Heres what it felt like to interact with the R.1. And while the bikes may be sold on Walmarts website at some point, theres no mention ofselling in stores, which would put the bikes in front of a broader audience. and Zipp Service Course cockpit, the G.1 Rival gets down to business. Lets look at the numbers. Earlier this year, Viathon Bicycles launched with a direct-to-consumer business model and a catalog of high-end carbon bicycles, taking an approach similar to the one Canyon has used. Certainly, Walmart has the resources to overcome that, if it chooses, and it also has a reach like few other companiesWalmart sells more bicycles in North America than any other retailer, according to industry analyst Jay Townley. Check Out Continue Shopping. I really like the geometry, I was looking for a cyclocross bike that fits wide tires and have 3 bottle mounts, and this fit the bill really well. The Viathon adds mounts at the fork, mounts for a rear rack, and space for an additional bottle cage beneath the down tube. The road bike is 200 grams lighter than the gravel bike, with more aggressive geometry, 28c tires, and a stiffer frame. August. As it happens, I prefer this kind of steering, which youll commonly find on aero bikes and endurance bikes with longer trail figures. $200 Off Viathon Bicycles Coupon (2 Promo Codes) Mar 2023 Should brick-and-mortar or other online retailers worry? That wont set it apart in a highly competitive market or bring high-end tech to a new market of people. by Rick Vosper. Im in GearJunkies Minneapolis office, a small blade in hand, ready to unbox a bike. And really, we suspect a 700 x 45 mm will squeeze in if youre less fussed about mud clearance. At least on paper, the value for money is unquestionable, but a great bike is always more than a sum of the parts bolted to it. And yep, the frame can be setup with either 1x or 2x gearing. Company Also what is the complete weight? Its certainly no Huffy, but heres what stood out to me: Light as a feather:This thing is nimble. Here are some features to keep in mind as you shop. But it is building out a platform not just with more and better bikes, but with video and editorial support. Mimicking the Stigmata, the G.1 sits more toward the road end of the gravel spectrum with angles which are closer to that of an endurance road bike than a hardtail mountain bike of a decade past. 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.. 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. I just got a G1 1x Rival a few weeks ago, and really enjoyed on the the two rides I got in before the 12+ inches of snow last night and today. And every single article, including this one, focuses on the Walmart ownership. A famous trail, Eh Line, swooped on dirt banks and over gaps. But when people saw these bikes here, it was like, 'Hey, these are real bikes! Another new direct-to-consumer brand, Remot, alsolaunched this week with far less buzz, despite being owned by American Bicycle Group, the holding company for established high-end brands Litespeed and Quintana Roo. In other words, it was in the business of making inexpensive bikes made for the mass market. When assessing the new Viathon R.1 road bike, I first chose to judge the proverbial book by its cover. Fast as a road racer, rugged as a mountain bike, and priced beyond compare.. Take YouTuber KevCentral, for example, whose channel reviews bikes available at Walmart and Walmart.com and how to upgrade them. This latter element is certainly somewhat surprising when you consider Viathon R.1 road frame uses a PF30 shell, and that the use of a threaded shell arguably inhibits the available width for tyre clearance. So were considering lateral stiffness, vertical compliance, weight, ride feel, cornering stability, and even the finish. Speaking of rocks, the Viathons ride quality is certainly on the stiffer end of things, and those thin seatstays werent able to tame as much as the Salsa Warbird or even the Stigmata. Viathon G1 Bike: Getting Rolling - Riding Gravel A few things are apparent with Viathon. Hes also the founder and part owner of Knight Composites. But don't count the traditional players out yet, on either the supply or retail ends of the supply chain. It can take 650b wheels with up to 2.1-inch tires, or 700c wheels with up to 51mm tires. CyclingTips global tech editor James Huang and I ended up testing, and enjoying, the bike with a 90 mm stem fitted, and would have preferred a straight seatpost, too. It lacks some of that impossible-to-define character that makes a climbing bike inspirational, especially when youre toiling away on a tough climb. The Viathon G1 has been ridden a couple of months now by Andy T, and so we are ready to give the final verdict on this Walmart distributed bike. 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. This is pretty similar to the BMC URS, and realistically those under 5 6 (170 cm) are likely out of luck here. Complete builds start at $2,300, and top out at $3,500 for the gravel models and around $6,000 for the road and mountain bikes. I want to figure out how to use that customer base to grow the bike industry.. But what was remarkable about Viathon was the identity of the brand's owner: Walmart. Certainly Viathon's not to that point yet, but time will tell. Many see this as an exciting window of opportunity - by tapping into Walmarts extensive consumer base, the sport might have a chance to grow as a whole. Viathon furthers those purchasing efficiencies by only producing the frame in a somewhat limited range of five sizes, and in many cases, even the rather simple two-tone paint is unchanged between the models. Its for someone who wants to ride the whole mountain, up, down, and everything in between., The new face of a Walmart bike? Perfect Portable Power Station: EcoFlow River 2 Pro Review, Watch Aldo Leopolds Passion for Conservation Take Root in Serve the Land, Best Overland Water Storage Containers for Long-Distance Travel, AI Hiking Bears Fascinate Internet, Scramble Human Brains, Civivi Conspirator Nitro-V Review: The Budget-Friendly Super Steel Youve Never Heard Of, Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Review: Mojave Road Overland Adventure, The Benchmade Narrows Resets the Engineering Bar, A Scope That Performs Without Breaking the Bank: Maven CRS.2 Review, The Best Backpacking Sleeping Bags of 2023, The Best Camping Mattresses and Sleeping Pads of 2023, From a Reclining Camp Chair to Kickass Layers: Best Gifts for Outdoorsy Moms, Best Gifts for Dad: Great Gear for Your Old Man, Best Fitness Gifts: 10 Must-Haves for the Outdoor Athlete. The newly created small Viathon team was then tasked with developing a simple performance range that could appeal to a wide range of cyclists. Theyve played a monumental role in Our favourite bikes from the 2020 Gravel Bike Field Test Read more. The Viathon G1 comes in five sizes ranging from 52cm to 60cm in 2cm increments. Some of the editors at GearJunkie wondered why Viathon launched with a 29er hardtail as its flagship mountain bike. Their $18 million investment went a long way for the areas trail infrastructure, making it an unsuspecting cycling mecca nestled into the Ozark Mountains. Mountain - M.1. There are rack and fender mounts on the G1 frame, internal routing, and mounts for up to three water bottles, so it is possible to get pretty far from base camp on the G1, and theres frame clearance for bags and all that. Nowadays, a search for Viathon bikes on the Walmart website (see here, here and here) returns a notice that the item is no longer available; the image from the final link (also shown above) displays another brand and model entirely. It has longer, slacker geometry than its road bike cousin and different tube shaping. Any Canadians with/had a hip labral tear here? 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. Support us! Viathon says it wants to bridge Walmarts current low-price offerings to the bike-enthusiastbusiness. For cycling-specific recommendations, check out our favorite tech deals at Walmart too. Both are well-qualified bike industry veterans, but its not a riveting founder story like, for instance, that ofAllied. Download the app. View specs and technical data for all Viathon Bike Models. Aint nothing wrong with that! But does it ride like one? Viathon was created to shift consumers thinking. Kudos to them, but that story stretches back some 15 years and is still far from over. [trail] This carbon bike is set up for dirt road adventures but doesn't mind how much pavement you mix in. The geometry, however, told a different story than what Viathon portrayed as the M1s intent, and it felt much more like an XC race bike, than an everyday trail bike. As is so common with gravel bikes fitted with decently big-volume rubber, there was a small amount of toe overlap present on our 54 cm sample. Viathon bikes use carbon frames and are high . For those riders hoping for a super-reactive bike that follows your every twitch, I suggest you look elsewhere. And failing. Viathon is a direct-to-consumer bike brand owned by Walmart. It's been just about four months since a line of consumer-direct carbon road, gravel and mountain bikes premiered from a new brand called Viathon, emerging out of the bright Sea Otter sunshine like the goddess Athena springing full-formed from the forehead of Zeus. Heading out the door? 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. Viathon is a new direct-to-consumer bike brand owned by Walmart that launched this week with a line of carbon bikes that sell between $2,300 and $6,000. You could, of course, upgrade your cockpit to achieve that svelte, hidden-cable look, but you wont get it with the stock model. Either way, its there as an intended feature. The spec matters a whole lot on a bike like this, and really, its a significant part of Viathons value proposition. It will be an uphill battle for a brand that could use a bit more personality. Will people buy them? The cable routing itself was fairly basic, too. I asked how it was all going and how many bikes have been sold. $200 Off. Viathon is jumping out of the gate with three model families to start. 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. And when you have fun, you ride more." Everyone knows that Black Friday is this week, but Walmart and Viathon can't wait until then to. Heading out the door? Not recovering IT Band Friction Syndrome!! Tire clearance is on the narrower side, but its wide enough for 700x40c tires, or 2.1 width tires with a 650B diameter. Almost all carbon frames come from Asia, and different brands often subcontract with the same large producers. Is swimming safe? A similarly specced Specialized Epic S-Works hardtail goes for about $3,000 more. Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! All the frames are carbon fiber, and the gravel and road models fit solidly within current design trends that prize features like disc brakes and clearance for wider tires. I followed with an opinion column about Viathon's unique formation, business model and value proposition. Reports of a top-end race build with a $6,000 price tag cast a cognitive dissonance across the office. . Others are concerned about how this will undercut bike shops. Viathon is Walmart's latest upscale, digitally native, house brand And 2 years ago, the company hired Zach Spinhirne-Martin, a senior buyer at CompetitiveCyclist.com. The answer? Walmart is also the largest grocer in America and possibly the world. Per my more enduro-focused background, Id also opt for a shorter stem. The seatstays are thin and dropped, and a 27.2 mm seatpost was supposedly picked for comfort reasons, too. 68mm threaded bottom bracket. Statins: experience training and racing on them, Swimming-Related Injuries: A literature review and injury risk screening, New Tacx Neo Smart vs Wahoo Kickr trainers, school me on finding correct pressures with tubeless. So whats not to like? 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. Now it has a toe in the high-end market and the chance to show that itscapable of making quality stuff. In reality, thats probably enough to realise any manufacturer defects, and Viathon does also offer a crash replacement policy, but its something to consider nonetheless. A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine Im not mad, just disappointed. Both the Stigmata and the G.1 feature 425 mm chainstays, while the reach and stack figures are also closely aligned. Probably will be a while before I get out on it again :(. 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. I have a few issue with this review. Were not trying to undercut the industry; were offering our bike line at a solid price, not a ridiculously low price, said Spinhirne-Martin. The head tube feels firmly connected to the bottom bracket, and that to the rear axle. I also grabbed a G1. And other direct-to-consumer brands like Canyon have a big head start on Viathon in terms of reputation. That frame (which is also sold separately at US$1,498) is no open-mould cookie-cutter thing either. 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. Even more interesting was Jordan's underlying premise that at least some of those hundreds of millions of Walmart customers would for reasons unknown and perhaps unknowable leap at the opportunity to purchase a full-dress carbon bike with a price tag northward of $3,000 precisely because they didn't have to go into a brick-and-mortar bike shop to purchase it. Its certainly not severe, and despite riding the G.1 in some rocky, tight, and twisty terrain, it rarely presented itself as an issue. A First Look at Viathon, Walmart's new Mountain Bike It will be back soon. Theres nothing wild going on in the tubing no weird bends, or protrusions. M.1 | XX1 Eagle AXS; M.1 | XX1 Eagle ; M.1 | X01 Eagle ; . However, theres also an element of simplicity we quite like. Well, its a lot like the Santa Cruz Stigmata it was modelled after, just not quite as refined. He employs six engineers and designers at his Toronto-based studio. My time was limited to two hours, so this isnt an exhaustive review. Some cyclists are extremely brand-loyal, willing to pay a premium for pride in heritage brands like Bianchi or Pinarello. He proposed a private-label project, and hes bringing it to fruition. The pre-taped tubeless-ready rims are laced with Sapim double-butted spokes to easily-serviced sealed bearing hubs, and all told, they weigh a perfectly reasonable 1,644 g (claimed). Look for Viathon bikes online at ViathonBicycles.com in mid-May, and soon after at Walmart.com. So I have plenty of experience with frame geo and mechanics. 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. Its a design unique to Viathon that was designed with help from the well-regarded engineers at Kevin Quan Designers. Turner Bikes - Titanium Mountain & Gravel Bikes For starters, despite its slim tube shape and dropped seat stays, the R.1 is definitely less compliant than expected. Some of that is a function of the homogeneity of the modern bike-enthusiast business. Had Viathon hit the market five years ago with this narrative, it would have owned the high-end-value space. As mentioned, this is the lowest-cost complete bike in Viathons G.1 range, but that doesnt mean the parts are low-cost. With a network of green-rated trails down the street from my house, the G1 came into my hands at the right time. Viathon Bicycles - Home | Facebook And that really summarises the G.1 quite nicely. Over the past several years, Canyon Bikes has gotten attention for its direct-to-consumer model that allows it to sell high-end bikes at competitive price points. Wealthy enthusiasts? The Viathon G.1? For now, no. but no links to product pages. Viathon Bicycles made waves at its launch earlier this year as a premium bike brand incubated under an unlikely source. A couple weeks ago it seemed like they were blowing out all the bikes on the website, last week they all showed sold out, and today I noticed the Viathon site is gone (does not even show up on google if you search for it) They still have a landing page on Walmart site. I wondered, who is the target audience for Viathon bikes? As to the inventory, we are out of bikes and can't restock at this time as a result of delays from our suppliers caused by the pandemic. A torque wrench is included to help the customer tighten screws appropriately. 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. For bikes, Walmart has historically been an opening price point mass vendor, as Spinhirne-Martin put it. It confidently climbed over gravel, roots, and rocks. According to the designer and engineer, Kevin Quan of Kevin Quan Studios, Viathon manufactures frames at the factory, making the best bikes you can think of.. The handlebars could have been wider, with a shallower drop, and an extra helping of bar tape would have also been welcome. Viathon R.1 Road Bike For speed demons, Viathon's high-end R.1 Dura Ace road bike runs $5,850. Viathon: Walmart's $6,000 Mountain Bike Put to Test Singletracks Merch | 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.. They are a close second to full-suspension in terms of dollars, but hardtail mountain bikes make for a significantly larger share in terms of units sold. Its a bike that uses the exact same full-carbon frame as the more expensive Viathon G.1s in the range theres no tweak to the carbon lay-up, or cheapening of the fork for the various price points. Add up the component costs, frame, and build, and budgeting that kind of money might make sense for the committed rider. But heres the kicker. Viathon builds a quality bicycle at a competitive price. Going uphill, the shifting is buttery smooth. 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. 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. Good question, Dan, and one we'll come back to in just a minute. Thats not to say this bike is cheap. Originally from Northern CA, home for me has ranged from the PNW to a teepee in Grand Teton National Park. JRA with the Angry Asian: How much does 'soul' matter for bike brands Managing editor Dean Yobbi told the story in BRAIN's May dead-trees issue and online as well. Performance or race-ready bikes are not a part of the stock in most Walmart stores or online. Walmart didnt opt to adopt more modern geometry, possibly because its current customer base will have to take a few steps to catch up to the rest of the bike market. Gravel bikes can generally be ridden from home at a lower risk level than mountain bikes. The R.1 feels like a high-end bike, except for one minor nitpick: While most high-end race bikes have taken great efforts to hide all cables, the R.1 has all four cables exposed around the cockpit. It appears the newswas first mentioned in a Pinkbike story. 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. 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. Im guessing thatwithout the connection to the largest retailer in the world, Viathon wouldnt be getting nearly this level of attention. Not a whole lot. The IRC Boken tires and Mercury wheels were a good match for the Viathon as well. Thats a challenge. A few things are apparent with Viathon. The GRX 600 is a 211, with a 50/34T up front, and an 11-34T cassette Viathon offers the GRX 800, SRAM Force, and AXS builds in a 1x configuration. Viathon Bicycles made waves at its launch earlier this year as a premium bike brand incubated under an unlikely source. Viathon builds a quality bicycle at a competitive price. Many of their arguments I can support, like lower costs and lighter frames, but claiming that full-suspension is often just overkill is a bit bold. Considering the great components you get in comparison to its rival, the S-Works Epic, this bike is a really great deal. I asked about the response to the brand launch from customers and the bike industry. But it gets the job done. As I mentioned above, customers might be able to swap out the bars for something wider that will flex more, but the narrow 430mm bars clobbered my hands going over rough terrain. Viathons 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. Two days later, Im pedaling steep singletrack above Lake Superior. I hit small drops and jumps on multiple runs. GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Viathon Launches New Direct-to-Consumer G1 Carbon Gravel Bike Something like these Spank Vibrocore gravel bars we tested would certainly take the edge off. Or at least, hasn't happened yet. 100 competitor promo codes - Last used 11m ago. On its own, Viathon strikes me as a modestly interesting enthusiast brand with some solid, value-oriented bikes that feature industry-standard design and technology. I weighed the M.1 later with a handheld scale. "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. go tubeless they said it will be fun they said. Read more. ''', And indeed they were. YT Szepter first-ride review: a gravity MTB brand goes gravel, Ridley Grifn first ride review: Blurred lines. Walmart Viathon Bikes - New Walmart Bikes 2019 - Bicycling A. Viathon M.1 XX1 Carbon Eagle Mountain Bike, Medium, Copper - Walmart Does spending more get you a faster gravel race bike? Home; Shop. Viathon G.1 GRX 800 review - VeloNews.com 3 for online traffic after Google and Amazon. Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Theres the usual tapered steerer fork, 12 mm thru-axles, flat mount brake mounts, internal cable routing (using full-length cable housing), and asymmetrical chainstays to increase tyre clearance. The average person is a Walmart shopper, he says. So, at a quick glance, the Viathon seems like a steal. [, Re: Did Wal Mart pull the plug on Viathon? But the move that really set the cat among the industry pigeons was the Viathon sales strategy, which at least strongly hinted at distribution via Walmart.com. | Walmart Black Friday Deals 2019 | Deals for Cyclists - Bicycling Currently, the bikes are not available in other markets. Shoppers will have four build choices per model. Viathon Bikes - Browse Models & View Specs GearJunkie Copyright 2013 2023. Viathon seems to have taken a conservative aesthetic approach on all of their bikes, including the G1. The graphics leave much to be desired, and the brand name lacks some enthusiasm. Viathon is for riders who appreciate uncontrived quality, demand craftsmanship but recognize value, who pedal for health yet savor the ride. The weird stem length, set-back seatpost and bar width dont matter. For sure we are also undergoing huge changes; times are tough now and likely to get tougher before they get better. The Viathon G1 is one of the more affordable carbon, gravel bikes that's well suited to riding sketchy roads. Filter bikes by year, weight, components, price, and performance. (But the base R1 costs less than half that price at $2,300.) Spinhirne-Martin says Walmart is launching with the hardtail to fill in holes in what they already offer on the Walmart.com marketplace. Viathon M.1 GX Eagle Mountain Bike Review | SRAM GX EagleI was amazed how light this bike was and how well it climbed!Viathon was kind enough to send me over. With both, you get two great carbon bikes, that differ when you break down the components. If you think the pricing for the big mainstream brands is out of control, you'll be happy to hear that the Viathon's direct-to-consumer business model means an R.1 with all the fixings. Viathon again drives a hard bargain with the G1. The hardtail mountain bike is ideal for the days you want to do a long climb. Pretty, pretty, good . Viathon G.1 GRX 600 gravel bike review: Carbon at alloy pricing Viathon "believes that great bikes make riding more fun.
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