Co-op Cycles  ADV 2.1 Bike

I am primarily comparing to: Aluminum road race bike; old steel commuter. This was my first foray off-road. Intended for riding to trailheads & bikepacking. Reporting after ~300mi of riding. Rides included road, gravel, rocky singletrack. The review rating is for the bike only, not the build. Fit: I am 5'10" and got a size small (M; max recommended height = 5'9"), since the geometry best fit my road bike. Upgrading to a 110mm stem made the bike quite comfortable (M-size stem is 90mm; not listed on website). Note that the crank arms are 170mm for the M-size, which I could not find listed on the website. If you care about crank arm length, call REI to double check before purchasing. Performance: The bike is comfortable. I've done an 11 hour ride (~9.5hrs moving time) with no back pain or saddle sores. The bike is not fast. This is unsurprising compared to a road bike, but the cheap drivetrain specs lack stiffness. I'd look for a cyclocross-specific bike if you want speed on gravel. The 8-speed cassette hurts speed as well, with big jumps meaning you ca ride at 15mph or 17.5mph, but not in between at a comfortable cadence. A comparable bike with 9-10speed cassette would make for more comfortable speed regulation. Brakes and handling are fine. Notes: 1. The bike is compatible with non-disc-specific rear racks. Disc-specific racks will fit, but flare out an extra inch on each side. 2. The bike comes with plugs, but not screws for rear-rack attachment points. If buying a rack, make sure you get screws. In a pinch, the bottle cage screws work for the rear rack attachment points. 3. The range on the saddle rails seems small, though I can't confirm this. 4. Overall, I'd recommend this bike if you have to ride the road to get to dirt, and want the flexibility to explore a range of trails. REI bike build: The bike build seemed hasty. This is understandable due to the COVID craziness and how that seems to have impacted sales and bike shop workloads. I do not intend to blame the mechanics, since it sounds like they've had a lot to get through. The following is a "buyer beware" commentary. I picked the bike up in-store. The in-store pickup deal, as written on the purchase agreement ("THESE ITEMS WERE CHECKED PRIOR TO DELIVERY OF THE BICYCLE TO THE CUSTOMER"), states that the following services (among others) are performed: Wheels trued; derailleurs adjusted; etc... While all other "checks" were 100% satisfactory, the wheels were only kinda-sorta true, and the shifting was bad beyond anything I've experienced from cable stretch in 10 years of working on my own bikes. The wheels are ride-able, though I'll have to re-true them soon. Just a nuisance. The derailleur adjustment was sloppy. Limit screws were not set and the trim of the front derailleur was non-functional (cable was way too loose). Micro-adjusters were cranked to maximize tension, which screams "rushed." Like I said, I've never had a bike shift so poorly even weeks after installing new cables. IMO, that does not meet the purchase agreement criteria, even with a few days for the cables to stretch. But hey, COVID, they're doing their best to get bikes out the door. My recommendation: Give the mechanics some slack, but be ready for a substantial at-home tuneup before riding and be sure to bring tools with you on your first rides. Adding an option for bike-savvy customers to request partial builds (e.g. headset and crankset install only) for in-store pickup could be good way take some of the workload off the mechanics.

Ive never spent so much time effort and money on a product and gotten so little use out of it. Despite being a gravel bike, I popped a tube literally any time I took it off of the pavement, even for just a few moments to pass someone, and several times on flat pavement riding normally. I decided to go tubeless because the bike was “tubeless ready”. Turns out that just means they taped the rims and possibly not even very well because Ive never not had a slow leak. I had to buy all new tires for the bike and even then it didnt hold air because the valves REI sold me dont seal. I have spent easily 20 hours on maintaining this bike for maybe a total of 20 rides. Ive spent so mich time and money on this bike and Im just getting fatter and angrier because I cant use the thing.