Wittson’s new titanium gravel bike was designed with Colnago - will launch at Bespoked next week

Among the many delights to feast your eyes on at Bespoked next week will be a brand new titanium gravel bike from Wittson that was designed in partnership with Ernesto Colnago some 20 years ago.

Wittson Custom Ti Cycles was founded by Vidmantas “Vitas” Zukauskas who used to race bicycles in the 1970s before turning his attention to framebuilding, and working for a long time at Colnago. During the 1990s he moved to building his own frames under a string of names before relaunching under the current banner when his son became involved.

You can read a good interview about the company’s background on their website here.

The new Effugio gravel bike is based on a design that Zukauskas and Colnago apparently sketched 20 years ago and now, with the gravel scene in full swing, is the right time for such a bike. “ When creating Effugio, our family workshop's goal was to machine the most versatile frame possible, which would be simple to maintain and comfortable enough for those really long journeys, we are talking cross-continental adventures! And we believe that we finally created a gravel grinder that ticks all the boxes,” explains the company.

As you’d expect from a company that specialises in titanium, the Effugio is made from titanium with a hydroformed curved top tube, double butted down tube, hydroformed chainstays with a yoke at the bottom bracket, external disc brake and gear cable routing, and gravel-specific geometry. Claimed frame weight for a medium is 1,710g. There’s tyre clearance for up to 40mm tyres.

It’s endlessly versatile. It can be run with 2x or 1x drivetrains while the interchangeable Paragon Rocker dropouts allow a singlespeed or Rohloff/Alfine gearhub setup. The externally butted headtube can even accommodate a 1.5” or 1 1/8in fork steerer tube. There are of course mounts for mudguards and racks as well as a third bottle cage.

Obviously, you can modify the frame to suit your needs. You could ask for more tyre clearance, more eyelets for attaching racks and bottles, an eccentric bottom bracket instead of adjustable dropouts and modify the geometry to your tastes. You can also choose a custom anodizing finish instead of the stock custom sandblasting finish.

You can see this bike for yourself at Bespoked next week, and we'll take a closer look as well.