What the hell is a bike review?
A second look at Velo Orange's Pass Hunter.
The contextual pre-amble to this review can be found over at VolitionAthletics on Instagram. If you got here without coming from there— I have no idea how. Anyways, enjoy!
A little under a year ago, I wrote a bike review. Being new to the whole bike media thing (still am), I tried my best to inform potential buyers of the pros and cons of the item in question. Complain about weight here, give some intangible praise there— that's a bike review, right?
In some sense— yes. A podcast I recently listened to spoke about this bike review phenomenon. How first looks were a heck of a lot better in terms of judging a bike because reviews are largely inconsistent. Some praise internal cable routing, and others damn it to hell. Twenty-three pounds is an immovable force to some and an incredible feat of modern engineering to others. There's little in the way of giving people actual insight because the folk reviewing them are both far removed from the average person's experience— that is, people who have a max of maybe 1-3 bikes— and are individuals with biases themselves.
For me, 'bike reviews,' particularly ones on YouTube, serve as a push. You're on the verge of spending around two thousand to three thousand or more dollars, but you need that extra nudge. That little bit of, 'yeah, okay, it WILL make me faster, or WILL allow me to make that big trip I've been putting off. Thank god.' Someone on the other end of the screen saying, 'you know, it's just so responsive and compliant,' will, at the right moment, allow you to spend a stupid amount of money on something you may or may not need.
Mind you, I'm not judging or criticizing these reviews. I'm sure it's hard to say something insightful about what is effectively the same bike 15 times over or the 30th bike said person had ridden this year. But we need to ask ourselves— what the hell is a bike review?
To me, it's almost entirely dependent on the person riding the bike. What are their likes and dislikes? What do they intend to do with it? How do they expect it to perform? To a certain extent, this is the advantage of that aforementioned impossible position. Comparison is the thief of joy, but it also provides a point from which to base opinions. As someone that has ridden a grand total of about three distinctly different bikes in the last year or so– I do not fall into said category. Russ from PathLessPedaled is someone I cite because he's a treasure and should be protected at all costs. Russ consistently delivers insightful and informative views on different bikes, but even his reviews suffer from the fact that riding a bike is a material experience. You just don't know what it will be like unless you do it.
Some might use that slick segue to talk about the importance of local bike shops. And how if you have the chance, you should go and try before you buy. That's great and all, but I'm glad Kyle Kelley of the now-defunct Golden Saddle Cyclery said what I've been too scared to for quite some time. Not all local bike shops are good. Simple as. I'm not going to go much further than that, but even without critiquing my local area— most people's local bike shops are either Walmart, REI, or some version of a display for a big box bike company. For those of us with different tastes, you're probably not going to find a Velo Orange, Crust, or local frame builder in your local bike shop. If you do— give them your money. They probably know what they're doing and will be nice to you.
With all that said, what can anyone offer in the way of a bike review? I remember in a rhetorical ethics class in college, one of our semester-long projects centered around the idea of biases. Some students suggested biases could be accounted for and offered ways to do so. Others, myself included, suggested they couldn't. Acknowledging our biases and looking at them in the cold, sobering light of day was the only real way to address an inherently human quality, taking the results or conclusions of whatever study or piece was being discussed with those in mind. Not saying I got a good grade, but— I got a good grade.
Biases, experience, preference— whatever you want to call it, are part of what makes a person. Pretending you can somehow eliminate or even minimize that is, in my opinion, a waste of time. So, for the second time in 12 months, I'd like to talk about my experience with the Velo Orange Pass Hunter.
Let's start with the basics— though VO does occasionally build these up and sell them as completes, this is one you're typically going to purchase and build up yourself. Another spanner in the works for a would-be reviewer. So much of the experience of riding a bike depends on things the frame builder has nothing to do with. Within that— I've seen a lot of very different pass hunters. Some single speed, some with Sensah groupsets. The whole nine yards. To try and give you a good idea of what this is all about, I will try to ignore those crucial aspects of the bike and focus on the frame.
As a concept, the frame is the centerpiece of a 'gravel bike.' What does that mean? Well, it depends on who you ask. Some would say the idea of a gravel bike is dumb. That they're recycled tech the bike industry has regurgitated and repackaged for the sake of profit. Not to be that guy— but I have made a video on this very idea. To cut to the chase, despite being a complete and total cynic— I think gravel bikes are great. There are some modern luxuries that, when combined with tried and true ideas, make a near-perfect bike. I think the pass hunter falls well within that category.
Its geometry encourages you to move quickly but isn't going to throw your back out, the stated tire clearance is a solid middle point between road and mountain-ready bicycles (that's what gravel is, anyway), and the frame material is both solid enough to stand up to abuse but nice enough to make you feel like a better bike rider than you probably are. In essence, the pass hunter is a perfect medium. It allows you to do everything most people want to do comfortably.
Bikes are a platform. You can ride any bike on any terrain, but whether you should or will depends on the bike. For cheaper than current industry standards, Velo Orange offers a frame that allows you to do long road rides, relatively aggressive gravel rides, bike packing trips, and anything in between. Sure, from the myopic perspective of pure performance, you won't necessarily be stoked if you compare it to the latest offerings from Specialized or Canyon— but this bike isn't for those kinds of folk anyways. Unlike those little boxes on the hillside, this bike has personality. It’s got panache. It won’t look out of place now or ten years down the road. Treated well, heck, treated okay, this bike has the potential to last you a lifetime. No obtuse industry standards or gimmicks— just a good old-fashioned set of tubes beautifully welded together, giving you equal opportunity across a wide variety of surfaces.
I live in Central Florida, and 70-100+ mile day rides are my jam. I like to mix up the terrain in between, and more recently prefer riding with a light load. I achieved my longest ride to date on my iteration of this bike, and also bikepacked the Festive 500 in four days. The pass hunter allowed me to love every minute of it. But, more importantly, this bike gets more compliments than I can count.
The one thing I will touch on is the fork. I switched mine out for a carbon offering from Rodeo Labs and never really looked back. It made the build lighter, which was nice for those long day rides, but also made the handling a little snappier and more lively. I don't know if that means anything to you, but I saw this change as a general improvement. That isn't to say I threw the old one out— I'm keeping it around in case I decide to do a cross-country tour and don't want to have the anxiety of an irreparable carbon crack eating away at my fun— but it's worth noting.
All in all, if you're looking for a beautiful basis that can do almost anything— the pass hunter fills that need and then some. Here's to hoping Igor and the folks at VO send me a sneak peek at that gorgeous rim brake rando bike they're releasing later this year so I can give them another in-depth review.
See ya out there.
