{"id":31503,"date":"2025-03-13T16:05:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T20:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/?p=31503"},"modified":"2025-04-30T14:25:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:25:20","slug":"the-e-gravel-project-behind-the-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/articles\/the-e-gravel-project-behind-the-scenes\/","title":{"rendered":"THE E-GRAVEL PROJECT: BEHIND THE SCENES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
How do we design new bikes?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

At Opus, every new bike starts with a vision. Our product managers are constantly coming up with new ideas, drawing inspiration from emerging trends, real-world testing and consumer feedback. Above all, they are cyclists at heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Spark of an Idea<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

With the vast amounts of gravel routes surrounding, its Montreal headquarters serving as our inspiration. The Horizon family was born from this love of exploration, offering balanced geometry and playful handling for riders seeking adventure. Based on these principles, we decided to push the boundaries even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prototype testing on all surfaces: light trails, gravel and pavement<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where the idea for our latest project began: an e-gravel bike designed to bring the thrill of exploration to even more riders. The Z\u00e9nith GRX 12 prototype is the result of this pursuit\u2014a bike that maintains the nimble ride characteristic of the Horizon while adding power to go further than ever before. Whether you\u2019re an experienced cyclist looking to extend your adventures or a newcomer eager to discover new terrain, this bike is built to deliver pure riding joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Technology Behind the Ride<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Choosing the right technology is a key step in process of developing a new electric bike. Every component must meet our high standards for performance, reliability, and ride quality. After extensive testing, we partnered with FSA (Full Speed Ahead) to integrate their E-System HM.2 \u2014a 40 Nm motor paired with a 250 Wh battery that delivers smooth, natural power exactly when you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FSA E-System HM.2<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hand assembled in Montreal on a lightweight aluminum frame with a carbon fork, the Z\u00e9nith weighs 31 lbs, keeping handling sharp and responsive. Tire selection was also crucial to achieve a confident ride feel across mixed terrain. After testing widths from 35mm to 45mm, we picked the Vittoria T50 40mm tires\u2014the perfect balance of grip, comfort, and speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Putting It to the Test<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Every Opus bike undergoes rigorous real-world testing before being released. For this specific prototype, the iconic Mount Royal back roads provided the ideal starting point, with the variety of mix of technical sections and challenging elevation gain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Battery range testing on hills<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The extensive testing also included the 2024 Big Red Gravel Run in Harrington, Qu\u00e9bec. That edition had apocalyptic conditions due to the major flooding of the aera. The altered 65 km course, with 825m of climbing, included knee-deep flooded sections, challenging the Z\u00e9nith\u2019s limits. The result? A bike that exceeded expectations and confirmed that we had something special on our hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Taking a bike from concept to production is never a straight path, it often requires balancing contradictory requirements. At Opus, we are dedicated to striking the perfect balance between value and quality Above all, our mission remains: to deliver the best possible ride experience on all our models. With the Z\u00e9nith GRX 12, we\u2019re bringing a new way to experience gravel riding\u2014one that opens new possibilities for adventure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VIEW BIKES<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do we design new bikes? At Opus, every new bike starts with a vision. Our product managers are constantly coming up with new ideas, drawing inspiration from emerging trends, real-world testing and consumer feedback. Above all, they are cyclists at heart. The Spark of an Idea With the vast amounts of gravel routes surrounding,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"26151,31544,26147,31519,30250,26152","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2329],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31503"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32107,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31503\/revisions\/32107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opusbike.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}