The "Wrong" Trails Made Me Love This Gravel Bike

For most of 2026, I’ve been on eMTBs, or longer-travel trail bikes, and although mountain biking is where my heart is, my head wanted something different. Something a little spicier. Something that made the trails I know quite well on a mountain bike feel a bit more engaging. I recently took possession of a new gravel bike for testing, a Blackheart Bike Co. Gravel AL, but this isn’t the full review for that bike; it’s just an appreciation for the type of riding I’ve been enjoying since building it up.

Sure, the 47c tires, rigid alloy frame, and drop bars are a wild departure from the bikes I’ve been on this year; it’s been a refreshing and rewarding gateway to making the mundane feel exciting again. For context, the Blackheart Gravel AL isn’t the most progressive or MTB-adjacent gravel bike on the market. It’s marketed as a slightly aero gravel bike. It doesn’t have the widest tire clearance. It’s aluminum with a carbon fork, a one-piece bar-and-stem, and geometry that suggests it wants to see the start line of a gravel race. However, that’s not what I’ve been doing with it, and it hasn’t missed a step.

Details

• Frame: Double butted 6066 aluminum frame
• Tiresize: 700c x 50mm front and rear
• Fork: ENVE Gravel In-Route carbon
• BB: T47-85.5 bottom bracket
• Seatpost: 31.6mm
• GroupsetCompatibility: 1X Electronic or mechanical | 2X Electronic only
  (34.9 mm front derailleur hanger size)
• Available at Blackheartbikeco.com

I’ve been curious about Blackheart Bikes for a few years, and jumped at the opportunity to test one. I wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of a “premium” alloy gravel bike because, honestly, alloy is known for stiffness rather than comfort and ride quality, something that is a must for gravel and adventure biking. But that is where the Blackheart Gravel AL has been most surprising. It’s comfortable – arguably more comfortable than some carbon or steel bikes I’ve ridden. 

If you were to ask anyone who knows me, they’d say I’m a mountain biker, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love getting weird on other types of bikes, and the Blackheart Gravel AL has been a 10/10 palette cleanser from all the e-bikes and trail bikes I’ve been on lately. Hell, I might even shave my legs and start chugging bi-carb or sign up for a gravel race. Probably not. But I will be packing the frame bags and loading this bike up for some bikepacking trips to see if it can also pull double-duty on some overnighters.

I haven’t been gentle with the Blackheart Gravel AL. I’ve been riding it like a mountain bike, and it doesn’t seem to have a problem with that. In fact, it might be enjoying it, but seeing as it’s not sentient, I can’t ask. But I do know that it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it without a problem, which brings me to the point: Underbiking is underrated.

What is Underbiking?

There’s no such thing as the wrong bike, just the wrong tire pressure and mentality. That is what the Blackheart has been proving to me. But what is “Underbiking” and why am I such a vocal advocate for bringing what some might consider the wrong bike to the trails?

Underbiking is pretty simple. It’s riding a bike that doesn’t quite make sense on the trails you’re riding. Think gravel bike on mountain bike trails, or a cross-country bike on a downhill trail. The act of underbiking isn’t anything new, and it’s frankly becoming a pretty mainstream activity, especially as gravel bikes get more and more capable.

Why do I think underbiking is important? In short, it’s just fun. It turns boring trails into fun ones that test your bike-handling and problem-solving skills. Underbiking doesn’t need to be on drop bars either. It can be on any bike that makes you think, “Maybe this isn’t the right bike for the terrain.” A 26” basket bike with cantilever brakes or a gravel bike with 47c tires, they all fit the bill.

Now, about the bike I’ve been choosing to underbike on.

Blackheart Gravel AL First Hits

To kick things off, I need to address that although the Gravel AL is alloy, it sure doesn’t ride like other alloy gravel bikes I’ve swung a leg over. That’s partly thanks to the geometry and my tire pressures, but the material used also plays a big role. The V2 Gravel AL frames are made from 6066 Aluminum alloy, compared to the 7055 used in the V1 frames. 6066 is a durable, high-strength-to-weight ratio material. This being a gravel bike, durability and predictability matter a ton. Compared to more common aluminum alloys used in bike frames, 6066 offers higher tensile strength, enabling lighter hydroformed structures without sacrificing long-term durability. That means that it is better suited to years of repeated impacts and torsional abuse.

All these factors translate into a frame that feels planted and composed, without the harshness or fragility of other alloys. It’s more forgiving than the previous 7055 frames, and it still hits a competitive weight, features classic tube shapes, and offers ride quality I’ve been really impressed with for an alloy frame.

Geometry

When looking at gravel bike geometry, it’s quite different from mountain bikes. Sizing is still based on the top-tube length (usually). Head tube angles and seat tube angles are less aggressive, although the STA is usually pretty similar between mountain bikes and gravel bikes. Despite the differences, you still want a bike to feel balanced, and the Blackheart Gravel AL is just that. The front center is pretty proportionate to the rear center, and the geometry is stable without feeling totally sluggish when you’re on the road.

It’s not all gumballs and rainbows, though, and there are some aspects that I don’t really like about the bike. For one, the headset cable routing is a hassle, and the spacers and one-piece bar-stem have led me to hunt for creaks and pull things apart on the trail. But the cockpit is pretty damn clean, so I can’t knock it too much.

The seatpost is 31.6, and that means dropper posts are an option if you want to take that route. I tried fitting a RockShox AXS dropper I had sitting around, but the 225mm post wouldn’t sink low enough in the frame. It’s still an option.

Build Kit

The bike came equipped with the new SRAM Rival shifters and brakes, mated to a GX T-Type derailleur and 10-52t cassette. Paired with a 44t chainring, the gear range is pretty massive for whatever I have decided to crawl up, and I have yet to find myself walking anything. The ergonomics of the Rival shifters are top-notch; they clearly borrowed inspiration from the GRX Di2 levers but refined them in a way that makes me like them even more, which is saying something. The braking is where they really shine, though, and the one-finger actuation is sublime.

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Wheels are the Hunt Carbon Gravel 35, and I honestly can’t comment on them beyond noting they’ve not been a component I worry about, no matter where I’m riding, which I’d say is a great thing. They’ve been solid. They’re light, strong, and offer enough compliance to feel comfortable even in some less-than-comfortable situations.

In terms of finish, the frame feels very premium and shatters the impression that aluminum bikes are cheap. The paint is absolutely sick, and I get more compliments on this bike than any other in my current crop of test bikes.

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First Impressions

I have about 125 miles on the Blackheart Gravel AL so far, with many more planned as the weather keeps getting better. So far, I have enough information in my brain for a first impression, and that impression is more positive than I expected from an alloy gravel bike. What Blackheart has made with the Gravel AL certainly shifts my opinions on what an alloy gravel bike “should” ride like.

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From singletrack to washboarded fire roads and paved commutes to and from said terrain, the Gravel AL handles it. The build kit is well thought out, and the geometry is bang on for a bike that is designed to do a little bit of everything. Although I don’t love the through-the-headset cable routing and the limited cockpit setup options, I can’t ding it too much because the ride is delightful.

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Stay tuned for the second installment and final impressions after I sink some more time into the bike. For now, I can confidently say that the Blackheart Gravel AL is an impressive example of what can be done with alloy.