Gravel Grinder News: Fezzari Shafer Gravel Bike Announced

Gravel Grinder News: Fezzari Shafer Gravel Bike Announced – by Guitar Ted

Today Fezzari Bikes, the direct to rider company, announces their take on a gravel bike, the Shafer. It is a carbon fiber frame and fork gravel bike with a lot of nice details and a forward-thinking geometry which pushes the boundaries of what gravel bike geometry can be. Let’s take a closer look.

Fezzari has taken a holistic approach to gravel bike geometry. They feel no one aspect of geometry should be highlighted, but that it takes an entire ‘recipe’ to make a dish taste right, and so they worked each aspect of the bike into the next to give the Shafer its unique take on geometry which includes the following:

• Bottom Bracket Drop: The Shafer utilizes a 77mm drop here to enhance rider stability in rougher terrain and on high-speed descents.
• 430mm chain stays: This keeps things stable without killing the turning abilities.
• 68.5° head tube angle: This is pretty progressive for a gravel bike, but keep in mind- this has to work with everything else, so…..
• 50mm fork offset: ……the fork offset plays a part here. In conjunction with that head tube angle, which may seem pretty slack, Fezarri has brought back the critical Trail figure to a manageable level at slow speeds while retaining high speed stability and comfort.
• 74° seat tube angle; This keeps riders in a good seated climbing position. This works also with Fezarri’s ……
• Longer Top Tube/Short Stem: The combination here keeps the handling crisp and the reach for the rider from getting too long.
• The geometry is ‘gravel suspension fork’ compatible (20mm-40mm travel)

Fezzari also packs the Shafer with details that should appeal to many gravel riders. Things like water bottle mounts on each fork leg, under-the-downtube bottle mount, and bolts to mount top tube bags. Medium, Large, and XL sizes have a second down tube mounted cage option for a total of three possible bottle mounts within the main triangle. Furthermore; the main triangle was shaped in an effort to accommodate frame bags for bike packing. The bikepacking aspect is enhanced by the tire clearances on the Shafer which are a claimed 700 X 50mm. The Shafer is capable of running 2X or 1X drive trains and all cable runs are internal and routed from Fezarri before the rider receives the bike.

Fezzari features its MonoForm™ carbon lay-up on the Shafer which allows Fezzari to form the entire frame in one go. Most carbon frames are done in a way which forms the main triangle and rear stays as separate forms which are then joined together after molding. Not so with the Shafer which allows Fezzari to tune the entire frame as one unit for strength and rider comfort.

The Shafer is available for pre-order now in the following spec options:

Shafer Comp GRX – $2299
Shafer carbon frame, Shimano GRX 400, Fulcrum Rapid Red 900 wheels (Shipping April 2022)

Shafer Comp Apex 1x – $2499
Shafer Carbon frame, SRAM Apex 1×11 Hydro, Fulcrum Rapid Red 900 wheels (Shipping
October 2021)

Shafer Elite Rival AXS – $3299
Shafer Carbon frame, SRAM Rival AXS XPLR, DT Swiss G1800 wheels. (Shipping October
2021)

Comments: Typically we get a few gravel bike introductions sent to us in press release format here at Riding Gravel every month. Not very many make the page here because, honestly, they are not all that interesting. The Fezzari Shafer being an exception here.

Of course, the show-stopper for most will be the head angle. Yes- it is slack, but with the lowered bottom bracket and longer fork offset, this bike should prove to be a much more stable ride on loose, crushed rock requiring less rider input and providing better comfort. How all this truly works with up to 50mm tires at slower speeds is not entirely known, but we aren’t grunting up short, steep climbs, as with mountain biking, and we are generally on wider, open roads with sweeping turns. Gravel riding isn’t quite like anything else, and that’s why it should have its own geometry. Fezzari seems to agree here, and their ‘recipe’ for a good time looks interesting to me, at any rate.

For more on the Shafer gravel bike from Fezzari see their webpage here: https://www.fezzari.com/shafer

Note: Information and images used in this post were provided by Fezzari Bicycles.