British presenter Simon Richardson from GCN came to Sun Valley, Idaho to ride gravel, check in with local professional athlete and adventurer, Rebecca Rusch, and uncover some tasty new tech at Outerbike. Admittedly, Sun Valley wasn’t on Simon’s cycling radar before the trip, but after touring the area and sampling a slice of epic Idaho gravel, he was blown away. In fact, Simon enjoyed the scene so much that he was even spotted sporting a bum bag...

Sun Valley is a cyclist mecca with over 400 miles of bike-accessible singletrack in the area, 32 miles of lift-accessed trails in the Sun Valley Bike Park, and a seemingly endless amount of dirt roads. With terrain that ranges from technical trails to flowing singletrack, gravel roads, and berms and jumps in the park, there is something for just about every type of rider. There’s also no shortage of scenery and other types of recreation with Sun Valley situated within the greater Wood River Valley, just south of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and adjacent to Big Wood River that is fed locally by three distinct tributaries: Warm Springs Creek, Trail Creek, and the East Fork Wood River.

While taking in some Idaho sun and experiencing the Sun Valley cycling scene, Simon took the Viathon G.1 gravel bike on a demo ride and took a run through its finer points.

As Simon points out in the video, the new G.1 he sampled is a soon-to-be-released model equipped with a SRAM Red ETAP AXS 12-speed wireless electronic gruppo and a new copper paint colorway. The frame weighs just 1,010 grams (56cm) and comes built with all brand name parts like ZIPP components, Continental tires, Fizik saddle and bar tape, and HED wheels. Designed in conjunction with Kevin Quan Studios, the G.1 features dropped seatstays for a more compliant ride, a threaded bottom bracket, and asymmetrical chainstays to maximize tire clearance. In fact, the G.1 can fit 40c tires on 700c wheels or 2.1” tires on a 650b wheels and still offer a 2x road crank setup. The frame and fork combo also features fender mounts and rack mounts, and three sets of water bottle mounts.

Questioning where the G.1 sits on the gravel spectrum - is it a dirt-loving road bike or a mountain bike with drop bars - Simon places it somewhere in the middle, “You can fit those big fat tires on to take you towards mountain biking but the position you can get on the bike and the nimble handling means it feels a little bit like a road bike.” That sums up the G.1 well; it’s a bike that can comfortably handle a variety of terrain while offering a good fit and feel.