Handsling A1R0evoG gravel bike review: sublime ride feel and a personal build experience

Handsling is a small, relatively new British brand with an impressive palmarès, thanks to its sponsorship of two race teams. Founded in 2010 by ex-racer Simon Whiten, Handsling provides the bikes and support for the Jakaroo Handsling elite men’s team and the UCI Continental women’s team, Handsling Alba Development.

I was very impressed with the A1R0evoS road bike last year, so I was excited to try the A1R0evoG gravel bike over the summer.

A big part of the Handsling appeal is the ability to completely customise the bikes in terms of components, sizes and colours. You can do this on the website, by phone or email, or even by visiting their Hampshire premises. Being able to choose a longer stem, bigger cassette and shorter cranks, for example, is something that many of the bigger brands still don’t offer, whilst the huge choice of colours available enables you to make the bike a little more personal. It’s a bit shallow, I know, but I wouldn't relish spending many thousands of pounds on one of the best gravel bikes only to find three identical-looking ones outside the café on a Sunday morning.

I spent some time communicating with Rob at Handsling when speccing the test bike and choosing the paint job, but all the choices were ultimately mine, so anything that I didn’t like was totally my fault – a great service but also a good way to avoid criticism about the spec!

Design details

I’m unlikely to ever get complimented on my good looks, dress sense, or cycling ability, but every ride on the A1R0evoG garnered envious looks and words of admiration. The matte ‘Techno Violet’ paint flipped from deep purple to green to blue, then back again, depending on how the light hit it, and it even looked superb after a ride, covered in dust. It’s a £300 option, but so worth it.

The T800 carbon frame weighs just 880g (claimed, size 52) and wouldn’t look out of place on the start line of a road race. At a glance, it resembles the A1R0evoS, with deep forks, dropped seatstays, one-piece bars, and an aero cutout in the seat tube, but it has key design differences.

Tyre clearance is a modern 55mm for starters, and a round seatpost allows you to fit a dropper post. Multiple mounting points let you load it up and head for the hills, though you may need to supply your own bolts, as many use lightweight rubber blanks instead. It even has hidden mudguard mounts, but it offers no in-frame storage, which is fine by me but will be rued by others.

There are six frame sizes available, from 50cm to 60cm, with a plethora of colour and specification options.

Specifications

I chose SRAM’s Force XPLR AXS E1 13-speed groupset with a 10-46T cassette. I wanted a 38T chainring to help me on the steep local hills, but due to temporary supply issues, I had to push a bit harder on a 42T ring. There is a mount for a 2x drivetrain, and the frame uses a threaded T47 bottom bracket.

Handsling suggested I try the Parcours FKT carbon wheelset, a popular option from a British brand that looked superb on the A1R0evo’s frame and promised both performance and comfort. These were shod, quite presciently given the winter order date and heatwave review period, with Vittoria’s fast-rolling Terreno T50 tyres in 50mm width – lovely, supple tyres, but I wouldn’t choose them as a year-round option, and even after 500km there was noticeably less tread left.

Handsling doesn't offer gravel-specific handlebar options, so the off-road bike uses the same bars as the road bike: a one-piece unit with a standard road shape and no flare. I went for a setup slightly shorter and wider than my road bike, with a 100mm stem and 40cm-wide bars, still quite aggressive for a gravel bike, but one I thought would suit its character.

A round, 27.2mm carbon seatpost and a Selle Italia Flight Superflow Boost kept my bum from scraping on the back wheel.

It is, of course, slacker than the road-going A1R0evoS, but the reach and stack figures are not too dissimilar at 393mm and 570mm respectively for a size 56. The wheelbase is 47mm longer thanks to the lengthier chainstays and 72-degree head tube. This is clearly a bike that is made to blend speed and stability.

One thing worth noting is that the top tube is pretty horizontal, meaning there isn't much standover height if you need it. I think I had less seatpost showing on the A1R0evoG than on any bike I can think of, and I am toward the top end height-wise for that frame size.

The weight of the 56cm test bike came in at 8.4kg.

Performance

Let’s not beat around the bush – I loved riding this bike. Ride after ride, I kept waiting for an Achilles' heel, but in over 500km I didn’t find one. I used it for high-speed blasts, long days out and even an overnight trip with a full complement of luggage, and it always felt sublime.

The overwhelming feeling was that the bike was superbly balanced, which gave me huge confidence at speed or when the trails got techy. It was fast too, everywhere. Tarmac was easy thanks to the aggressive position (and lightly treaded tyres), while rocky drops and other MTB-esque features were dispatched with ease. Even horrible, steep climbs felt a touch easier, despite the too-large chainring.

I found the combination of SRAM’s Force XPLR levers and Handsling’s Integrated Race Handlebar very comfortable, even without gloves, but I get that some riders prefer a wider, more flared handlebar and/or the option to fit a suspension stem. In truth, though, I only thought about the bar width in super slow, very technical sections, when a little more width would have increased control. Everywhere else, I loved the racy feel it added. Anyway, a quick pre-build phone call to Handsling could no doubt come up with other options.

In fact, the only ‘issue’ I had with the bike out on the trails was with the FKT wheels. They looked and felt fantastic to ride, but on three separate occasions I suffered a rapid loss of air, which I can only put down to a quick burp from the hookless interface between the rim and the tyre. On all three instances, the tyres held air again when re-inflated, with no evidence of sealant escape. The 47mm deep rims and large 50mm tyres also caught the wind a little, with a side profile of over 100mm.

In the workshop, as with the A1R0evoS, Handsling has used a wide variety of hex bolts on the bike, which is a little frustrating, including my pet peeve: 3mm bolts. These are only on the bottle cages, though, and are easy to replace. I also found accessing the seatpost bolt a bit awkward, as it is situated on top of the top tube but close to the post itself. So I had to force my torque wrench at a slight angle, and it didn’t always sit nicely in the bolt hole, leaving it slightly chewed; an extension or better skills on my part would have prevented this.

Overall, the fast frame, large volume tyres and aggressive set-up felt absolutely perfect on all my local Peak District trails, with astonishing comfort and prodigious speed. I used to think that my personal Cannondale Topstone was the perfect gravel bike for my riding, but now I know that the A1R0evoG is.

Value

As specced with SRAM Force XLPR AXS and Parcours FKT wheels, the test bike cost £6,038. That's a lot of money for any bike, but especially one likely to take a beating off-road. That aside though, the A1R0evoG does offer decent value against its similarly specced rivals, although there is a very wide range of prices for Force AXS-equipped gravel bikes: The Specialized Diverge 4 Pro is £1,000 more, as is the Cervelo Aspero 5 Force, yet the Canyon Grail with Force is only £4,649, so the as-tested Handsling sits roughly mid-pack.

However, the base A1R0evoG Force AXS gravel bike starts at a very reasonable £4,799, with options such as better wheels and fancy paint pushing the price up. Even at the lowest price, you still get complete control over things like bar width and crank length, which I think is a very valuable (yet no-cost) service provided by Handsling.

I’d like to see a little more uniformity in terms of bolt sizes used, and some form of protection provided for the gorgeous paintwork (although Simon Whiten did explain to me that any form of protection would add an extra 4-6 weeks to the build time, as the sprayed-to-order frames take that long to be cured enough for protection to be applied).

The beautifully balanced ride-feel on its own made the test bike feel well worth the cash, though, let alone customisable options and spec.

Tech specs

• Price: £6,037.99
• Frame: Handsling A1R0evoG
• Size: 56cm (Large)
• Weight: 8.4kg
• Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS
• Crankset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS 42T, 170mm
• Cassette: SRAM Force XPLR 13-speed 10-46T
• Wheels: Parcours FKT 47mm
• Tyres: Vittoria Terreno T50 50mm tubeless
• Brakes: SRAM Force eTap AXS hydraulic
• Bar/stem: Handsling Integrated Race Handlebar 400mm x 100mm
• Seatpost: Handsling carbon 27.2mm
• Saddle: Selle Italia Flight Superflow Boost