Open U.P. review

We test the latest do-it-all bike from this small company that houses some big names.

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(Image credit: Tobias R. Dürring Fotograf)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Verdict It’s difficult to see how any bike could do a better job of being both road and mountain bike simultaneously. The Open U.P. gives away very little to the dedicated machines of each terrain type, which is a formidable achievement. It’s a pity there’s no way to fit fixed mudguards: in a 700C or slick 650b road build they might come in useful, whereas the bag mounts on the top tube will surely not be useful to 99 per cent of Open U.P. riders. Regardless of these minor points, a lot of thought has gone into the Open U.P. and when those are the thoughts of an original thinker like Vroomen, it’s going to be a winner.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Versatility

  • +

    Clean aesthetics

  • +

    Light weight

  • +

    Turns heads

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    No mudguard eyes

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Open is a Swiss-based company set up by Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervélo, and Andy Kessler, former CEO of BMC who met Vroomen when he became international sales director at Cervélo.

Both men got out of big bike business and in 2012 set up the boutique Open brand, which makes just two models — the ONE+ — an XC racing mountain bike with a sub-900g frame — and the U.P.

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