Tested: Reid Granite 4.0 gravel bike

Budget brand Reid is not known for its gravel bikes, but they’ve entered this segment with the Granite range. Luke Meers put the Granite 4.0 to the test.

It seems almost compulsory these days for every “proper” cyclist to have a gravel bike. How else are we all going to get to those epic gravel events that are popping up all over the country like our own Dirty Mudgee, or do our dream bike-packing adventure? However, sometimes the investment required for this extra purchase seems impossible or perhaps just fiscally irresponsible. Enter the Reid Granite series of bikes.

You may or may not be familiar with the Reid brand. It started in Melbourne about 12 years ago and was mostly in the fixie and vintage bike scene before expanding into other areas. I associated the brand with the budget end of cycling, so as someone who considers myself a bonafide-shaved-legs roadie, I hadn’t given Reids much of a look. So, it was with curiosity that I unboxed and assembled (just mounting the handlebar and wheels) the Granite 4.0.

This bike sits at the top of the Reid gravel range, with three models available below it. Unlike the big brands out there, though, this “range topper” is still at the budget end (~$2k). Jumping straight into some specs, the Granite frame is double-butted 6061 aluminium, with an integrated headset and fitted with a full carbon, gravel-specific fork. Both the frame and forks include numerous mounting points for front and rear racks.

Geometry and Componentry

The geometry is nice and relaxed with generous head and seat tube angles and fork offset (50mm) designed for a stable and comfortable ride over a range of terrain. The drivetrain is 1 x 11 Shimano GRX RX600 throughout with a 40T chainring and 11 to 42 cassette. Brakes are also hydraulic GRX and include 160mm rotors front and rear. The wheels are WTB ST i21 fitted with WTB Riddler 45mm tubeless tyres. My bike weighed 10.4kg. It was not lightweight, but it was about on par for aluminium-framed gravel bikes with big tyres.

Overall, the spec sheets read pretty nicely, especially when this bike is selling for under $1,900. Pretty wild when you would buy just the GRX RX600 groupset for over $1,000. This groupset likely sits between 105 and Ultegra on a quality level. There are so many gravel bike options out there now, but in my online comparisons, the Granite 4.0 stacked up very well in terms of cost-to-spec ratio. I guess it really needs to over-deliver on the value front when the brand doesn’t have the attraction or reputation of some of the big names.

How it rides

So the question really is then: how does it ride? And the answer, in a nutshell, is impressively well. I’ve been riding this bike over hugely varied terrain, from bunch rides to the commute to work, gravel, fire trails to single track and some more technical mountain bike tracks (not my specialty). The Granite felt quite at home in each of these settings, with the exception of the bunch rides, where tyre choice and limited gearing made life a bit tough.

Once off-road though, the bike felt assured, stable and predictable in each setting. The 45mm tyres helped make things a little more doable when things got too rough, but I was impressed with the range of settings in which I felt like this bike was an adequate choice. Fire trail and dirt roads were (as you would expect) the most well-suited terrain and the Granite handled climbs well and felt assured on faster corrugated descents too. It certainly doesn’t feel like a nimble climbing featherweight, and as such, might not be suited to those wanting to ride competitively on gravel, but the flip side of this was confidence that I could throw the bike at pretty much anything and felt assured it would handle a beating.

Shimano GRX groupset

The GRX groupset works remarkably well. The 1x setup keeps things nice and simple. The left lever is for braking only, with the right lever handling rear shifts in the usual Shimano fashion. Shifting had, for my tastes, the right mix of suppleness and feedback. The rear mech felt sturdy and fairly rapid in its changes, giving confidence.

The hoods themselves are perhaps slightly chunkier than my preferred size, but when offroad, this felt more appropriate. The levers are nicely shaped to give the index finger a natural seat. Braking was a highlight, with a high pivot point, meaning that good braking power could be achieved in a large range of hand positions with only a couple of fingers. I spent almost all my time riding in the hoods and never felt the need (at least braking-wise) to move to the drops. The clutch on the rear mech worked well, keeping the chain running tightly and smoothly in all situations I threw at it.

The only time I managed to drop a chain was down a fast corrugated descent, where I wasn’t pedalling and managed to get a nice harmonic resonance going in the chain, which eventually threw it off the front ring. Only afterwards did I realise that I had the chain stabiliser switched off. This is a small lever on the rear GRX derailleur that allows you to toggle the extra tensioner/stabiliser on when riding in rougher terrain or off for a smoother ride on smoother surfaces. Pretty neat. Note: the spec is listed at GRX RX600, but as far as I can tell, the rear derailleur is common between the 600 and 800 series, the RX812. Nice.

One downside of the enjoyably simple 1x setup was running out of gears. During most of my testing, I never needed more than the 40T front to 42T rear combination, but at the fast end, I did spin out reasonably regularly in the 11 tooth when riding on the road or downhill on fast trails. Unfortunately, there isn’t too much that can be done here. There is a 42T chainring option in the GRX range, which would help a little, but then, at the rear end, the derailleur is limited to 42 tooth max. Perhaps cadence drills are the answer.

So, with an impressive spec list for the price and a solid level of performance, is this bike the one to get? Well, as with anything, it depends. There are numerous bikes from other bike brands that get down around the $2,000 mark too. From my research, though, the Reid is right up there in terms of the level of componentry at this price. If you’re looking to get something for gravel events or to perform well on climbs, I think you’d be best off jumping at least another $1,000 to 2,000 and getting something with a composite frame. But, if you’re looking for a nicely equipped bike that can handle some rough treatment and does most off-road things with confidence, the Reid Granite 4.0 should be considered on your list.

Specifications

Frame: Double-butted 6061 alloy with integrated headset
Fork: Reid full carbon gravel fork
Handlebars: Oversize compact drop bars 400mm to 440mm
Stem: Alloy oversize A head road stem 80mm to 100mm
Saddle: Selle Royal
Seatpost: Alloy micro adjust 27.2mm
Cassette: Shimano CS M5100 11speed cassette 11-42T
Bottom Bracket: Shimano external sealed bearing
Chain: KMC X11 11-speed
Brake Lever: Shimano GRX RX600 hydro disc
Rear Derailleur: Shimano GRX RX600 11 speed
Shifters: Shimano GRX 11-speed STI shifter
Front and Rear Brakes: Shimano GRX RX600 hydro disc 160mm rotors
Chain Set: Shimano RX600 GRX 40T 170mm
Weight: Approx 10.4kg
RRP: $1,890

Summing Up

Quality

The frame build looks quite chunky, with a heavy weld style, but the quality of the frame itself is quite good. The bars, stem, seat post, etc., are all fairly low-end, as you’d expect at this price, but they do their job without any fuss.

Performance

It’s not a competitive gravel race bike, but for someone wanting to enjoy trails of all sorts and throw in some commutes or just about anything else you’d like, the Granite hits all the targets.

Value for money

The quality of the bike and running gear you get from this sub $2k machine (Shimano GRX, carbon forks, etc.) is very good. It’s hard to beat in the value stakes.