New Argon18 Dark Matter- did one of the best gravel bikes, just get better?

Argon18 has been around for some time now, and it was one of the early adopters of fast, lightweight gravel bikes, with its original Dark Matter bike. I was fortunate enough to review it, and at the time, it was easily one of the best gravel bikes I had ridden, blending low weight, responsive handling, and polished trail manners, which made it a great all-around bike.

Times change, though, and the gravel market has moved quickly over the last couple of years, so it's no surprise that there's an updated version on its way. Despite this, Argon18 has stuck to its original formula of a more rounded bike designed for long-distance riding and racing. With its range of mounting options, it should also make a great bikepacking bike.

Longer, slacker, lower

Those of you who ride mountain bikes will be all too familiar with the words, longer, slacker and lower when it comes to geometry, but it is still not as widespread in the gravel world as it probably should be. The latest Dark Matter follows this trend, featuring a longer reach and wheelbase, as well as a 1-degree slacker head angle. This should give it a more planted feeling and make it easier to handle over rough sections and technical descents, which not only enhances trail speed but can also help reduce fatigue on long rides.

It's also bang on trend for wider tyres, taking up to 57mm wide rubber, with 50mm versions fitted as standard specification.

Argon18 says it's improved the aerodynamics. Thanks to enhancements in its lay-up and dropped seatstays, it says that comfort levels have increased too, while also reducing the frame weight by 150g.

There's now frame storage in the downtube, which is ideal for those who prefer a clean-looking bike free from bags, for day-to-day riding.

While there is no mention of suspension compatibility in the marketing information, the Argon18 rider Chris Hall has posted some pictures on his instagram feed of his Dark Matter sporting the latest fork from Fox. Hall is racing the bike in the Traka event in Girona that features some pretty technical (for gravel at least) trails and gives an idea of just how capable a bike it could be for those looking to blur the lines between XC mtb and gravel.

Availability and pricing

The Argon 18 Dark Matter will be available in three specifications, with prices ranging from £3,500 to £6,500.

The GRX version will be the first one to hit shop floors, with the two SRAM variants due to follow later. All are built around a 1x groupset, which I'm happy to see, as my main criticism of the original bike was its old-school feeling and tyre width limiting 2x set-up.

That said, if you're still a double chainset fan, the frame will take it, but as yet, there's no word on frame-only options.

At launch the bike is offered in three builds:

Dark Matter SRAM Force XPLR AXS

• Frame/fork: Dark Matter carbon
• Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS Wide 40t, 10-44t
• Wheelset: Zipp 303 XPLR S
• Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RX Pro TLR 50mm
• Bars: FSA A-Wing Pro AGX
• Stem: FSA SMR-II
• Saddle: Repente Quasar 2.0
• Seatpost: Argon 18 TDS-C carbon
• Price: £6,500 / $6,650 / €7,395

Dark Matter SRAM Rival AXS

• Frame/fork: Dark Matter carbon
• Groupset: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS Wide 40t, 10-44t
• Wheelset: DT Swiss G1800 alloy
• Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RX Pro TLR 50mm
• Bars: FSA A-Wing Pro AGX
• Stem: FSA SMR-II
• Saddle: Repente Quasar 2.0
• Seatpost: Argon 18 TDS-C carbon
• Price: £4,500 / $4,650 / €5,095

Dark Matter Shimano GRX

• Frame/fork: Dark Matter carbon
• Groupset: Shimano GRX RX822/610 40t, 10-51t
• Wheelset: DT Swiss G1800 alloy
• Tyres: Vittoria Terreno T50 Mixed 50mm
• Bars: FSA A-Wing Pro AGX
• Stem: FSA SMR-II
• Saddle: Repente Quasar S 2.0
• Seatpost: Argon 18 TDS-C carbon
• Price: £3,500 / $3,650 / €3,995