart. But does it have enough soul and personality to compete with more established brands offering quality bikes at a similarly low price?". Well, unfortunately, we had numerous issues with the build quality and were not sure if this is an issue of the actual bike, or simply an attack of the photo sample. Its also not the Bike Utility Vehicle that you get out of a Salsa or even the Santa Cruz Stigmata, with their functional braze-ons intended to extend time away from home base. "Of course, there was some backlash with the Walmart connection,'' said Mark Jordan, whose CrankTank marketing group staged the Viathon launch and was quoted in Yobbi's original article. Not a whole lot. Viathon G.1 105 First Ride Review | Road Bike, Cycling Forums The weird stem length, set-back seatpost and bar width dont matter. $$$ Outdoor & Sporting Goods Company Privacy Policy Photos See all Videos See all 0:11 The R.1s trail figure measures 59.7mm, which is quite long for an all-around bike. And that really summarises the G.1 quite nicely. The history of the bicycle business is, in one sense, a history of powerful outsiders coming in to teach us dumb yokels how things are done in the Big Leagues. It picks up speed quickly like road bike quick and feels very responsive to cornering and rider input. Theres a low 69mm of bottom bracket drop, making for increased stability and cornering, and a 74 seat tube angle and a 71.5 head tube angle. Performance, comfort, speed, agility, and other characteristics require in-person evaluation, which is tough to prove for a brand like Viathon, which is available only online. Any Canadians with/had a hip labral tear here? Its what you want in a more race-focussed gravel bike, and in this sense, it gives up very little compared to the likes of the higher-priced Stigmata or Aspero. [, Official FIT ASSISTANCE for Canyon Speedmax CFR, CF SLX, and CF (disc & rim brake), Official Canyon Speedmax CF Owners Thread, Official FIT ASSISTANCE for Cervelo TT and Triathlon Bikes. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. Over mostly flat and undulating terrain, the G1 can actually be a little fun on certain trails, if thats what you enjoy from a gravel bike. On top of the frame features, the G1 comes with a pretty respectable build kit. And the two price points for Dura Ace and Ultegra place the Viathon alongside some of the budget-friendly racing bikes from Canyon that feature equally impressive component specs. They enter the frame at the downtube, so this is an internally routed frame, but the handlebar and stem are fairly traditional in the sense that theres no internal routing to get rid of those round tube shapes at the front of the bike. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. All these numbers are pretty well proven, and create a bike that walks the tightrope between controlled and quick. We wanted to create a non-intimidating platform, said Spinhirne-Martin. I also wanted all of my bikes to perform when pushed hard, said Spinhirne-Martin of the frames stiffness. A similarly specced Specialized Epic S-Works hardtail goes for about $3,000 more. He proposed a private-label project, and hes bringing it to fruition. The S-Works Epic only comes with an 11-speed groupsetthe Shimano XTR Di2so the Viathon wins in our books with the snazzy eagle. And it bears repeating: This is a. Geometry is almost identical to a specialized crux. Its name is Viathon. While everyone seems to be hung up about the Walmart partnership, its a bit of a superficial distraction to the companys larger goal. Privacy Policy Seriously, this is an impressive wheelset for a bike of this price. It confidently climbed over gravel, roots, and rocks. Viathon is Walmart's latest upscale, digitally native, house brand The bikes look fine. A few things are apparent with Viathon. Its one of the biggest online merchants in the world, No. At the end of the day, we bike people live and work in a quirky, parochial and, more than occasionally, incestuous little industry, one with its own set of business realities. Well, its a lot like the Santa Cruz Stigmata it was modelled after, just not quite as refined. The G.1 RED eTap AXS that is the subject of this review is Viathon's newest gravel model and will be available sometime in September. I ride over ladder bridges and into dense trees. Viathon "believes that great bikes make riding more fun. Walmart Slashes Prices on Viathon Bikes for Pre-Black Friday Sale And yep, the frame can be setup with either 1x or 2x gearing. Specializeds highest-end hardtailthe S-Works Epiccomes in at a whopping $8,520, whereas Viathons most expensive model starts at $6,000. The bike has a bit of a disjointed ride feel due to the stout front fork which is stiff in contrast to the forgiveness exhibited by the rear stays. Its wise to see if that character fits with yours. Were not trying to undercut the industry; were offering our bike line at a solid price, not a ridiculously low price, said Spinhirne-Martin. $6,000 Walmart Bike: Box Store Launches Premium 'Viathon' Cycles So the supplied contact points of the bike werent a good fit for us, but paying customers will at least be given the option to fix this. But rather than going out and buying the exact same flashy and high-end items, theyve sourced out the look-a-likes. And then theres the fact that the established brands the Giants, Treks, Specializeds and Cannondales of this world typically supply the bikes with components that are already damn close to being right for each respective size to begin with. The average person is a Walmart shopper, he says. Industry watchers may remember the last time Walmart tried to get into the carbon bike game, which as I recall was about ten years ago. The new brand is launching with carbon road, mountain and gravel bikes. 3 for online traffic after Google and Amazon. Marketing strategy comes out of Sun Valley, Idaho, with the CrankTank firm. Except none of that happened. That would really skew the handling. A RockShox 120mm fork and speedy Continental tires respectively absorb and grip the ground. But don't count the traditional players out yet, on either the supply or retail ends of the supply chain. Amazon Pick: Up to 20% Viathon Bicycles Products and Competing Brands at Amazon.com. go tubeless they said it will be fun they said. Updated, 4/9. For the last update and a link to the introductions, Click Here. MTB Podcast | Walmart isnt currently targeting the kind of customer who wants the latest carbon layup or the greatest new geometry, nor is it targeting customers who self-identify as cyclists. The handlebars could have been wider, with a shallower drop, and an extra helping of bar tape would have also been welcome. That's a lot to love. Others are concerned about how this will undercut bike shops. Slowtwitch approved IT Band rehab? All this went down in April and May of this year. Because all XC bikes are light compared to enduro. The quick and dirty synopsis? Will people buy them? A 69.5-degree head angle and 73.6-degree seat tube angle are what many brands had a few years ago. The flipside of that is a frame that pounces forward when you ask it to do so. After every order is placed, a customer service agent calls the customer to confirm the order and determine the stem and crank length, handlebar width, and seatpost offset to ensure the customer gets the best fit possible, said Zach Spinhirne-Martin. Viathon aims to find out, and its got a good product to perform that experiment. But Viathon's G.1 GRX 800 is light, fast, and sporty, and costs much less than its competitors. Now on to the final word on this carbon fiber crushed rock roller. Two Walmart heirs, Tom and Steuart Walton, are themselves highly enthusiastic riders who have invested in cycling companieslike Allied Cycle Works and Rapha, and they directed the trailbuilding grants that have helped transformWalmarts home base of Bentonville, Arkansas, into a world-class mountain-bikingdestination. Thats a challenge. He explained, It has less setup and maintenance than a downhill bike, and as an entry point into the industry, this makes an ideal start for us to grow on.. Viathon Bikes launched to surprise, confusion and intrigue back in April, offering high-end carbon XC hardtails despite links to Walmart. The bike arrives 98 percent pre-assembled the customer has to tighten on pedals, install the front wheel, and attach the front face plate over the handlebar. Ok Fishes, here is the interview we were all waiting for!! And if you did want a different saddle or bartape, then they could probably arrange that, too (at a cost). Theyre numbers that are ideal for tackling a variety of terrain and doing it all efficiently, and overall, the G.1 behaves like it wants to be the only drop-bar bike in your garage. I want to figure out how to use that customer base to grow the bike industry.. Viathons product manager, Zach Spinhirne-Martin, openly admits to taking close inspiration from a race-inspired bike like the Santa Cruz Stigmata. With that in mind, it seems appropriate that Walmart is finally sinking its teeth into producing a line of proper bikes. Viathon takes pride that every model indeed, every finished bicycle is at the top of its class for weight, technology, and quality. The M.1 is among a small 2019 line that includes road and gravel models, as well as two additional high-end mountain bike builds specced lower and with prices starting at $1,998. We tested the brands top-end M.1 Mountain Bike for 6 weeks to gain an understanding and some first-person perspective on singletrack trails. Sign up to receive GearJunkie content direct to your inbox. Although from a bike industry perspective, the geometry is a few years outdated even for a hardtail. The Viathon G1 is a bike that is a high performance machine with a good set of components out of the box. Our sample had no foam liner to silence it, but again, Viathon assured us production bikes do. Viathon-via-FB wrote: Hello, we are not out of business, our website is down due to some technical issues and while it is down we are taking the opportunity to make some changes. Red digits displaying 22.7 pounds blinked alive, quantifying the size-large bike as bona fide feathery for its class. For those people, being able to buy a high-quality bike online means they dont have to go into a potentially scary, elitist, unwelcoming bike shop where theyll be uncomfortable and possibly judged.. He designed Turner and Cube bikes, the first Pivots, and Diamondbacks for 5 years. But Im a little mystified that the mountain bike is a cross-country hardtail 29er, a style of bike thats pretty out of fashion at the moment. However, what cant be argued with is that the law of diminishing returns certainly plays a large role in premium products, and Viathon has done a damn good job of showing that. Theres nothing wild going on in the tubing no weird bends, or protrusions. It's October - go swim (monthly fish thread), For the Fish: Ankle Flexibility and Kick Free vs Back. (But the base R1 costs less than half that price at $2,300.) Its also important to note whats not in the current lineup: womens bikes, utility bikes, and e-bikes. Viathon riders, like every other bike customer, will need service. Its a private brand being managed within the e-commerce merchandising team based in San Bruno, California. Are Your Trails Ready to Ride for the Season. Spinhirne-Martin says yes, and reiterated that he wants to grow the bike industry, not put other brands or bike shops out of business. This is a workhorse groupset that simply adds better ergonomics and a more suitable gearing range to what was the most popular road groupset on the market. I like my bikes to jump when I stand up and crank down on the pedals. Such a purchase sight-unseen typically favours the experienced; those who know their preferred setup on a bike and understand why 10 millimetres here or there is a big deal. 68mm threaded bottom bracket. In so many ways, the Viathon is like the middle manager whos tried to mimic their boss style on a tight budget. But the collaboration shouldnt come as a surprise. There are few retailers in the world with the buying power and sway that Walmart holds. Fast as a road racer, rugged as a mountain bike, and priced beyond compare.. Thats not to say this bike is cheap. In an interview last week at Sea Otter, a bicycling industry gathering in Monterey, Calif. I came to Walmart to grow the bike industry. Spinhirne-Martin tells me to look around the Laguna Seca Raceway, which is teeming with fans, baggy shorts-wearing bros, and Lycra-clad racers with rippling muscles. The Viathon G1 comes in five sizes ranging from 52cm to 60cm in 2cm increments. Equipped with a SRAM XO1 Eagle drivetrain that shifts seamlessly, Stans 29 carbon wheels, and an FSA K-force carbon handlebar, this thing was designed to climb. Walmart.com, of course, is an internet behemoth with hundreds of millions of visitor sessions each month with peak holiday traffic topping half a billion, according to analyses by industry research firms SimilarWeb and Statista. Did Wal Mart pull the plug on Viathon?: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums According to Spinhirne-Martin, Walmart is not currently planning store-based service departments. The R.1 does feel responsive and supportive when you stand up to sprint. But that lack of local shop support is a risk of buying a bike through direct channels. Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowskis view. The bikes launched last April, and when word got out that Walmart was quietly supporting the brand, it caused quite the stir. In some cases the customers know exactly what they want, but if they dont then the service agent can help determine whats best by running through a few questions about the rider and desired riding position.. By July, barely 90 days from its glitzy premiere, Viathon had announced via direct mail and on its website that it was dropping prices on all models by as much as $1,000 per bike, to as low as $1,998. Additionally, two of Walmarts heirs, Tom and Steuart Walton, are cycling fanatics. With 11 out of the 12 bikes tested at Field Test having some iteration of GRX on it, youll know by now that it just works. Take YouTuber KevCentral, for example, whose channel reviews bikes available at Walmart and Walmart.com and how to upgrade them. Shoppers will have four build choices per model. Viathon ships high-end carbon bikes from a Walmart - Bikerumor Viathon's goals seem to be crystal clear with the R.1: Build a race-ready road bike for a high-end audience without the high-end price tag.
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