Sage Barlow Review: Where Road Meets Groad
Photos and words by Dave Malwitz
Founded in 2012, Sage Titanium Bicycles may be a relatively young brand in the bike industry, but has steadily grown a solid array of MTB and drop bar bikes in its lineup. Based in Beaverton, Oregon, a region well known for its cross culture and love for adventure, it’s not surprising that Sage has excelled at bringing premium drop bar gravel and cross bikes to the market.
Since my previous experience with the material, I was eager to get on another titanium frame. So when David Rosen offered to lend me a Barlow it was an easy yes. From a distance, I appreciated David’s deliberate effort to build bicycles that capture the ideals of cycling’s past, while not sacrificing on his imagination for the future. So how would his first gravel bike stack up?
The Barlow was first introduced in 2016, and fits squarely in between the Sage PDXCX cross bike and recently introduced Storm King gravel adventure bike. Designed with a specific fork in mind, the ENVE All Road Disc Fork offers the stiffness and clearance you would expect for a modern day gravel race machine. To test the advertised clearance I opted for the WTB Venture tires in 700 x 40c. And while these tires fit quite nicely in the rear, there was little room to spare up front. In muddy conditions I might have opted for a 35-38mm tire, but the Ventures proved to be a great choice on terrain encountered throughout Southern California, Utah and Colorado from August to October.
A CLOSER LOOK
Sleek Cable Clip System
Clearance for up to 40mm tires
Bi-ovalized downtube design
Classic raw finish
44mm headtube
Compatible ENVE fender
Made in the USA
All Sage Titanium bikes are designed, cut, welded and finished in the USA. One of my favorite features is the unique Cable Clip System, or CCS for short. With the intention of a clean look while maintaining functionality, the CCS was designed as a means to allow the use of a single hole in the frame as an entry point for Di2 wires or securing a cable stop setup like the one on my frame. While other steel and titanium bikes will often be seen with welded-on cable stops in addition to a port hole, the patented CCS system allows one to easily swap between drivetrain options without sacrificing on aesthetics or structural integrity. According to Sage, “The more holes you put into a metal tube, the weaker it gets structurally. Thus, if you run a large port or have multiple holes, the structure of the tube will be weaker than a singular small hole on the tube. Thus, the CCS was born.”
“Named for the road that brought pioneers over the Cascade Mountains on the final leg of the Oregon Trail, the Barlow is built for epic adventures. It draws on the aggressive geometry and precise handling of our award-winning Skyline road bike, while also maintaining the comfort and toughness of an off-road machine.”
As for how the bike feels and performs, the Barlow is a study in the gravel race category. A great choice for events like the Belgian Waffle Ride or SBT GRVL, the bike performs best in mixed conditions where speed and performance are a priority.
Admittedly, the Barlow draws on the aggressive geometry and precise handling of the Sage Skyline road bike. In terms of numbers, for this 54cm size frame the head tube angle is a neutral 72.5 degrees with a seat tube angle at 73.5 degrees. The effective top tube and chainstay lengths are at 55cm and 42.2cm respectively. Finally, with a wheelbase of 100.3cm these numbers are not far from what we find on the Sage PDXCX model, although the bottom bracket drop is almost a full centimeter lower. This amounts to a ride that is highly responsive and quick to accelerate. The bike feels at home on the road, while equally confident on long stretches of hardpack and loose gravel. The Barlow immediately comes to life while in the drops or climbing up out of the saddle. Lending the bike to my friend Ben at the inaugural Steamboat event, over the course of his 100 mile grind he couldn’t have been happier as the bike seemed to be a perfect match for what the race entailed. I was equally impressed on a variety of terrain, with the 3/2.5 titanium providing an amazing ride quality on everything from rough road patches to singletrack.
The Barlow is a pure 700c gravel race bike, and being so there are a couple of concessions including limited tire clearance and a slight toe overlap. Ultimately the Barlow is a solid endurance style road bike with clearance for up to 40mm. I’d definitely recommend this bike to someone looking to replace their carbon road frame with something that will perform just as good as anything they’ve experienced on pavement, while offering capabilities on gravel.
In terms of build, Sage provided me a unique setup that showcases the brand’s attention to detail and flexibility in customer preferences. While you won’t find some of these FSA components listed on the Sage website, custom builds are certainly possible according to the owner, David Rosen, “As for build options, we can build the bikes just about any way customers like with whatever components meet their needs. If someone wants it, it can be done.”
The bike building feature at the Sage website is a great starting point and offers customers an opportunity to design a bike that meets their needs and budget. The Barlow is sold as either a frameset or complete bike, with the ENVE fork being standard. Frameset + fork pricing starts at $3686, with complete bikes starting just under $6300 when buying direct. Also worth noting is just last month an exclusive Barlow SRAM Rival 1 build with DT Swiss wheels became available for just $4700 at Jenson USA.
If you’re looking for a quiver killer and find yourself where road meets groad, the Barlow is an excellent option that will stand the test of time. If additional tire clearance, ride comfort and carrying a load are higher on your priority list, then you may want to give the new Sage Storm King a look.
For more information on the Sage Barlow, and to experience for yourself how good gravel racing can look and feel visit:
And if you’re curious about that strap attached to the down tube, this was done with the Wolf Tooth Components B-RAD System that we reviewed last year.