The Open U.P. is proving to be so popular that Open Cycle finds they need to produce additional variations. This is the New U.P. The company tries to keep things simple—that’s why they’ve embraced 1x gearing (though you don’t have to), among other things—but demand is such that they’re adding models. It remains simple to you, just adds a bit of complexity for them.

The differences between this New U.P., and what is now being referred to as the Classic U.P. are threefold. First, this iteration is designed to work with flat-mount disc brake calipers. Second, this comes with Open’s U-Turn fork, rather than the 3T Luteus II you find on the Classic. Third, color. Each U.P. has its own color. The changes mentioned also manifest in a weight reduction of 60g for the Medium frame, and a weight reduction of 70g for the fork. And finally, the fork’s flat mounts are dedicated for 160mm rotors.

As you probably know already, the Open Cycles U.P. Frameset is unashamedly designed as a quiver-killer. This is a single bike that can race and ride on road and off, and handle cyclocross in style. It has the manners to feel comfortable at low speeds and high, and handle both straight lines and tight turns with aplomb. They call it “gravel plus.”

Open is the latest project of Gerard Vroomen, a co-founder of Cervélo. He’s a restless thinker and Open gives him the opportunity to find the U.P.’s (unbeaten paths) in all of cycling. Some features are things he championed since his Cervélo days, some are new ideas. All are executed brilliantly.

First off, he had to tackle wheel size. This bike is designed to accept both 700c and 650b wheels. You can run up to a 40mm wide 700c tire and up to a 2.1” wide 650b (aka 27.5”) tire. That 40mm ‘cross tire actually results in a 8mm greater diameter than the seemingly big 2.1” 650b. While the flexibility is nice, it was to improve performance in all conditions. If he had designed the bike to accept 29er mtb tires, the chainstays would have been longer. As it is, the 420mm length is rather short for this application, and it’s a performance benefit. Shorter wheelbase, lighter frame, snappier responses to power spikes. You’ll notice that the right chainstay is dropped. This is to fit both the tires and the chainrings without either rubbing the frame.

The gearing is more flexible than tire choices. You can run a single or double ring, with electronic, mechanical, or hydraulic shifting. The inner ring max is 36t, the outer ring max is 50t. When you’re running single chainrings, you can go up to a 46t single if it’s an offset style like SRAM’s, or a 50t if you’re using a flat style ring. The front derailleur hanger is included and is removable.

Cables, btw, run internally regardless of the style. The battery sits inside the post. The single stop on the side of the head tube is small, light, clean, and leads to a system that routes easily and saves weight. They call it MultiStop, and it’s included with the frame.

The bottom bracket utilizes the BB386EVO standard. It’s wide, 86.5mm, and large diameter, 42mm, which is a big easel on which to design the points at which the downtube, stays, and seat tube join. Most thru-axle cranks fit, you just need the right bearings or adapter.

As is Vroomen’s want, the seat angle is 73-degrees. This is for a simple reason. It results in a lighter system because you can use a zero-setback seatpost. Lighter overall system weight, and zero effect on performance. The seatpost also helps strengthen the frame—a too-short post leaves the seat tube unsupported. To ensure the proper length, there’s a pilot hole in the seat tube. So long as the post can be seen (and it’s precise enough that it doesn’t let water in), you’re good. The shaping of the seat tube is almost square at the bottom, and it tapers to a round 27.2mm size at the top. Better for a light, compliant, round post.

The post is at the top of the seat stays, which themselves are super-thin, and flattened for vertical flex and torsional stiffness. The chainstays are as well, though it’s much harder to see.

The downtube has been designed for torsional stiffness. High-modulus carbon on the sides, and lower-modulus in the middle. Likewise, the top and downtubes are as widely-spaced as possible to improve torsional strength for the fork. This is why the top of the headset is flush with the top tube. Internally, The U.P. runs a tapered 1 1/8” to 1 ½” steerer, also for rigidity. The fork, also set up for wide tires, is a 3T Luteus II Team that is designed for, and includes a 15mm thru-axle. The brake attaches via post mounts, with the max rotor size 160mm.

The rear wheel attaches to the frame via a 142mm thru-axle. They figured out how to save weight here as well. The axle threads through the derailleur hanger and locks it to the frame. Simple as well.

The frame comes with the fork, headset, seat tube collar, bottle cage bolts, front and rear thru-axles (Superlight Carbon-Ti model), foam noise-reduction sleeves (for the internal cabling, and two derailleur hangers, one on the frame, one spare. You’ll notice bottle bosses on the top tube. They’re a standard dimension and are really designed for securing small bags and boxes there. Only you know what you’ll need on the road.