Open Cycle has revealed the new U.P.PER. CONCE.PT – a pared-back gravel race bike with aerodynamic shaping and an incredible raw carbon finish.
On show at the CoreBike trade show, the Open U.P.PER. CONCE.PT turned the head of BikeRadar’s roving reporter, Jack Luke.
According to the brand – which is a joint project between Andy Kessler, a former CEO of BMC, and Gerard Vroomen, one of the co-founders of Cervélo – the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT represents a "modern interpretation of gravel bike", and hints at a future direction for its gravel bikes.
A new CONCE.PT
Open says its goal for the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT – as with all of its bikes – is “simplicity and longevity”.
As a result, it says “Innovation to us should not mean 'different', it should mean 'better'… we tend to stick with the things that work, and only change what is necessary.”
Given this, the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT retains a similar profile to the existing Open U.P. gravel bike, but features tweaks designed to make it racier and a simpler suite of features.
At the front end of the bike, Open has overhauled the head tube, down tube and fork with truncated aerofoil shapes, to improve the bike’s efficiency.
The rear end, though, sticks with round tubes and pencil-thin seatstays to ensure it “keeps Open's legendary frame compliance”.
It also features a round, 27.2mm seatpost.
As is typical of most new road bikes and gravel race bikes, the Open U.P.PER. CONCE.PT also gets a fully integrated front end, with a one-piece gravel cockpit designed by the brand.
The U.P.PER. CONCE.PT has a claimed frame weight of 845g “paint ready” (which effectively means ‘unpainted’, in this context), plus a fork weight of 370g.
For context, that’s only 120g heavier than the claimed weight for a Specialized S-Works Crux frameset – one of the lightest production gravel bikes available.
Tyre clearance is capped at 46mm on 700c rims. That’s plenty wide enough for most gravel bike tyres, although if you’ve got an eye on running mountain bike tyres on your gravel bike at some point, it might not be enough.
Open says it opted for straight (as opposed to dropped) chainstays and omitted a front derailleur and mudguard/fender mounts because the philosophy behind the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT was "reduce to the max".
It says “the 'regular' new U.P.” will likely feature such details, though, because it appreciates many riders find these things useful.
Limited edition and made in the EU
Open says the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT, which will eventually evolve into its new production gravel bike, is initially available in two sizes (M and L) and only 125 units per size.
Prices start at £4,700 / €5,300 for a “ready to paint” frameset, while Open says “A clear coat is not needed for UV protection but recommended to protect against scratches and wear.”
A full range of sizes will come when Open launches the new U.P. “in the Spring”.
The price is relatively high compared to the existing Open U.P. (which costs from €3,200), because the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT is produced in Portugal by a company called CarbonTeam.
Open says it decided to partner with CarbonTeam because it “can achieve frame production at the highest level” and also means the bikes are produced closer to some of its biggest markets and custom painters.
It does acknowledge, however, that producing the U.P.PER. CONCE.PT in Europe is roughly twice as expensive as doing so in Asia.
