Bossi Grit Titanium gravel bike review
THE BOSSI GRIT TI IS THE CIVILISED GRAVEL GRINDER
Words and Images - James Raison
Sydney-based Bossi Bicycles might not be a brand that many will be aware of. They’ve been in the market for a handful of years with a range of road, commute, and CX-focused frames and full builds. Recently, head designer James Bossi has trimmed down the range and focused on the road and booming gravel market.
The Grit is his take on the gravel bike. Its sleek and minimalist aesthetic has plenty of very fine details and quality manufacturing touches when you get up close. Something so pleasing on the eye surely must be respected and revered during a review? Nope. The Bossi is one of the two most abused bikes I’ve ever reviewed - the other being the Grove R.A.D gravel bike. There’s just something about gravel bikes that makes me want to flog them…
So what did I learn from thoroughly mistreating a very nice frame?
Yep, it’s quite a good-looker
SPEC
Price: $3,920 for frame, fork, seatpost, headset, and thru axles
3AL-2.5V Titanium frame
6AL-4V press-fit bottom bracket
Toray T800 monocoque carbon flat-mount disc fork with triple rack mounts
Double ovalised chainstays
Flat mount disc brakes 12 x 100mm front and 12 x 142mm rear Thru-axle
Tapered headtube 1 1/8” – 1 1/2" Integrated headset
Di2/ETAP compatible
3D CNC dropout Internal cable routing
27.2mm carbon seatpost Laser engraved logos
Pannier rack mounts Clearance for 45c(700c) and 2"(650b) tyres
THE REST
Pro Discover Medium Flare handlebars
GETTING THE BUILD TOGETHER
I reached out to Bossi about sending a Grit frame after Shimano asked us to review the new GRX Di2 groupset. Bossi agreed, sending frameset and wheels. The build was done at Bossi dealer Bio-Mechanic Cycles and Repairs (BMCR) where the build process was partly featured in my article on Facing Bike Frames, which has been the most popular article of the year so far.
It’s not a standard build so this review is devoted to the Bossi parts specifically with links to other reviews.
Some of the lovely details don’t materialise until you’re up close
FINER DETAILS
There’s plenty to appreciate with the Grit frame. The entry and exit ports for cables and hoses are very smooth and cleverly allow mechanical and electronic drivetrains. There’s tidy rack mounts, CNC dropouts, and laser engraved decals to feast your eyes on. My favourite is the tapered headtube that transitions almost seamlessly with the fork. It’s an aesthetically pleasing frame.
TITANIUM PRESSFIT
I want to get a little bit nerdy with the BB because it’s an important consideration with Ti frames. For a start, Bossi has specced a higher grade of titanium: 6AL-4V. It’s a generally stronger grade of Ti, and can better handle being shaped into a BB shell. It’s a nice little detail to make that area of the bike more resilient.
The sound of silence
The pressfit bottom bracket caused me some apprehension because I’ve owned titanium pressfit frames before and it was a problematic experience. Titanium is a temperamental material. Depending on the circumstances it can creak incessantly, fuse with other materials, or weld itself to other titanium parts. It is with no small amount of pleasure that I can report… drumroll… an absolutely silent bottom bracket. In over 1,500 km of riding it hasn’t made a sound and it’s got a bog-standard Shimano BB in there. The frame did have some extra finishing with a facing done on the bottom bracket shell that shaved off a very small amount of material. The lesson here is properly made pressfit is fine, and the Bossi BB has been done properly.
James Bossi did tell me that the next generation Grit SX bottom bracket will be T47i - but more to meet market expectations than any concession that pressfit isn’t good enough. My experience with the Grit showed me that quality manufacturing is the difference.
CARBON GRAVEL DISC FORK
The fork was a pleasant surprise. Its carbon construction gave vibration and bump reduction, it has fully internal routing, and clearance for a whopping 700c 55mm tyres. The killer feature is the triple cage mounts. It’s a bonafide adventure bike fork, from a gravel perspective anyway. It’s got nuthin on a Surly Troll but it’s certainly a nice feature for a gravel bike. It’s especially nice because the Grit frame doesn’t have a mount under the down tube.
6AL4V TITANIUM STEM
The titanium stem Bossi is a beautiful and wholly unnecessary indulgence. It’s a standard sizing and is angled at +/- 7 degrees. It costs a chunk at $290. Why buy it? Because it’s pretty. It’s very resilient too with mounts and bags rubbing away at it with no aesthetic impact to the beautiful brush finish. It doesn’t change the ride experience in a noticeable way but it sure is nice to look at! The stem is not part of the standard Bossi Grit frameset and is an optional extra.
Love that stem!
GEOMETRY
The Grit’s geometry chart is the most important feature in many ways. It’s fairly unusual within the gravel market for its blending of genres.
I’d describe the Bossi Grit’s geometry as a long-tail endurance groad bike. It separates itself from gravel bikes based on CX geometry with a taller front end and longer rear end. The stack is 598 mm, the chainstays are a lengthy 440 mm, and the total wheelbase being 1032 mm. Within the gravel market it’s interesting to see numbers like that with. There’s strengths and weaknesses to this style of geometry but the important factor is correct context. It’s a frame aimed at buyers who want a tall and chilled bike, not a shouty trail shredder.
The tall and close front end doesn’t suit me personally but will suit plenty of others who want a slightly more upright position. I’d have liked a bit more reach and a little lower stack because my moderate flexibility and gangly arms like the extra room to move.
This size is cutting it very fine with the front centre length and fork rake though. That’s the measure that determines if there’s a toe overlap and I occasionally brushed my toe on the tyre on sharp up-hill switchbacks when I wore my long-toed Fizik Terra Powerstrap Terra X4. It’s a tiny brushing on the shoe, but warrants acknowledgement.
THE RD1 WHEELS
I wanted to mention Bossi’s wheels that came with the frame because they were such a pleasant surprise. I’ll get around to reviewing them soon in-full but here’s the short story.
They’re wide. I measured 22mm internal, 30 mm external. They have quality SAPIM CX-Ray spokes, DT240 straight pull hubs, weigh in at 1,355g. They cost $2,200 which is more than reasonable considering they’re hand-built in-house by Bossi and have a 3 year warranty.
The ride is what matters and they are all-round excellent. They’re light, and roll rapidly as you’d expect from the spec sheet. The comfort is where they impressed me most. They elevate the already smooth Ti frame to a world of floatiness and indifference to bumps and vibrations. If you can stretch your budget to get carbon wheels then definitely do it. I rode the Bossi with aluminium Shimano GRX WH-RX570 for a couple of months and the Bossi RD1 wheels make a world of difference.
THE RIDE
I’ve put the Bossi through basically everything a gravel bike is expected to do, and probably a little more for fancy titanium ones, since the build was finished in January.
The titanium ride quality is certainly here. I’ve ridden enough Ti frames to be accustomed to the smooth feel. I described it in my Pragmatic reasons to buy titanium bikes article as the neutral centrepoint of all other materials. Specifically: “The stiffness of aluminium but without the harshness, the slight spring of steel without feeling spongy, and much of the raciness of carbon fibre without getting beaten up.” The Bossi has all of those sensations and, importantly, feels like a more expensive titanium bike. I’ve ridden Ti at a few pricepoints and the more expensive usually tends to be better. The Bossi feels very good for a $3,920 frameset.
As you’d expect, it’s excellent for long days of gravel grinding and mixed terrain riding. It saw me through some very long and tough rides in hot summer and some grotty winter. The sum of all parts; carbon wheels, fork, and seatpost makes for such a relaxed gravel bike. I regularly did rides with over 5 hours saddle time and wasn’t completely obliterated in the process. There’s no completely escaping the bumps and vibrations of gravel on a rigid bike like this but it’s one of the more sympathetic frames.
On-road it’s more than capable. It’s got that endurance-road feel that’s reminiscent of former bikes that’ve come through my collection. It is genuinely quick on tarmac too with such light wheels, and the fast Continental Terra Speed tyres. Road descending is a breeze, largely because the geometry limits how much you can send it so it’s more a case of relaxing into corners. Its long tail makes it poised and settled over bumpy roads, but also gives it bonus grip on gravel. Longer chainstays tend to give a little better rear grip over shorter. I appreciated how it could put power down when I felt like stomping some pedal strokes out of the saddle.
The Bossi is a lovely bike to ride for those who like things relaxed and civilised.
AINT NO SHRED SLED
One of the Grit’s weaknesses is handling on technical terrain. The angles, tall front, and long rear make the Grit sluggish on terrain where you want agility. Take uphill switchbacks as an example. One of my favourite gravel loops has several tight corners to navigate and the Bossi takes some cajoling to thread through. By contrast, the same corners in the Grove are dispatched with much more ease as the angrier geometry suits quicker direction changes.
The front end is very relaxed
I occasionally wished for a lower front end if I was dropping down some technical sections too. The front is less responsive than something like the Grove R.A.D which I’ve run plenty of times through the same technical terrain. If you’re a rider who wants to get shreddy, the Grit aint for you. It’s the trade-off for all that chill.
WHO IS THE BUYER?
Ultimately the Grit’s defining features are the quality manufacturing and the geometry.
The geometry depends on the buyer. If the idea of a tall-fronted-endurance-road, long-tailed-gravel-bike-rear appeals then you are the buyer. Personally the geometry isn’t quite right for me. The main reason I don’t give bikes a score is because I don’t like punishing products because it doesn’t suit me personally. I think it absolutely will suit plenty of others and there’s not many other frames on the market that cater for the crossover the Bossi grit does. There’s plenty of adventure-focused, or aggressive CX-focused frames on the market but not many like this.
For me, the upcoming Grit SX most certainly appeals more with a longer front end, more angled fork, and shorter rear with yoked chainstay. I’ve seen the geometry chart for the Grit SX and I wouldn’t say people should wait for that if the Grit appeals to you. I think it’s different enough to be considered a markedly different model for a different rider, but with a shared name.
WRAPPING UP
As I said at the top, the Bossi Grit is the civilised gravel grinder. It’s well-designed, well-made, well-priced, and well-suited to the niche its targeting. It’s not going to please everyone because of how relaxed its geometry is, but I expect those who want something at this end of the spectrum will be very pleased.
I appreciate products that realise their purpose and the Bossi Grit does it well. It’s not my ideal gravel bike but I’m not the target buyer. Be sure you know what the purpose is before you invest and I think there will be some satisfied Bossi owners.
Buying a grit: there’s Bossi dealers in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Perth. Head on over to the Bossi website for more info about buying a Grit.
Disclosure statement: The Bossi products were sent for review. It’s not paid, and we don’e get the proceeds of Bossi product sales.
