Today, Kinesis has released its latest do-it-all adventure bike under the tag line “All Year, All Terrain, All Fun”. Designed for all purpose, multi-terrain riding, the AT takes much of what was learnt from the Tripster ATR and adds a bit of Mike Hall magic.
Mike Hall was perhaps the world’s foremost long distance cyclist, with a string of ultra-distance records and feats of endurance. The founder of the Transcontinental Race was sadly killed whilst competing in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race earlier this year. Prior to competing in the race, Mike had been heavily involved in the development of the Tripster AT, helping the Kinesis team with frame details and finalising the paint jobs and design.
The frame is designed to be versatile; cyclocross, commuting, gravel riding and long distance touring are all within its reported remit.
Kinesis has built the bike with thru-axles front and rear, massive tyre clearance (700x45c / 650b x 52mm), mudguard and rack mounts, a multitude of cable/hose/wire routing options and extra bottle cage mounts.
The alloy frame is built for 140mm or 160mm discs and a standard, threaded bottom bracket (mechanics rejoice), while the included fork is a full carbon affair. The frame is CEN tested to mountain bike spec, so should be capable enough on pretty much any terrain.
Mike’s finishing touches
Kinesis tells us that Mike first saw the prototype bike after his return from the 2016 Transcontinental Race, where he helped the team by making a few tweaks to the design.
For example, an extra bottle cage mount was added under the down tube to increase water carrying capacity, even when frame bags were being used. Additionally, there’s a movable mount on top of the down tube, meaning bottles can be carried with smaller frame bags in place.
To add stability to the framebags, Mike suggested using a flatter profile to the bottom of the top tube.
Mike also worked closely with Kinesis’ design team to come up with a paint job that would look good with or without frame bags, with the black sections of the tubes hiding framebag straps, and keeping design highlights in places where straps are unlikely to be placed.
The Arran Blue colour matched the branding of the Transcontinental Race, while the Seeon Yellow is designed to stand out in traffic.
Where and when?
The Tripster AT is available on pre-order now, with delivery expected in mid July.
There are the two aforementioned colours and seven sizes (48/51/54/55.5/57/60/63cm).
The frameset with fork, seatclamp and thru-axles comes in at £699, while £1,700 will get you a full SRAM Rival 1 group built bike with Kinesis Crosslight CX Disc.v4 wheels.
Full details can be found at www.kinesisbikes.co.uk
Oh, and remember, #bemoremike
