Having their origins in fixed gear, the guys from 8bar have certainly been able to reinvent themselves and adapt to the different trends in cycling. First, they started with single-speed aluminum and steel framesets designed for racing criteriums and riding around the city. Not your everyday commuter bike, but ideal for those who enjoy speed and minimalism. After that came their road model, which followed a similar concept as for the crit bike, and then the gravel frameset, which has been improved over the years making it a 2-in-1 bike from traveling to racing cyclocross and road events. Besides, by choosing the right components all of these can be turned into your perfect commuter urban bike just by mounting some flat bars, wide and slick tires, and a single chainring. However, despite the versatility of all these models, their quest for adventures and discovery brought them to design a true bikepacking frameset. With this, they recently released the TFLSBERG steel model.
The gravel frameset from the German brand, the aluminum Mitte V3 or steel Mitte V2, is ideal if you are thinking of a weekend adventure into the woods, or you want to ride fast in a long-distance race. Simply attach some bikepacking bags to the frame and you are good to go. Nonetheless, the geometry can be a little bit aggressive if what you are looking for is comfort and you do not care that much about speed. Also, when going into remote wild places you could find yourself limited in terms of space to carry supplies, clothing, camping gear, or tools. In view of these issues, the concept behind TFLSBERG was developed, and we could not be more impressed by it.
When looked from the distance, the frame looks quite simple since it is either full black or silver (though it can be personalized). However, it is in the details that you will see how it stands out. It is interesting from many points of view, being comfortable, spacious, robust, and fully configurable, making it the perfect companion for traveling.
The geometry was designed to be more relaxed in order to spend long days on the saddle without feeling uncomfortable. The curved seatstays allow an increased flex and avoid touching the luggage attached to them. Besides, you can fit 29-inch tires with a maximum width of 2.25 inches or 27.5 with 2.8, being able to conquer any kind of terrain. The only limitation will be your desire for adventure.
There are unimaginable options and places to attach gear to your bike. There is place for 5 bottle cages in the central part of the frame, one on the vertical tube and four on the horizontal. Also, there are three-hole mounts on both sides of the fork and rear frame, which would result in room for nine water bottles. Thus, there is no reason to ever be out of water, or anything else. However, the mounts were thought of to place ‘Anything cages’ so that you can attach other equipment like your tent, sleeping bag, or clothing roll-bag.
To carry all this material the frame was designed to be extra robust, claiming a total load of 140 kg, bike, rider, and luggage together. This was achieved by the chosen frame material, heat-treated double-butted 8bar CrMo steel, and reinforcements installed in the head tube area and tubes with thicker wall thicknesses in the weld area.
The frame is only the base and the building options are totally configurable. The guys from 8bar suggest an optional internal dropper seatpost, so that you can easily descend through complicated trails, and also changing the aluminum fork from rigid to suspension, increasing the comfort on your next tour. Then comes the choice of groupset, wheels, and cockpit, all adaptable to your preferences.
With the TFLSBERG STEEL frame, 8bar has stepped into a new range of bikes, bringing to the market a quite affordable and interesting bike for adventure bikepacking. We are impressed by all the available holes to place water bottles or ‘anything cages’ and the capability of configuring it to your own taste. Now, it is just a matter of getting out there and exploring the unknown.
