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First Ride! Parlee Chebacco carbon gravel grinder hits our dirt roads w/ all-new cockpit

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Parlee’s Chebacco gravel road bike debuted at Eurobike last fall as the everyman’s version of their full custom Z Zero XD. Its name is no homage to Star Wars’ revival, it’s for the home area of Parlee’s HQ before Massachusetts ever became a state.

As bigger tires and more capable road bikes have grown in popularity, they opted to make something just for the dirt and gravel roads near their manufacturing plant/office they use to test bikes and components. This is that bike, and it’s made a great first impression on the dirt paths and access roads in Tomoka State Park near Flagler Beach, Florida. It also powered along the shoulder of U.S.1 and Old Dixie Highway’s choppy asphalt, using all of Parlee’s high end road bike experience to make it fast regardless of substrate.

Our test bike also came equipped with all new house brand cockpit parts, including carbon stem, handlebar and seatpost, plus the new Mavic Ksyrium Pro All-Road wheels and tires!

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Up front, the Chebacco uses Parlee’s versatile headtube design that accommodates both normal and taller riders without resorting to two separate frame designs. The bulged top tube/head tube intersection uses three different height headset spacers to add stack height without making things look weird. For taller riders, this means a much more streamlined look without resorting to inches of spacers on the steerer tube. Yeah, there’s still quite a bit here, but I’m still dialing my position and simply couldn’t wait to get out on a ride.

2016 Parlee Chebacco
This is the standard height headset cap from their Eurobike show model.

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On the downtube is a swappable cable port, using parts specific to the drivetrain set up you’re running. The brake hose enters on the side.

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The downtube is big and wide all the way down through the BB, using all available width. It uses a standard PFBB30 shell, and Parlee makes adapters to fit Shimano’s 24mm spindle inside the larger bearings.

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A massive BB section ensures all of your effort is driven into the chain rather than frame flex. It’ll hammer happily along with you, but the response to acceleration is a little dependent on how much rubber you’re meeting the road with. It’ll fit up to 40c tires with fenders (using integrated hidden mounts), but the bigger tires take a little more effort to get up to speed. Stupid physics…

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The rear brake hose runs internally all the way into the chainstay, popping out far enough ahead of the inside-the-rear-triangle mounts to work with any caliper we’ve seen.

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As usual, Parlee’s design is classic but gorgeous Although you’re trading off custom geometry and having it made in America with the Chebacco, you’re also saving about $4,000 to $5,000 and getting an arguably sleeker frame.

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Swappable dropouts let you run QR or 12×142 rear axles. The dropouts sandwich the carbon fiber to protect it.

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Parlee sent this bike completely built up, using Shimano Ultegra Di2 since they say most of their customers opt for electronic shifting. That said, the Chebacco is available with plenty of mechanical builds, too, starting at $4,399:

  • 105 Mechanical/TRP Spyre $ 4,399.00
  • Ultegra Mechanical/685 Hydro $ 4,999.00
  • Ultegra Di2/785 Hydro $ 5,999.00
  • Force 22/CX1 Hydro $ 5,299.00
  • Red 22/Hydro $ 6,499.00
  • Dura-Ace Mechanical/685 Hydro $ 5,999.00
  • Dura-Ace Di2/785 Hydro $ 7,499.00

All complete bikes come standard with a Zipp Service Course cockpit and DT Swiss Spline R23db wheels. Upgrades include the carbon cockpit (+ $900), Mavic Ksyrium Pro All-Road WTS (+ $700) and ENVE 3.4 Disc wheels (+ $2,300). So, our test bike would ring up to $7,769. A frameset is offered for $3,999, which makes zero sense for the U.S. market…and that’s intentional. They want to sell complete bikes, and they’re only offering framesets because some foreign markets need them because import duties/fees/taxes on complete bikes make their framesets more affordable there.

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Tire clearance is claimed at 40mm with fenders. Without the rain protection, these 30mm tires are easily swallowed up. Parlee’s monostay helps keep the entire rear end solid. It’s a “modular monocoque” frame, same as the Altum, except with fewer aerodynamic features in favor of a bit burlier design. They say it’s tuned to mitigate vibration even when used with thinner tires, and that it’s designed as a do-it-all bike capable of racing cyclocross, conquering dirt roads and whipping around on group road rides.

parlee chebacco geometry chart

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Back up front, the fork is their own design and also gets 40mm tire clearance. It ends with a 15mm thru-axle with threads on the drive side.

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The bottom accessory bolts are intended for fenders, not load-bearing racks.

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Claimed frame weight is ~950g. Our complete bike in size 58 with tubes in the tires weighed in at 18.36lb (8.33kg).

COCKPIT & WHEELS

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On the bike is Parlee’s all-new cockpit. They’ve been working on seatposts for many years, using custom designs on the Altum aero road bike, among others. Now, they’ve got their own handlebars and stems to go with them. Here’s how Parlee’s operations manager Tom Rodi explains their genesis:

“We originally began to explore a bar/stem and post option for an somewhat unusual reason, that is many of our clients wanted us to custom paint their bar/stem and post to match their bikes so it didn’t make sense to buy a fully painted set of parts and hand strip them so they could be painted as we were doing but no component maker was really interested in selling us unpainted parts so we started to think about doing our own. Once we started down the path we realized that there were a few things that we wanted from bar/stem/posts that were not available in the market. The most noticeable and arguably important was a handlebar with more full-sized positions to put your hands. We felt many of the bars on the market were too small for most riders in both length and girth so we designed a bar that had more real estate than just about any bar in the market. More hand positions equals more comfort on longer rides. The search for a larger and better shaped top section led us to choosing the newer 35.0mm clamp interface which led us to think about doing a stem that matched.”

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That 35mm diameter at the center means I haven’t been able to use my out-front computer mounts, but it does make things stiff. Interestingly, because the rest of the bar is big, too, it’s not immediately obvious it’s a 35mm design.

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The stem uses a full carbon body and a two-piece alloy front cap with rear-facing titanium bolts. This was done to avoid threaded inserts molded into the carbon, which can become damaged and ruin the entire stem. What’s unique is the 2º angle used by the bolts, making it easier to get standard hex keys and torque wrenches in there. The steerer clamp bolts thread into separate nuts, not bonded-in threads.

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The handlebar uses a slight rearward sweep and ovalized profile on the tops. The drops extend further back than normal to provide a larger platform for your hands and increase available positions. Under the tape, there are cut guides in 5mm increments if you want to shorten it.

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The oval shape creates a broad platform whose width runs all the way out to a sharp bend. Drop is 128mm, reach is 70mm. Available in 40, 42 and 44 cm widths (C-to-C). Retail is $375 for the bar, $325 for the stem.

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The seatpost design comes straight from their top-of-the-line ESX aero road bike, minus the Recurve aero shaping. It’s a two-bolt design with rounded clamp base that makes adjustments easy but holds the saddle secure. The clamp is designed to work for both round and oblong saddle rails, carbon or metal.

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Introduced last summer, the Mavic Ksyrium All-Road wheels are some of their first road bike models to use a wider (19mm) internal profile. Not only does that make them great for gravel, but cyclocross racers now have a more appropriate option from the French brand.

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They benefit from ISM4D milling and smoothing to create a 420-430g rim. Claimed wheelset weight is 1620g, price is $1,250 / €1,000.

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The front hubs carry over mostly unchanged from recent years, which is good. We’ve found them to be reliable, and Mavic’s included tools make it very easy to adjust bearing preload without even removing the wheel from the bike. In the back, their new 9º engagement system makes things snappier without adding noise.

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The bike came with tubes installed, but I’ll be switching them to tubeless for the rest of the test. The Yksion Elite All-Road tires have so far been smooth on the road and capable on Florida’s typically sandy dirt roads, without only a few almost wash outs that flooded my chest with adrenaline for a sec. Fortunately, the combined stiffness of the frame and wheels kept things from going completely sideways and I remained upright, but kids, seriously, watch those sandy patches.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

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My test started on the same paths and roads the Jamis Renegade saw, looping around some of Ormond Beach’s nature trails and forest service roads. To get there requires covering miles of pavement, and I usually add a little distance by taking the long way home. It’s early to make big proclamations, but the Chebacco seems solid and fast, but doesn’t immediately jump out as a viable option for cyclocross. And the geometry bears that out. Compared to the Pivot Vault I’m testing, the chainstay, wheelbase and BB drop are all 0.5cm longer, and the seat tube angle is 0.5º slacker. Those are all very small differences, but they seem to add up to a bike that’s happier cruising along at speed than nimbly navigating course tape.

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And happy it is, providing a race-worthy pedaling platform when you want it and a stiff front end when you need it. Handling is stable and predictable, which definitely saved me from a few washouts. It does this without feeling too harsh, which is no small feat considering the beefy fork, oversized 35mm handlebar/stem and a wide 31.6mm seatpost. I’m thinking the switch to tubeless will smooth things over just enough to put it right in the sweet spot.

If you’re a Parlee fan, you’ll feel right at home on it as you stray from the safety of smooth pavement. And if you’re just in the market for something more capable, the numbers (other than price) suggest it’ll match up nicely with the Renegade, which continues to collect kudos. Stay tuned for the long term report this spring.

ParleeCycles.com

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24 Comments
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Andrew
Andrew
8 years ago

Beauty!

Dave
Dave
8 years ago

Wow, nice bike but I don’t recall ever seeing a report this long on BR before.

Minor technical point but Massachusetts isn’t a “state”, it’s officially a Commonwealth.

Duster13
Duster13
7 years ago
Reply to  Dave

Mass calls themselves a commonwealth, but they are also a state. A minor technical point. 🙂

a*
a*
8 years ago

@dave. Minor technical point, no one cares

Gears4Good
8 years ago

@Dave – Not exactly correct. From the mass.gov site – “Commonwealths are states, but the reverse is not true.”

Heffe
Heffe
8 years ago

Is the stem made by Enve, what’s going on there?

Greg
Greg
8 years ago

Nice

Allan
Allan
8 years ago

Wow, didn’t know an “everyman” bike starts at $4,400!

greg
greg
8 years ago

What’s the maximum allowed spacer stack? Does that include the shaped one to to blend the silhouette in? If so, I don’t think they’re helping any, and if not, I don’t see how a shaped spacer strengthens the system. Either way, it’s a bit of a bust… Or is the description inaccurate and that part actually presses in, maybe? Argon18 style?
Stem – nut inserts could have been used for the face plate as well as the steerer.
Unless they changed it, their bb adapter does not rely on bb30’s larger bearings. It moves 24mm ID bearings to the outside.
Surprised it’s not flat-mount.
I like the generous tire clearance, and the fact that the rear disc hose exits the frame with enough space to accommodate different types of calipers without crazy-tight hose bends

mudrock
mudrock
8 years ago

So where is it made? Tyler mentions overseas manufacture. To me there’s a big difference between Taiwan, which has responsible manufacturing, and China, an environmental cesspool.

greg
greg
8 years ago

There’s more difference from one factory to another within one country than any stereotypical idea of differences between the countries. About 8 years ago, it was generally understood that for the latest developments in carbon manufacture, you had to go to CHINA, not Taiwan. Taiwan’s factories were older and not set up for the latest and greatest. one person very in-the-know described a frame paint setup in China that was basically a clean-room, sealed doors and all. In Taiwan, they were hanging frames out windows to dry. It seems that about 5 years ago, the tide started swinging the other way.
Either way, the country of origin has little to do with it. Both places turn out some primo sh*t, as well as some junk

Duster13
Duster13
7 years ago
Reply to  greg

Perhaps so, but from an environmental standard standpoint there is absolutely a huge difference between Taiwan and China regarding environmental standards and the lack thereof. China is indeed a cesspool compared to Taiwan and that isn’t a casual generalization. It is reality.

Seraph
Seraph
8 years ago

This would be a major contender in the gravel/adventure/cross bike game if it weren’t so heinous looking! Seriously who thought that this was a good paint job for a modern bike?

Wilee
Wilee
8 years ago

@Mudrock China, nice new factory. @heffe nope, the stem is a parlee in house design.

Durianrider
8 years ago

Looks like a functional bike except the Mavic freehub bodies. They always fail if you ride them enough. Get DT swiss and no freehub body slop probs.

Ck
Ck
8 years ago

It’s a stupid idea to overprice the frameset just to try and force people to buy complete bikes. When you have someone like me who’s sitting on a pile of components and looking for the ideal frame to bolt them to, a decision like that just shrinks your customer base. People like me may not be a huge aspect of their business, but a sale is a sale.

josh
josh
8 years ago

Manufacturers cannot rely on frame sales. They need the volume on the components to afford them the break quantity pricing at OEM to make the complete bike affordable. Encouraging consumers to purchase the complete bike makes far more sense for their business. Especially when frame alone sales are miniature across the board. Frame only sales are reserved for Parlee’s in house manufactured frames but those are even more expensive.

Duster13
Duster13
7 years ago
Reply to  josh

I have already looked at their complete bike offerings and would not buy such a bike if those groups and wheels were forced upon me. DT Swiss Spline db23 entry level lead weight type wheels on a 4-6K bike? LOL, not happening Parlee. This is just another example of a company trying to force silly component groups onto customers who do not want them. Intentionally marking up a frameset to discourage frames purchases is just flat out dumb if it is costing you sales.

James Collins
James Collins
8 years ago

Is it me or are anyone feeling those stem face clamp bolts and seatpost bolts are kind a hard place for torque wrench without using very long hex bit? I actually don´t own long hex bits…

Fast Foreward Freddy
Fast Foreward Freddy
8 years ago

Do yourself a favor and look into the research that has been done on the relationship between tire size and rolling resistance before deciding you know the physics behind it. #bicyclequarterly

Tubeless CXer (@tubelesscxer)

You can both be right you know. Bigger and heavier tires can take more effort to accelerate, while they could eventually roll faster due to lower rolling resistance.

S
S
8 years ago

A few of these bikes were raced at CX Nats last week. I’m sure it’s a perfectly fine bike for racing.

Flamme Rouge
Flamme Rouge
6 years ago

The DT Swiss R23s are a pretty decent wheel for OEM spec. Now replaced with a newer model and probably not a lot sold at retail (approx $600 for set) because most people seem to want to spend more on new wheels and the rear hub is a pawl set-up, not the star ratchet of the 180/240/350 hubs. But you pay for that, and in a non-race situation there is nothing wrong with an extra 20 degrees of rotation before engagement. The design is robust and the weight is OK, at 1655 grams for the set. Maybe you can spend $500 more and take off 150 grams and save about 20 minutes at DK200.

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