It’s so good that I needed to do it twice. Final yr, I pressured the 2023 REI ADV 2.2 to pull my 200-pound rear from the chunky entry roads of the mountains north of Flagstaff to the prickly pear spine-laden grime roads of Sedona Purple Rock nation. From bombing down freeway switchbacks to lugging 60 kilos of drugs up steep chunks, the 2023 ADV 2.2 was a value-conscious mensch.
A few of that worth got here not solely from the bike but in addition from REI itself. Its bikes include a yr of free primary service. Members additionally get 20% off service charges for another upkeep indefinitely. With places aplenty, the flexibility to drag as much as a store for some last-minute, discounted fine-tuning earlier than or after a visit added further bang for the buck.
It’s uncommon when a product’s subsequent iteration fixes your each grievance. Again in yellow and black in 2024, REI’s mid-range 29’er comes with mounting factors galore. An entire Shimano GRX drivetrain and braking system brings extra suggestions, vary, and flexibility to the platform. A wider 45mm tire clearance offers the 2024 model added functionality and flexibility on roads and trails alike.
For just a few months, the most recent REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 carried me throughout Illinois and Nevada, each loaded and unloaded with gear. The driving floor coated the complete vary, from unmaintained and tough pavement to quick grime roads and chunky single-track trails. It served as a coaching software, grocery-getter, and journey steed.
Briefly, REI Co-op Cycles’ revamped ADV 2.2 brings appreciable upgrades, upping its journey recreation considerably for a comparatively insignificant enhance in value. Add in REI’s discounted providers, and the versatile gravel bike leaves little to complain about. There’s only one catch: It’s marked down at a steep low cost, making it an absolute steal proper now — however it won’t be round for lengthy.
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Body materials
Butted 6061 aluminum - Weight:
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Tire clearance
700c x 45mm -
Obtainable sizes
XS, X, M, L, XL
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Nice worth -
Dependable GRX drivetrain -
Mounting factors and cable/wire ports galore -
Vast gear vary
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Low max tire clearance for an journey gravel bike in ‘24 -
Lack of choices for ordering tubeless (it’s appropriate) or with various tires -
Aggressive geometry limits consolation for high-mileage journeys
The place We’ve Gone With the ADV 2.2
Earlier than we discuss in regards to the new updates, let’s overview the place we began. The ’23 ADV 2.2 was REI’s premiere 29” journey bike. Naturally, “What precisely is an journey bike?” was a serious query all through testing. “Journey Biking” all the time appeared tied up in gravel bikes — themselves a class solely barely much less opaque. Had been they highway bikes cosplaying as MTBs, lighter touring bikes with shorter chainstays and extra mounting factors, or one thing else completely?
Placing apart geometry, when you requested the 2023 ADV 2.2 what made it an journey cycle, its varied parts would have given some disparate solutions.
2023 ADV 2.2 Drivetrain
The Shimano GRX 400 drivetrain pointed to creating it up and down most gradients. Truthful. Personally, I imagine gravel drivetrains’ worth is of their clutch, reliability, and kit inches. For my cash, the two x10 400 collection gives among the finest values for efficiency in the marketplace, even over its 2 x11 GRX 600 sibling.
Gear inches is just a measure of the bottom coated per crank revolution on the lowest and highest gearing. Lugging gear up steep gravel on bikepacking journeys? I need 20″ or beneath on the lowest gearing. Bombing down a piece of freeway switchbacks? I need my high-end north of 105 inches.
The GRX 400 was a dependable drivetrain with clean shifting that ranged from round 23 to 117 inches. I didn’t must stroll up any hills wanting “oh, you’ve obtained to be kidding me.” I by no means dropped a series. And the rear derailleur clutch prevented chain slap, even when bombing down washboard roads.
Brakes
The Tektro mechanical disc brakes on the 2023 ADV 2.2 had been dependable when driving at a average tempo. Granted, bombing down paved and chunky switchbacks alike with a complete trip weight close to 280 kilos is an enormous ask. On quick descents, the ’23 handled stopping as much less of an instantaneous command and extra of a time-sensitive dialog.
I needed to put extra oomph into the brake levers and make do with a contact of muddiness within the suggestions. Additionally, for a flagship mannequin to not have hydraulic disc brakes appeared like an unworthy nook to chop.
Mounting Factors and Tire Clearance
The 2023 carbon fork had ample area for racks and cage programs that work with out mounting factors. Nonetheless, for a motorcycle marketed for journey biking, skimping on fork and body mounts appeared an odd alternative.
The wheels and tires requested for hardpack, kitty litter, and roads alike. However, at 40mm vast, washboard BLM roads, chunky entry roads, and any slippery floor or single-track path would have been finest left to REI’s DRT 1.3 MTB.
The place We’re Going With the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2
A brand new yr apparently comes with a extra refined id, because the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 has stable upgrades.
2024 ADV 2.2 Drivetrain and Brake Upgrades
The ’24 is constructed across the identical GRX 400 drivetrain. The swap between final yr’s Tiagra 4700 shifters and this yr’s GRX 400 ones is a small distinction. The latter was a contact extra ergonomic in my arms. When it was time to clamp down, although, the distinction obtained fairly noticeable.
In the event you’re protecting 1000’s of miles the place bike retailers are exhausting to return by, there’s nonetheless an argument to be made for mechanical brakes. Nonetheless, when you’re taking a look at sheer versatility and efficiency for an adventure-oriented gravel bike, it’s exhausting to compete with hydraulics — particularly when stated hydraulics are Shimano GRX 400 brakes.
The ‘24’s GRX brakes had been significantly extra highly effective and delivered higher suggestions, particularly when braking at excessive speeds and in steep terrain. Along with its normal reliability, even on lengthy journeys by means of distant areas, you’d be hard-pressed to discover a store that couldn’t service a system as well-liked as GRX.
Expanded Tire Clearance
The ’24 2.2 opts for 45mm Kenda Alluvium Professional tires. They’re much less knobby — a extra generalist highway/effective gravel tread. I sometimes favor clearance for no less than 50mm tires on gravel bikes. The Alluvium roughly maxed out the two.2’s clearance (within the rear, no less than, the entrance may handle as much as 47mm, offered you’re not driving by means of mud).
I informed myself I wouldn’t convert it to tubeless till I needed to exchange an internal tube. This often doesn’t take lengthy. I rack up flats like a panini press. It’s now been months.
By way of a whole bunch of miles alongside Illinois rail trails, Nevada highways, BLM entry roads that had been extra rut than the highway, and chunky singletrack, I’m nonetheless rocking the identical internal tube. With the ‘23 tires, I racked up two flats inside 250 miles of biking round Flagstaff and Sedona.
Quite a few Mounting Factors
My bikepacking journey with the ’23 noticed me operating a handlebar bag and strapping Topeak Versacages to my fork. The 24’s plentiful fork mounts allowed me to run a flexible, maximalist baggage system up entrance: Versacages for 1.5L bottles, a large Outdated Man Mountain Pizza Rack for digital camera gear, and a handlebar bag for meals.
Add to {that a} bevy of different mounting factors for body packs, cages, and braze-on tube high luggage, and the ’24 already felt extra like a motorcycle really meant to hold gear farther and thru a greater variety of terrains than its predecessor.
2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 Body Geometry
Reasonably Aggressive Geometry
The brand new ADV 2.2 body geometry is reasonably aggressive. Its considerably lengthy stem is offset by a comparatively upright seat tube. When it comes to the ratio between its stack and attain, the 2024 ADV 2.2 is fairly similar to contenders just like the Canyon Grizl 6, Cannondale Topstone 2, Large Revolt collection, and Salsa Warbird.
It was athletic sufficient for quick rides and roadie descents however nonetheless relaxed sufficient for multiday gravel and grime journeys. It fell within the class of “I may bike pack or tour 50 miles a day, however my again will sometimes complain, and previous day 4-5, I’d want I had been extra upright.”
For a motorcycle geared toward protecting a large swath of driving, together with highway coaching, gentle touring, gravel grinding, leisurely rides alongside grime roads, and average bikepacking alongside reasonably technical entry roads, two-track, and lightweight, easy singletrack — it was a wise construct.
Bucking a Few Traits
The two.2’s geometry is fairly normal, however it does buck just a few traits. Gravel bike producers have, over the previous few years, shortened chainstays and slackened head tubes. This leaves the entrance wheel lighter and extra maneuverable and makes the bike a bit extra full of life.
As an alternative, REI Co-op Cycles opts for a 438mm chainstay, which is shorter than your common touring bike however longer than most 2024 gravel bikes. Even with measurement 12 ft, my heels had sufficient clearance for giant 27L panniers. The longer chainstay additionally made seated climbing, my choice when carrying further gear, simpler.
Maybe to compensate for a number of the misplaced liveliness, the two.2 opts for a barely steeper head tube angle (71.5 levels) and decrease path (65mm). This made for barely twitchier and extra responsive steering, which was considerably damped by the marginally longer-than-average stem.
The entire setup labored fairly properly with weight. Over the previous few months, with the 2024 ADV 2.2 as my major commuter, I’ve carried, on the entrance fork and handlebars, every part from just a few bottles and lightweight groceries to 40-pound a great deal of water, digital camera gear, and meals. The mixture of reasonably steep head tube, low path, and longer stem felt a lot secure, with much less sluggishness than many gravel bikes.
Handlebar Width
Nonetheless, the 44cm-wide handlebars, with solely 12-degree flared drops, felt like an odd alternative for a big body on an “journey” bike. For my cash, until you’re dedicated to primarily ripping as quick as doable, gravel bikes are finest complemented by reasonably wider, extra flared bars. Round 46-48cm, with 15-20 levels of flare on the drops, is my candy spot.
For an adventure-marketed bike, both barely extra width, barely shallower drops, just a few levels extra flare, or some mixture of all the above would have saved the bars cozy on roads whereas providing extra highly effective steering for loaded rides.
Who Is It For?
The 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 was fantastically versatile. REI’s tweaks added appreciable worth, with some caveats. It’s an important decide for the proper rider — however who’s that?
Describing gravel biking may be fairly nebulous at instances. Thus, I’ve give you a score system that’s utterly unique and impressed by no different. It categorizes the types of rides the ADV may completely smash and people I’d go on with the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2.
Every day Driving
Excessive-intensity coaching rides on pavement and effective gravel are an absolute smash. The ADV 2.2 turned a favourite for tackling a 13-mile climb, with almost a mile of vertical, as much as an alpine lake. Hitting excessive speeds on the asphalt switchbacks on the best way again down can also be a smash. At excessive velocity, the 2024 version nonetheless felt full of life, if a little bit of a large turner, with precisely the braking energy I needed I had a yr in the past.
Rail path leisure and ripping alongside hard-packed roads: smash. Gravel roads and two tracks: a normal smash with just a few caveats. Get into closely washboard roads, and the vibration will rapidly have you ever wishing for wider tires. And upgrading to a suspension stem will surely assist.
Ditto for chunky gravel. The odd golf ball-sized rocks had been welcome. Ought to the chunk get two out of the next three — heavier, sharper, or bigger than a cue ball — it’s a go. I’ve discovered quite a lot of roads all through Nice Basin and Ozarks nation the place the following time I trip them, I’ll go for a motorcycle boasting the clearance for 50mm of rubber.
Mild single monitor with wider turns and hazards in additional open areas, the place they’re simpler to keep away from: a joyful under-biking smash. Nonetheless, the second you make the paths tight, the turns sharp, and toss within the occasional boulder on uphill swings, I’d go with the ADV 2.2.
Loaded Touring
Bikepacking and touring alongside roads and average entry roads: broadly a smash. Nonetheless, as somebody with extra mass, a much bigger urge for food, and completely an excessive amount of digital camera gear, I run heavy. The ADV 2.2 dealt with a complete trip weight (together with the bike itself) of as much as 280 kilos fairly properly on easy terrain.
Nonetheless, personally, on journeys with greater than 10 stable days of pedaling, I’d favor one thing just like the Marin 4 Corners 2. With a really long-distance loadout, I’d need a stiffer body, fatter tires, and a extra upright trip.
Worth and Verdicts: The 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2
The largest draw back of the 2024 ADV 2.2 is just that it is probably not round for lengthy. REI’s 2023 mannequin has been on a discontinuation sale for months, marked down from $1,600 to round $960. That’s a steal.
So is the 2024. By all accounts, plainly the 2024 mannequin is hitting the top of its restricted run. It usually retails for round $1,850. Contemplating the standard and flexibility of its building, in addition to the guarantee and low cost that comes with it, it’s an excellent worth at that value.
Nonetheless, the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 has been marked right down to round $1,480 for weeks as a part of a discontinuation sale. At that value level, it’s a steal. Even with its predecessor cheaper, the improved braking, mounting factors, and tire clearance could be definitely worth the distinction in value.
Contemplating that the 2023 has been discontinued for months and continues to be promoting, the ‘24 will nonetheless seemingly be round for no less than just a few extra months. Nonetheless, the clock is ticking.
So, the place does that depart us? With REI’s newest swing at a midrange journey bike, it leaves us many miles down absolutely anything wanting technical single monitor and comfortably carrying 50+ kilos of drugs. It additionally saved a substantial amount of cash proper the place I prefer it: in my pockets.