Curve GXR Kevin: Ahead of the Curve

From within the vast constellation of bike companies, it's an astronomical challenge to shine brighter than others. However small, Curve Cycling is arguably one that has a sparkling glow. While market hype is pushing aero-race gravel bikes as they chase after who may be the fastest, Curve appeals to the cyclist who craves an intergalactic machine that can handle the abuse of their wayward adventures with a ride that's out of this world.

The team at Curve has been creating innovative bikes since 2013 well ahead of the curve, refining gravel geometry before gravel was really on the scene. They downplay all that hype by embracing their core beliefs centered around a passion for incredible adventures, however, don't let their lack of tech talk lead you to believe they are behind in that department. Each titanium and steel frame's geometry dialed-in ride characteristics produce fast, comfortable, rugged, and capable bikes. Such a ride doesn't have to come at a lofty price either.

Meet Kevin & Some Friends

Almost seven years after its release, the original GXR (aka Kevin) remains the backbone of Curve's gravel bikes. Over time, Curve has expanded the Kevin family, each variation bringing its own unique personality and purpose. Here's a quick look at the lineup:

The GXR (aka Kevin), first introduced in 2017, blends classic titanium looks with modern gravel geometry. It's packed with mounting points for bottles, fenders, racks, and fork bags, and paired with the Curve Ride 400 carbon fork, it fits up to 700x45mm or 650b x 2.1” tires.

The Air Kev is a stripped-down race machine, featuring a custom carbon seat tube, SRAM UDH dropout, 3D-printed titanium BB, internal cables, and the sleek Race 415 carbon fork with integrated brake hose.

For big adventures, there's Big Kev, a 29er Gravel-Plus bike with a beefy custom yoke, T47 BB, and SRAM UDH dropout. It handles 29x2.35” rear and 2.4” front tires but can go slimmer for speed. The Ride 415 carbon fork, with flip-chip tech, carries up to 3kg per leg.

The Kevin of Steel is crafted from Columbus Zona tubing, delivering a classic steel ride. It pairs with the Ride 400 carbon fork and fits 700x45mm or 650b x 2.2” tires, perfect for gravel and commuting.

The all-new GXR4 Kevin builds on the original with more tire clearance (up to 700x50mm), a SRAM UDH dropout, and the Ride 415 VGM fork, capable of carrying 16kg. It's a bikepacking dream with mounts for every accessory.

Finally, the stunning CarboKev, unveiled at the 2024 BESPOKED show, pushes material engineering to the next level with 3D-printed titanium and bonded carbon tubes.

Back to the original GXR Kevin

I was in for a treat, testing Curve's bestselling do-it-all frame, the original GXR, also known as Kevin, backed up with long-standing gravel creds. Made from 3Al-2.5V Grade 9 aerospace-grade titanium, it perfectly balances stiffness, compliance, and durability. The custom machined chainstay yoke provides ample stiffness when putting down the power to either 700c or 650b wheels with 45mm or 2.1” tires respectively. Kevin has gone unchanged since 2017, with simple external cable routing and T47 threaded BB for easy maintenance. Curve's own Ride 400 fork is up front complete with triple mounts and internal dynamo routing for your endless lighting needs.

Ahead of its time, the GXR Kevin geometry (circa 2017) now matches today's stretched-out top tube and short stem to optimize handling and stability. I fit the medium-sized frame (54-55cm), but Kevin's 56.4cm long top tube is paired with an 80mm, down from the 100mm I normally ride.

Curve offers the GXR Kevin frame with two custom packages, the Rival/GX Eagle AXS 1x or the 'Feagle' package with a mix of Force/X01 Eagle AXS drivetrain. You have a choice Curve's Aluminum or Carbon wheels with DT Swiss hubs in either 700c or 650b to roll on down the road. A complete bike would set you back $5100 to $6620 depending on your choices, which is still very reasonable for a Titanium gravel bike with AXS shifting. However, the Kevin frame I was riding wasn't their typical build package. It was adorned with SRAM Red AXS groupset and Zipp 101 XPLR wheels which seemed a little over-the-top for sensibly-priced Kevin. As dressed up as this bike was, at 9kg I would not say it was super light, but it could easily shed another 500g by swapping out the suspended seatpost and notoriously heavy Zipp wheels to be on par with most carbon race gravel bikes, but at a far better price. Swapping from a fast gravel 700c wheel to an XC 650b would make Kevin a great versatile platform.

Does Kevin Rip? Heck Yeah!

There's no denying that Kevin has classic looks, but can Kevin rip the roads and trails? Sure does! Kevin is super stable with long 432mm chainstays and 71.5° head tube to keep it well planted and predictable for a confidence-inspiring ride at any speed. After railing down open gravel roads and carving up singletrack, I feel that Curve has nailed Kevin's geometry perfectly. The frame is stiff, compliant, and comfortable, able to mute high-frequency buzz while on the tarmac, and digests every pothole along the lumpy gravel road, even after I swapped to a standard seatpost.

Curve's Ride 400 carbon fork is surprisingly stiff and a bit harsh for my taste, but it gives Kevin a solid feel in any situation with the ability to carry 6kg up front. Despite this, Kevin's overall ride character is remarkably comfortable.

Kevin may be built for rugged adventure, but it has quite a sporty side I didn't expect. Hard efforts were instantly rewarded with snappy acceleration and with minimal input, it was fast along the flats and a delight on extended climbs.

This is not Kevin's fault, but the Zipp 101 Xplr wheels on this test bike didn't impress me, despite their innovative design and the obvious benefit of a wide 27mm internal width wrapped with capable Schwalbe G-One Bite tires. This tire/wheel setup did add some offroad capabilities but was unremarkable in my opinion. Keep in mind that Curve does not offer these wheels in their regular packages. On the flip side, Kevin would be much better with a lighter 700 x 45mm gravel setup, or a 650b x 2.1" XC to showcase its off-road capabilities.

Kevin for the win!

Curve's GXR (aka Kevin) may not win the fashion war as the sexiest aero gravel bike, but at $2650 USD, Kevin is a highly versatile and affordable Titanium frame with a massively wide ridable bandwidth for anything from tarmac to trail that blends the attributes of a good race bike and a good bikepacking bike without much compromise. A perfect good-natured partner on long days exploring the unknown. It's Curve's original GRX (aka Kevin) for the win!