Argon 18 has revealed the new Anti Matter gravel bike, which features an integrated ‘system’, generous tyre clearance and the goal of “redefining what gravel race performance really means”.
The new gravel bike is the race-ready companion to Argon 18's very capable Dark Matter, and is said to blend the Dark Matter’s off-road capabilities with the cutting-edge aero design of last year’s Nitrogen Pro road bike.
The integrated ‘system’ means a new holistic approach centred on the integration of the frameset with the component parts, airflow management, and most importantly the rider’s position.
The result is a bike that's said to be significantly faster than the Dark Matter.
Aerodynamic and off-road capable
Argon 18 tells us the gravel race bike was refined over more than 800 hours of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation and 45 hours of wind-tunnel testing.
It claims the result is a 14.5W advantage over the Dark Matter (+/– 15° yaw, wind-averaged drag at 45 km/h).
Details include the new ATTEN (Argon 18’s tech components lab) CHB-01 one-piece cockpit and the co-developed ATTEN x Apidura frame bags designed to carry race essentials with no aerodynamic penalty.
The bottle cages haven’t been spared the aero treatment, with a flush-fitting design that’s shielded by the down tube shape.
The down tube cage is side-loading, allowing for easy access even when the bike is fitted with the frame storage bag.
Vincent Lemay, Argon 18’s vice president of research and development, says: “With the Anti Matter, our ambition was clear: redefine what gravel racing performance truly means. This platform is the result of a complete reengineering of speed and control for today’s increasingly fast and technical courses.”
Aside from the aerodynamics, Argon 18 has designed the Anti Matter to be a capable bike in tough conditions.
The bike has generous 55mm tyre clearance and low-dropped stays, with a horizontal junction to the seat tube, which is said to bring aero efficiency and increased compliance.
The frame features a T47 threaded bottom bracket, UDH dropout, CeramicSpeed SLT headset and a standard 1-1/8in round steerer tube rather than a proprietary shape. That makes for simpler servicing and opens the Anti Matter up to a gravel suspension fork.
Three models
The Anti Matter range consists of three models, all based around SRAM XPLR AXS drivetrains.
The range-topping SRAM Red XPLR AXS model comes with Zipp 303 XPLR SW wheels, a power-meter equipped crankset, Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 45mm tyres and an ATTEN x Apidura frame bag. It’s priced at £10,495 / $12,999 / €12,495.
The second-tier model is based around SRAM Force XPLR AXS, again with a power meter crankset. It has Zipp 303 XPLR S wheels and the same Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 45mm tyres, plus the ATTEN x Apidura frame bag. It’s priced at £7,495 / $8,999 / €8,995.
The entry into the Anti Matter range comes with SRAM Rival XPLR AXS, DT Swiss G1800 alloy gravel wheels and the ATTEN x Apidura frame bag. The Rival model is priced at £5,495 / $6,499 / €6,795.
