Mondraker is better known as a brand for its mountain bikes than its drop-bar offerings. In fact, it was only at the start of 2023 that the brand took its first leap into the curly bar world with the Dusty gravel e-bike. 18 months later, the brand is taking a step deeper into gravel with the Arid, a bike that evades definition just as much as the discipline it is for.
The brand based in Spain has over 20 years of experience in the world of mountain biking, with its ‘forward geometry’ a driving force in modern mountain bike geometry that saw bike’s front centres grow and stems shorten. It is exciting to see gravel bike design being approached from this side of the coin. The general trend is that classical road brands have filled the gravel space, taking their knowledge and making it more capable for unpaved surfaces. What Mondraker is doing breaks this mould adapting its mountain bike knowledge into an off-road mile muncher in a similar way to BMC’s URS, Santa Cruz’s Stigmata, and YT’s Szepter.
As a mountain bike brand through and through we are interested to see exactly how Mondraker’s vision of gravel translates out on the dirt. To find out how the Arid stacks up we will be swinging our leg over one in the coming weeks with a full review to follow. Until then, here’s a brief run-through of the Arid.
As undefined as gravel
Mondraker has purposefully defined the Arid simply as a gravel bike without further categorising it into the sub-groups of gravel bikes. Instead, and while acknowledging that gravel is a personal term, the brand aims to make the Arid easy to configure to a rider’s specific needs to make it a better fit for whatever gravel means to them.
In the press release, the brand says, “Riders have always adapted their bikes, based on many different factors, to be exactly what they want them to be. So that’s why, when designing the Arid Carbon, we kept in mind just how diverse our field of riders would be and likewise, how varied their take on ‘gravel’ would be. We specifically designed Arid Carbon to be able to adapt to just about anyone.”
Mondraker has taken some of its learnings from the Dusty gravel e-bike and tailored them to the requirements of the Arid. The seat tube/seat stay junction is reminiscent of that found on the Dusty but with an additional strut. The result is a design that is reminiscent of that found on Pinarello’s Dogma X. The rationale behind this is to increase rear-end compliance.
The frame’s construction is said to be tuned to the specific demands of each area. Mondraker claims to have increased the stiffness and responsiveness in the bottom bracket and around the head tube and focused on compliance in the rear triangle to improve traction and comfort.
What does building a gravel bike from an off-road, instead of on-road perspective actually mean? It’s a subtle shift. Much like the Dusty, the Arid is compatible with a suspension fork for those who want to increase the capability of the bike even further. This is not an option in any of the four stock builds, however. The frame is also ISO certified to mountain bike standards, an increasingly common trend in off-road-leaning gravel bikes like this and a trend we are pleased to see.
Adaptability at its heart
As expected for a bike that claims to be for all, the frame is bang up to date with modern trends.
Starting with the question most people have when looking at gravel framesets these days: tyre clearance. The Arid can accommodate those trendy 50 mm tyres. As standard the bike ships with 45 mm rubber installed, which for most people will be enough.
The frame also has mounting options for up to six water bottles which should have you covered for even the most epic of all-day adventures. This results in a lot of bolts on display; perhaps aesthetically not to everyone’s liking but for sheer versatility, it can’t be knocked.
Beyond water bottle mounts, Mondraker has added internal frame storage with what they are calling ‘Carry On’. This is a familiar sight now, with Mondraker sticking to the script, a waterproof and dustproof door on the down tube provides access to the internal storage. An issue that has thwarted other designs is the ability to easily store and retrieve spares from the frame. To make this easier, Mondraker offers three different double-lapped zipper bags to organise things inside the frame. Although they can be used for whatever you wish to carry with you Mondraker has intended the three bags to work with a spare tube and tyre levers; a mini pump or CO2 canister; and a multitool.
All bikes sport the brand’s HHG (Hidden Housing Guide) which internally guides the rear brake hose and any cables for the GRX build. The aim of this is to aid with replacing cables and hoses but also to keep the bike quiet even over the roughest of surfaces.
It is also nice to see a standard 27.2 mm seat post on the arid with an external collar clamp. In a world of proprietary seat posts and wedge clamps, it is nice to see Mondraker sticking with a simple and effective set-up with this bike.
Much like many other bikes in this space, the Arid makes use of a T47 bottom bracket.
Sizing and geometry
The Arid comes in five frame sizes from small to extra large with a medium-large arguably acting like most other brands medium-size. This has allowed Mondraker to better space their sizing, allowing for the small to be less stretched out.
The geometry tables contain more hints that this is a mountain bike company first, and a progressive one at that. The top tube is longer than typical for each frame size and that is then matched with a shorter stem length (60-90 mm).
A 70-degree head angle is within the same ballpark as the Stigmata but is around 1.5º slacker than Specialized’s Crux and Canyon’s Grail. It’s a number that wouldn’t have been out of place on a cross-country bike ten years ago. The 425 mm chainstay length is consistent with many gravel bikes from other brands.
Up front, the cockpit is provided by OnOff Components (Mondraker’s house brand). The cockpit is frame size-dependent with the small, medium and medium-large models coming stocked with wide 440 mm bars whilst the large and extra-large models come with even wider 460 mm bars. Regardless of size, all bars feature a 16º sweep with an ergonomic profile on the drops.
Depending on the build the Arid comes with either OnOff’s S3 aluminium bars or S9 carbon bars. Mounting the bars to the bike is OnOff’s semi-integrated stem.
Build kits
The Arid is available in four builds starting with the Arid Carbon and topping out with the Arid Carbon RR SL.
Arid Carbon
Starting off the range is the Arid Carbon, as the base model it is the only build in the range to come equipped with a Shimano groupset. The gravel-specific GRX RX-610 groupset is based around a 40-tooth chainring and 12-speed 10-45 cassette. Mavic provides the wheels with the Allroad Disc 25 mm fitted with Maxxis 45 mm Reaver EXO 120TPI tyres. Good to see Mavic back in the OEM game.
US$3,300 / £3,200 / €3,200
Arid Carbon R
Stepping up to the next model is the Arid Carbon R, this is the first build to offer a SRAM AXS drivetrain in the form of the Rival Etap with a 40-tooth chainring and 12-speed, 10-44 XPLR cassette. Mavic supplies the Allroad SL 25 mm rims fitted with Maxxis Reaver 45 mm tyres.
US$4,700 / £4,200 / €4,500
Arid Carbon RR
The Arid Carbon RR is another step up the ladder at this price point the Mavic Allroad SL wheels are replaced with the Pro Carbon SL model, the same Maxxis Reaver tyres are mounted to the rims. Shifting is taken care of courtesy of SRAM’s Force Etap AXS drivetrain with a 40-tooth chainring and 12-speed, 10-44 cassette.
US$6,500 / £5,800 / €6,500
Arid Carbon RR SL
Topping off the range is the SRAM Red AXS XPLR equipped Arid Carbon RR SL. Zipp 303 XPLR wheels (54 mm deep and 3 2mm wide (internal)), coupled with 45 mm Goodyear XPLR tyres make this build SRAM XPLR all-round. The 13-speed XPLR groupset from SRAM makes use of the frame’s UDH compatibility.
US$9,800 / £8,500 / €9,500
We are waiting to receive delivery of an Arid for test on local terrain. Keep an eye out for a full-length comprehensive review in the coming months.
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