![]() The fork-which is the special sauce, in my opinion-is a 4130 chromoly mountain lugged crown with 15mm thru-axle dropouts, a straight steerer tube, and IS disc brake tabs. The frame features double-butted down, top, and seat tubes, externally tapered, ovalized, and dimpled chain stays, tapered seat stays, and a replaceable derailleur hanger. Every piece of tubing on every frame size is chosen specifically for that bike’s intended use and the projected size of the rider. According to All-City, this tubeset is all about ride quality and durability. The Gorilla Monsoon frameset is built from “612 Select” steel tubing, All-City’s standard 4130 chromoly tubeset that is used for most of their daily use/touring models. I immediately appreciated its fit and feel. It’s actually pretty normal in the grand scheme of things, but that’s not to say this bike isn’t interesting…quite the contrary. Even so, there’s nothing too out of the ordinary about the Gorilla Monsoon’s geometry. However, the Gorilla actually has a slacker head tube angle, higher stack, a slightly lower bottom bracket, and shorter stays than their popular Macho Man, all in effort to offer a bit more off-road rowdiness. “We love how those bikes ride, and they have very neutral well mannered handling characteristics,” states Jeff Frane, All-City’s brand manager. Maybe not letter-for-letter, but more so in keeping with the title of this article.Īll-City based the Gorilla Monsoon’s geometry on their current crop of cross bikes. Even so, I found the descriptor that All-City pinned to the Gorilla Monsoon to be fairly accurate. After riding it, I would have picked the latter. I suspect there was a lot of discussion amongst their ranks as to whether it should fall within the Cross or Dirt silo. The other three groupings listed on their website are Road, Track, and Dirt. Hub specs: 12x142mm / 100x15mm Thru-axleĪll-City, makers of urban-inspired cross rigs, track machines, and colorful mountain bikes-most of which are named after ‘80s wrestling sensations-lumped the Gorilla Monsoon into their “Cross” category. ![]() Or, maybe it was All-City’s lofty promises that the Gorilla Monsoon could do it all in style-from gravel slaying to fire-road touring and cross-continent exploration. Maybe the fact that All-City tossed out every one of these conventions is what helped them sell out of the Gorilla Monsoon in a matter of days after its release. However, given that gravel bikes, and variations on the theme, are in their infancy (relatively speaking), who’s to say what the rules really are? Just because the majority of them are built around 40mm tires and a 68mm bottom bracket shell, are named using words synonymous with remote, and painted matte black, doesn’t make that the correct way to go about it. At the same time, it’s hard not to be skeptical of such rigs. It’s hard to resist the charm of a new bike that breaks a few rules and shakes things up a bit. ![]()
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