Building upon its OPEN U.P. bike, Open Cycle has kept the same geometry and tire clearance of the U.P., but differed its carbon layup, fork, disc brake mounts, and thru-axles to create the all new OPEN U.P.P.E.R. Frameset. With its lighter weight, enhanced stiffness, and increased simplicity, the OPEN U.P.P.E.R. Frameset looks and rides like a road bike, but can also conquer the roughest dirt trails and gravel roads.

Just like the U.P., the U.P.P.E.R. bike fits up to 2.1" wide mountain bike tires, but also a 40mm wide cross tire or a 28mm road tire. All tire sizes are accommodated without affecting the handling or geometry of the bike. Thus essentially like a three-in-one bike, you can take the U.P.P.E.R. on virtually any terrain just by switching to the appropriate tires. To help accommodate bigger tires and narrower Q-factor cross/road cranks and chainrings, the U.P.P.E.R., like the U.P., uses a dropped right chainstay to create a wider area. A dropped chainstay also increases stiffness for better power transfer efficiencies.

OPEN has embraced the bike industry's love of acronyms by introducing their TRCinTRS technology, standing for The Right Carbon in The Right Spot. The best bikes are not made up of just one modulus of carbon, but instead are made from the right blend of carbon to give the bike strength, stiffness, and compliance in strategic places. OPEN uses the highest modulus carbon of any bike manufacturer where they can, and tougher grades of carbon where they must. The U.P.P.E.R.'s carbon lay-up differs from the U.P. in that it is more complex, cutting down on weight while increasing stiffness.

One of the most noticeable features of the U.P.P.E.R. and the U.P. are their extremely thin chainstays and seatstays. They are designed to be thin vertically for maximum compliance while using a lateral width and lay-up that maximizes lateral stiffness for a more efficient drivetrain that provides snappy acceleration. Also designed for maximum stiffness is the downtube. OPEN has designed a flat-out downtube whose shape allows strategically placed strips of ultra-high modulus carbon far away from the center plane, giving the maximum stiffness in a crucial area connecting the steering center to the drivetrain.

In order to maximize the flex in the seattube and seatpost, OPEN uses a 27.2mm diameter to help take the bite out of rough terrain. The seattube angle is designed around the use of a straight, zero-setback seatpost which also helps the bike shed extra grams of weight. For clean lines and protection, OPEN runs all cables and hoses internally. And with OPEN's MultiStop design, you can customize the frame for 2x10/11, 1x10/11 and Di2 shifting by just getting the right insert. If you use a single chainring, you can also remove the front derailleur hanger to further clean up the frame. Using their own unique ThruThread design, OPEN has created the first frames that combine a thru-axle with a lower weight. By redesigning the dropout in conjunction with the seatstay and chainstay, increased stiffness was achieved with the thru-axle in mind.

The U.P. uses a post-mount while the U.P.P.E.R. is designed for a flat-mount. In order to use the lightest brakes from Shimano and SRAM, a flat-mount is required. And because of the U.P.P.E.R. U-turn fork, you can make those set-ups even lighter by removing the normally required adapter. This saves weight and increases stiffness. The fork is dedicated to 160mm brake rotors and uses the same through-bolt design that is normally reserved for the rear

Extra touches on the U.P.P.E.R. include a toptube bag mount to haul your gear and a SafePost Pilot hole that indicates the minimum insertion to keep the seatpost safe and the seattube supported. Lastly, a 386 EVO Bottom Bracket is used with a wide, BB86 shell, fitting most cranks on the market including many mountain bike cranks. From this you get an incredibly stiff platform from which to produce power efficiently and give you quick acceleration on any surface.

Looking to build your new OPEN U.P.P.E.R. Frameset to your exacting specifications? Contact our OPEN Cycle and custom build experts at the shop, or shoot us an email at info@contenderbicycles.com. With a huge number of options for your wheels, drivetrain and everything in between, we can help meet any of your goals. And if you'd rather leave the choices to us, check out our list of preferred builds HERE.

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