Weis Manufacturing handmakes a wide range of bikes in New York City, from titanium fixed gears destined for the track to carbon and aluminium concoctions like this Hammer Gravel SL. When this money-no-object custom build popped up on our Instagram we just knew it had Bike at Bedtime written all over it.
Weis Mfg says that the Hammer Gravel SL is all about bringing the DNA of their road and track machines to the rough roads. This particular model dubbed "Brett's Bike" features a 7000 series aluminium and carbon fibre frameset with a $750 additional extra double colour splatter paintjob.
Weis Mfg also offers a "tuned ride". The New York City bike builders offer a wide range of tubing with varying wall thicknesses and butting profiles which allows them to tune frames depending on factors such as rider size, weight and riding style.
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Like all Weis Mfg bikes, the Hammer Gravel Sl is distinguishable by its unique asymmetrical seat stays and can be handbuilt with custom geometry to suit the individual rider. If you're thinking that this is your perfect next bike then I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you...
A. This frameset STARTS at $3,450
B. Orders are currently closed...
If you're looking for a more cost-effective way onto the dirt then check out our latest Buyer's Guide on the best gravel bikes under £2000.
This particular model is no better summarised as a money-no-object build than by the Cane Creek brushed titanium eeWings crankset. These alone would set you back £1,049 but Cane Creek does promise that their sub 400g cranks are 20-30% stiffer than premium carbon cranks of similar weight.
The cranks are compatible with Sram direct mount chainrings and like on the Dangerholm Scott Foil that we showed you the other day, Weis has gone for Garbaruk. This particular model is a 42T oval road/CX 1x chainring.
The rest of the groupset comes from Sram; the levers are 12-speed Red eTap AXS and they're paired to a mountain bike Eagle XX1 rear mech and rainbow chain.
We often see gravel bikes using a 'mullet' setup like this to offer more gear range and the ability to run a larger cassette. This one is a 10/48T and, like the chainring, is supplied by Garbaruk.
> How to choose the best SRAM road bike groupset for you
The Hammer Gravel SL is built around a CNC yoke which Weis Mfg says is "to keep the rear end tight while making room for 700x45 and 650b x 2.1” tyres. Short chainstays and big clearances keep your ride agile while giving the option for technical riding and grip in tough terrain. Throw some slicks on it and you have an unstoppable city shredder."
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The custom moulded carbon fibre seat mast claims to give the best of both worlds, "a trusty metal bike with the lightweight and dampened ride quality of carbon." Weis Mfg goes on to say that the "lightweight, fast and comfortable, custom Enve Composites carbon fibre seat mast absorbs vibrations and keeps you locked into your saddle when you are racing the dirt roads or dodging potholes."
Thanks to this unique carbon and aluminium design the Hammer Gravel SL has an impressive claimed frame weight of 1.30kg (size 54). Atop that integrated seat mast, you'll find Enve seat guts (also found on Moots) for the superlight ISP seat topper which promises to be a slip-free and low-profile system.
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At the rear of the frame, you'll find in-house designed dropouts which aim to future-proof the frame and make it more crash-resistant. Weis says that "with the use of a replaceable hanger system and Syntace inserts you can never ruin your frame by bending your derailleur hanger or cross threading your axle, you can simply install a replacement and get back on the road."
The build is completed with a set of 23mm internal width Enve G23 wheels which claim to be the "original purpose-built gravel race wheelset", and the Panaracer GravelKing TLC tyres are set up tubeless.
> Review: Panaracer GravelKing Slick TLC
www.weismfg.com
Other than adding some pedals, what changes would you make to this mega build? Let us know in the comments section below...
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8 comments
Why are they not taking any orders for it.
"Other than adding some pedals, what changes would you make"
I would put some Look pedals on it then change everything else
"My eyes, my eyes.... take it away someone.....ppppllllleeeassseeee....sob."
Gosh, that is one ugly bike. Look, I know I have more money than sense* but there is no way in the World you would see me dead on that!
*about £30 left after paying my most recent energy bill.
Can anyone genuinely claim that cranks lacking stiffness is a real life problem (apart from L shaped ones and Shimano Ultegra in their terminal state)?
And whoever designed that paint job seems to have been a night club interior designer in about 1986.
Edit: I have not been in many night clubs since 1986 so they might still look like that.
Mmm...it's not because it looks rad and revolutionary that it's also better. I question the wisdom of that dropout design. Cross-thread an axle...come on, when does that really happen? And if the thread gets damaged this approach will do nothing to help, on the contrary, if it loosens it could result in quite the opposite of what it's supposed to do.
What's the total system weight? My gut feeling is that you're paying a lot for those EE cranks (20% stiffer than premium carbon but riders who can substantially deform a carbon crank are rare specimens indeed) but will end up with a very average bike, weight-wise.
At the price this is likely to go, I'd take a Moots, if I absolutely have to stay in super-premium territory.
I think the replaceable drop out design is the only good thing in this bike Soft aluminum fine threads are easy to cross thread. Stuff happens maybe not to you yet but it better to have a easy fix then a new frame.
That eeWing crank should be in oil slick.
"Throw some slicks on it and you have an unstoppable city shredder."
Am I being desperately old and uncool in preferring my bikes to be stoppable?