Friday night rolls into Saturday morning and before heading back up to London to give out prizes at the London Academy Grand Prix at the London Velodrome (that's a lot of Londons) I popped down to the Green Mile at sunrise to get some shots of my new LANDRACE Boxer.
On the size 'small' frame I used the new Shimano GRX Di2 wireless 12 speed mech with a pair of GRX Di2 levers. The x2 levers that are meant to be used with the double front chainrings were specced as I like having the right and left shifter set up like SRAM: left easy, right harder. The chainset comes off my old Boxer with 160mm cranks with a 40T chainring.
The saddle height on this bike is 673mm, 3mm higher than on my road bike as the Garmin Rally pedals have a higher stack height than Shimano SPDSL pedals.
The new LANDRACE integrated XY Gravel handlebar and FSA No.13 headset combined with the 44mm headtube make for a very neat cockpit. The handlebars are painted to match the fork and have a 24 degree flare. 375mm wide and with the hoods rotated inwards my hands are 315mm wide - never too old for aero gains. The handling is table though due to the low bottom bracket and front end geometry; needing wider handlebars for gravel bikes is a myth.
LANDRACE GRV gravel rims. Why do Schwalbe put their branding on upside down? The Schwalbe G-One R tyres are 40mm wide and are just right for linking road and dirt sections. I run them at 25psi and use Orange Sealant.
The new Walland Fork (named after Walland Marsh that isn't far from here) that will fit mudguards, dynamo cable and also has 3 mounts on each fork leg for luggage. 3kg capacity on each fork leg. Room for a 47mm tyre.
The Boxer comes with a UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) that will fit SRAM's new rear derailleurs. Note the exit port for Shimano Di2 wire or mechanical gear cable.
Neither are required as the new wireless 12 speed Shimano GRX RD-RX827 is being used; the battery sits underneath the main body and in front of the jockey wheels. Shifting is good but there is a small delay going in to the largest cog. As the mech is designed to go up to a 51 tooth cog this may be a safeguard for changing under load. TBC.
Mudguard/rack mount is also visible on the rear stay. The cassette is Shimano's CS-M7100 SLX 12-speed cassette 10 - 45T. Chain is KMC gold chain for some more bling.
The saddle is the unusually shaped SMP Drakon which is amazingly comfortable, straightens the pelvis and is highly recommended for those of us with enlarged prostates who want to keep riding and keep inflamation to a minimum.
The seatpost is by Firfly Bicycles in the USA and uses an Enve seatclamp. Available through Cyclefit in 5mm and 15mm setback and 330mm long.
Rack and mudguard mounts and plenty of tyre clearance.
3 x bottle mounts and note the K-Edge chain guide installed to prevent the train hopping off on bumpy terrain. This is a little belt and braces as the clutch in the rear mech maintains the chain tension. It looks cool though.
Matching Hope Pro5 purple hubs and 160mm rotor.
LANDRACE titanium bottle cages and high quality frame finish.
The down tube cage has purple anodising that is more visible in this image and you can see the fork mounts more clearly too.
I took the bike up to Wales to try out a UCI gravel race, it performed perfectly unlike the rider who only managed to get half way through the 100km; more on this later. White wheel decals as the Boxer entered in to race mode.
