I lifted the bike from its box, the staff leaning in for a first look. Company While so many of the established brands offer anything from a five-year to lifetime warranty on their frames, Viathons come with just two years of coverage. As mentioned, this is the lowest-cost complete bike in Viathons G.1 range, but that doesnt mean the parts are low-cost. The average person is a Walmart shopper, he says. Others are concerned about how this will undercut bike shops. These are just my opinions. From SRAM drivetrains to Stans wheels, it has the look of a proper bike. Not recovering IT Band Friction Syndrome!! By signing up for email newsletters, you agree to GearJunkie's, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Viathon's brand manager is Zach Spinhirne-Martin out of San Bruno, California. And while its far from a silky-smooth ride (Ill come back to this), frame compliance was a design factor. The quick and dirty synopsis? Why was one of the worlds most budget-driven companies focusing on the upper echelon of the bike world? This is a workhorse groupset that simply adds better ergonomics and a more suitable gearing range to what was the most popular road groupset on the market. Wealthy enthusiasts? 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. We decided to give it a test at Outerbike to find out. Check Out Continue Shopping. Tire clearance is on the narrower side, but its wide enough for 700x40c tires, or 2.1 width tires with a 650B diameter. 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. Take YouTuber KevCentral, for example, whose channel reviews bikes available at Walmart and Walmart.com and how to upgrade them. Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Said to be a pre-production photo sample, our tester came equipped with a long 110 mm stem, wide 440 mm bars, and 20 mm setback seatpost. 2023 All rights reserved. Though a cross-country bike, the Viathon gave confidence and control through almost every session on the U.P. The bikes will be available to order within weeks. Are modern bicycles the end of DIY maintenance. 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. So far, Viathon isnt saying much about what makes its bikes different, nor is it telling much of a brand story. My final complaint is the comment about the 70mm stem feeling twitchy and switching it out to a short stem. Viathon G.1 GRX 800 review Call it a 'Walmart' bike if you must. Its wise to see if that character fits with yours. 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. A torque wrench is included to help the customer tighten screws appropriately. I understand the reviewer had limited time on the bike, but there is no real detail on how the bike rode. 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. Viathon Bicycles | Find Your Way Walmart thinks so, and the retail juggernaut is betting its customers think so too. And failing. Are bike shopsscary, elitist, and unwelcoming? by Rick Vosper. Releasing some fluid from the system remedied this, but we can only hope production bikes dont need the same treatment. $200 Off Viathon Bicycles Coupon (2 Promo Codes) Mar 2023 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. ''', And indeed they were. Viathon states that a 54 cm painted frame tips the scales at 1 kg, with the matching fork an equally respectable 380 g. The result is an 8.9 kg complete bike that simply needs some pedals before its ready to have a race number attached. So how does this high-value racer ride? "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. With both, you get two great carbon bikes, that differ when you break down the components. A few things are apparent with Viathon. It picks up speed quickly like road bike quick and feels very responsive to cornering and rider input. YT Szepter first-ride review: a gravity MTB brand goes gravel, Ridley Grifn first ride review: Blurred lines. Viathon ships high-end carbon bikes from a Walmart - Bikerumor Walmart is hoping to entice customers to Viathon with a no-questions-asked return policy. My 54cm test bike has 382.8mm of reach, coupled with a 110mm stem. I was excited to try out the G1 to get a better taste of what Viathon as a whole has to offer. Because all XC bikes are light compared to enduro. shaping their hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas into a mountain biking haven. The company cited industry data. . The Viathon G1 comes in five sizes ranging from 52cm to 60cm in 2cm increments. It will be back soon. Basically, just a gravel bike. The handlebars could have been wider, with a shallower drop, and an extra helping of bar tape would have also been welcome. Viathon Bicycles made waves at its launch earlier this year as a premium bike brand incubated under an unlikely source. Mountain Bike Deals, Copyright 2023 Blue Spruce Ventures LLC | Full carbon frame and fork. Viathon: Walmart's $6,000 Mountain Bike Put to Test 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. However, there were a few things that stood out to me while cruising through a pretty punchy section of Sun Valley singletrack. Equally, I found the Selle Italia Novus Boost saddle and unpadded Fizik bar tape odd choices. And I suspect Viathon isnt relying on a deep tech story to market its bikes for a simple reason: the frames dont seem to offer clear innovation in design or materials. Within each of these categories, there are a variety of builds to pick from all depending on how shiny you want the hardware to be. Despite having all the good Shimano shifty bits, the full-length and low-cost Jagwire cables that connected them didnt do them justice. For now, no. And 2 years ago, the company hired Zach Spinhirne-Martin, a senior buyer at CompetitiveCyclist.com. Others seek innovation above all, eager to check out the latest suspension tech from Trust Performance or Yeti. My first takeaway on the G1 was how light and stiff the frame is. As I rode the G1 down some green- and blue-rated trails, the straight and narrow bars stuffed my wrists into an uncomfortable position. Marketing strategy comes out of Sun Valley, Idaho, with the CrankTank firm. Theyre quality products, but neither really belong on this bike. Widgets, Explore 1 - Walmart didn't buy Viathon. New bike brands come and go, but its rare that one makes as big of a splash with its debut as Viathon, a new direct-to-consumer marquee that launched this week. The Viathon G.1? 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. 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.. Geometry is almost identical to a specialized crux. If nothing else, we've been surviving in this business for decades and we know the "easiest way to make a small fortune" in it a lesson which even the best-heeled outsiders have yet to learn. While the groupset blended in with what all the other bikes had, the wheels certainly stood out. Ok Fishes, here is the interview we were all waiting for!! Viathon-via-FB wrote: Hello, we are not out of business, our website is down due to some technical issues and while it is down we are taking the opportunity to make some changes. Our biggest issues were certainly related to the cabling. Steering responsiveness feels more akin to an endurance or aero bike than that of an all-around bike. So I have plenty of experience with frame geo and mechanics. Photo by Josh Patterson . So whats not to like? ), while James wasnt stoked by the lack of a cable access hatch at the bottom bracket if you want to reroute or replace gear housing. Viathon is Walmart's latest upscale, digitally native, house brand 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.. 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. Heading out the door? The seatstays are thin and dropped, and a 27.2 mm seatpost was supposedly picked for comfort reasons, too. 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. Filter bikes by year, weight, components, price, and performance. Viathon riders, like every other bike customer, will need service. Its certainly no Huffy, but heres what stood out to me: Light as a feather:This thing is nimble. Its also important to note whats not in the current lineup: womens bikes, utility bikes, and e-bikes. [, Re: Did Wal Mart pull the plug on Viathon? Good question, Dan, and one we'll come back to in just a minute. MTB Podcast | TGR Staff Writer and photographer. So Viathon designed & engineered three bikes - the R.1, G.1 & M.1 - each new carbon frames unique to the brand (designs owned by Viathon, ie. Theyve played a monumental role in The bike reviewed here, the new G.1 GRX 600, provides a perfect example of those economies of scale. They tasked a few well known bike designers with creating a new brand. 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. 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. Viathon's 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. Turner Bikes - Titanium Mountain & Gravel Bikes Born To Perform Turner Bikes COME SEE US AT THE 2023 SEA OTTER CLASSIC, APRIL 20th - 23rd at Booth B15 & Meet our newest bike - The Scrub! If youre looking to buy a high-end carbon XC bike and would like to save $2,000which you could put towards another bikethe Viathon might be a good fit for you.

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