Andy’s U.P.PER. CONCE.PT
A few days ago, a message from Andy Kessler landed in my inbox. The subject line said: “Your tires rock!” The message itself just contained a photo, of an unpainted carbon bike equipped with our Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks.
Andy is of course co-owner of the iconic bicycle brand OPEN, together with Gerard Vroomen. We’ve been friends for a long time.
Here is how we met: When Gerard and Andy introduced the ground-breaking OPEN U.P. back ten years ago, I thought: “Finally!” In 2006, I had coined the term ‘all-road bike’ to describe a new breed of bicycle that we envisioned: bikes that combined road-bike speed with the go-anywhere ability of wide tires. Back then, our real-road tire tests had shown that wide tires could roll as fast as narrow rubber, and we were convinced that these new findings would lead to an ‘all-road bike revolution.’ And yet the bike industry seemed uninterested in changing the status quo—until Gerard and Andy introduced the U.P.: a modern carbon bike that cleared 50 mm tires, with innovative features like a dropped chainstay that improved tire clearance. This was the bike of my dreams—the new type of bike that I thought would take over the cycling world! Today we all know it has done just that, and most modern gravel bikes are ‘inspired’ by the original U.P., down to the dropped chainstay.
Back when the U.P. was announced, I immediately asked Andy for a test bike. He made it happen, and we got to ride one of the first U.P. bikes over Odarumi Pass in Japan (above). It was a memorable adventure, and the bike performed as well as I had hoped.
Ever since, we’ve been friends. Gerard and Andy sent us test samples of each new bike they’ve introduced, for reviews in Bicycle Quarterly. And we share samples of our tires with them to get their feedback. If you’ve been following this journal, you know that I absolutely love my two OPENs, the MIN.D. road bike and the U.P.P.E.R., the ultra-light version of the original U.P. gravel/all-road bike.
That’s the back story, but what about the bike that’s leaning against the pinball machine in Andy’s photo? It’s his new U.P.PER. CONCE.PT. Rumors are that this limited edition frame previews new models that are in development. For this frame, Gerard and Andy have moved production to Portugal, and they are now making the frame as a monocoque—in one piece—rather than out of several parts that are glued together. As you can imagine, that saves weight and allows even more freedom with the carbon layout. And knowing Gerard, he’s pushing the envelope (again) to create something that’s as beautiful to look at as it’s fun to ride.
So of course I asked Andy about the bike. He told me: “It always feels great when, after 2-3 years development time, you can ride a bike for the first time. For me, I am always surprised how Gerard can make a great bike like the U.P.P.E.R or the U.P. even better. The UP.PER. CONCEPT bike is the best of two worlds. Aero in the front and comfort in the back—and it rides exactly like that. Fast like a road bike, but still super-comfortable when you hit the trails.”
I was too excited about the new frame to ask him about the tires, but he continued: “The Corkscrew 700×44 fits perfectly to this bike. On the road, you feel like on a 35 mm road tyre, but off-road you get full control, especially while cornering. I am impressed how you chose the size of the side knobs in a clever way, so both on- and off-road you get a safe feeling when cornering. I’ve ridden a lot of different tyres, but never got the same best-of-two-worlds with any other tyre.”
That’s big praise, especially knowing that Andy and Gerard have not been fans of semi-slicks tires until now. Like us, they didn’t like the transition from slick tread to squirmy knobs during hard cornering on pavement. Obviously, that’s the big issue we’ve tried to address with the new Corkscrew Climb.
Thank you for the positive feedback, Andy! It’s exciting to see that the idea of the ‘all-road bike’ as we originally envisioned it—a bike that’s as good on paved roads as it is on gravel—is still seeing so much innovation. We can’t wait to ride the new bike ourselves!
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