Crimson Bikes custom steel gravel road disc bike

Every year Canadian Cycling Magazine makes the journey to Laguna Seca Speedway outside Monterey, California to see brands from around the world roll out the latest and greatest in bicycle technology. This Crimson gravel road bike on display at the Easton / Race Face booths was a great reminder that “Canadian made” stands up next to the best the world has to offer. The custom steel frame was hand made in North Vancouver by small custom operation Crimson bikes, which has been making more gravel road bikes along with its usual specialty in mountain bikes and BMX, and dressed in Easton’s off-road oriented EA70 AX line, along with some Shimano and Maxxis to finish off the build.

The beautiful steel frame is a project for Connor Macleod, who is the man behind the lens for both company’s stream of refreshingly entertaining videos, so it’s no surprise there’s a full complement of Easton parts on this custom gravel Crimson. AX wheels and gravel flare AX bars from match with Easton’s feather-light EC90 SL carbon fibre cranks. The bike is currently set up 1x, but there’s cable routing to make room for Easton’s new cinch-mount 2x gravel rings.

All cables and hoses are routed externally on the Crimson, which will continue to live near where it was made in North Vancouver. Being able to easily change cables and housing is a bonus when riding through long, wet West Coast winters. External routing also lends the frame a hint of classic road aesthetics, especially with Crimson’s excellent cable routing.

Take a look through the gallery for all the frame and parts details on the gravel grinder Crimson. Brian Kelly, the man behind Crimson name, has decades of experience in the bike industry, including as a designer for North Vancouver mountain bike brand Cove Bikes. The experience shows in frames mix of clean aesthetics and sharp details. Sometimes you have to travel all the way across the continent to realize just how good we have it here in Canada.

Crimson gravel road bike

External cable routing, and a subtle "C" on the head tube

Clean routing around the seat tube junction

Which drops down to the hydraulic brakes, and shifters. Brake arches are disappearing with the spread of disc, but this simple brace looks good on the Crimson

Little details, like here on the head tube, are of the kind you will only see on custom bikes

The Crimson's dropouts, and Shimano Ultegra rear derailleur

Shimano Ultegra handles the shifting and braking, via hydraulic disc brakes

Easton EA70 AX bars flare out for more comfort and control off-road

Plenty of clearance for 40c Maxxis Ravager tires

The Crimson keeps it simple for the built in seat collar

Easton EC70 post meets a Race Face Affect saddle

Crimson steel gravel road

While it doesn’t show up as well on a screen, the Crimson brand is written in a very subtle graphic on the downtube, similar to the “C” you can see on the headtube. This Crimson also has rack mounts neatly welded on the inside of the seat stays, and on brace between the seat stays.