Launch copy is easy. A thousand kilometers is honest. We built our ExAero GR test frame in April — Gladius GR cockpit, 45 mm tires — and rode it through two race weekends, a bikepacking overnighter, and every bad farm road we could find.
What held up
The frame's party trick is that it never asks you to choose. On tarmac transfers it holds speed like a road bike; when the surface falls apart, the measured flex takes the sting out without feeling vague. The down-tube storage swallowed a tube, tools, and 800 calories — nothing strapped to the frame, nothing rattling.
What we'd change
The seatpost clamp wants exactly its stated torque — check it after the first rough ride. And riders between sizes should size down; the front end is roomier than the chart suggests.
Verdict — 4.8/5
The rare gravel frame that feels like an aero bike on tarmac and a trail bike in the rough. If your calendar has a start gun on it, this is the one we'd build. The frameset reviewed here is the ExAero GR RDC Frameset.
This is a sample article — the content is illustrative, not a first-party test.
