Video: Yoann Barelli Signs with Guerrilla Gravity for 2021 & Sends It On The Gnarvana
After four years with Commencal, Yoann Barelli announced he was saying farewell to the brand mid-December. No, he hasn't signed up to ride the Grim Donut full time. Instead, he's signed with Guerrilla Gravity, becoming the first high-profile athlete to work with the Colorado brand. Both sides said that the partnership was an easy “hell yes” after Yoann test rode a Gnarvana last spring. Yoann’s notorious sense of humor meshes well with Guerrilla Gravity’s tongue-in-cheek rock and roll vibes.
 | We take our suspension platform, our frame designs, and our proprietary material engineering seriously. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and neither does Yoann. Between his ability to get everyone laughing and his skills test riding new GG bikes… yeah, we’re going to have a lot of fun. He’s put every model through the paces on terrain 99% of our riders will never have to worry about, which makes his feedback invaluable. |
Barelli said that the fact that the frames are made locally in Denver, Colorado attracted him the brand. Guerrilla Gravity says their partnership with Barelli Concepts is founded on a mutual goal of increasing North American manufacturing and improving the environmental life cycle of carbon frames. One part of that is tied into local manufacturing - the raw material for Revved Carbon is made in the US, and the frames are powder coated in-house.
| What’s amazing with GG is that they make everything in-house, in Denver, Colorado. I wanted to work with a partner that was manufacturing locally and thinking seriously about their environmental impact. Revved Carbon feels like something I’ve never experienced before, it absorbs all the vibrations of the terrain and allows you to go fast, real fast, without feeling it - and I love going freaking fast! The Gnarvana instantly inspired me to send it bigger and to do lines that I’ve never considered before. I could keep talking about how awesome our journey with GG has been so far, but instead I will let these bikes do the talking for me! |
| It’s a highly efficient setup with a small carbon footprint, which makes a strong case for US/ North American-based manufacturing.Revved Carbon can also be reheated and reused again, and we’re developing ways to recycle scrap and GG Revved Carbon frames at the end of their usable lifespan,” says Will. “That’s something that’s important to Yoann, and it’s important to us. |
The GG Lineup consists of five models. The long travel 29" Gnarvana, the mid travel 29" The Smash, the shorter travel 29" Trail Pistol, the long travel 27.5” Megatrail, and the mid-travel 27.5” Shred Dogg . Complete builds of the Gnarvana, Megatrail and Shred Dogg are available for purchase now, which means no one has to wait too long for the same Revved Carbon frame that attracted Yoann Barelli.
Check out the Guerrilla Gravity lineup at RideGG.com.
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Surprised by that bold statement and move.
I wish Yoan only the best and will be interested to see if GG keeps up with him.
None of that other geo stuff on the Donut helped.
Once you go below about 65 degrees, the HTA actually doesn't matter that much. going from 70 to 69 degrees is a huge jump, from 66 to 65 degrees not so much, from 65 to 64 degrees isn't that noticeable. My theory is that the front-center length has a larger impact on handling than the HTA, and slacker HTA create a longer front center and overall wheelbase. What also matters a ton is the ratio of bottom bracket height to overall wheelbase. The Grim doughnut had a low BB, suppppper long wheelbase, and long front-center. The 57 degree HTA gave it this, and that was what made it do so well with Yoann, not specifically the chainstay length or 57 degree HTA itself.
I asked what he though of the bike (didn't even mention headtube) and he said he liked it BUT, the headset makes awful noises and even though he had gotten GG to work on it, it was still giving him issues. He seemed pretty bitter about it and thought it was an engineering issue and was unsatisfied with GGs response.
Look like awesome bikes, but all these adjustable bits worry me.
Yeah, no duh.
For any GG riders reading this, please feel free to reach out on the GG warranty form any time to troubleshoot torque, bearings, races, or cups!
I guess I am gonna have to find a Gnarvana to test ride before I decide on my next race bike.
Barelli was clearing holding a tighter line, able to throw the Donut over harder and it stick, not having to rear wheel steer, and generally holding a tighter line on the Donut. Basically, massive front wheel traction which a lack of is always the nemesis of a mountain bike ime.
That was a result of the long chainstays on the Donut, or maybe just the ratio of CS/ WB. Those that ride smaller bikes won't be familiar with this phenomenon as their shorter FC bikes with 435mm chainstays don't have these imbalance issues.
As far as what you have found regarding HTA, I agree, once the bike has balance. But when the bike is poorly balanced that HTA matters a lot. Now that I have 448mm CS however, I can't believe how trail bike like, 63.5' feels. But on a short CS bike, anything slacker than about 65.5' felt pretty unwieldy.
Chainstays need to be sized for the bike size, this will be the next big geo trend.
Yo man! The MeaSmash mullet config is certainly being ridden. Due to industry wide supply constraints and shortage, most notably on wheels it’s a “spec it yourself” this, where you would use the GG custom builder to put together a 27.5 Megatrail frame, request a 29er fork (150 or 160mm), and bring your own wheels (there are not viable OE mullet options at present).
But totally doable!
and no, not yet. I've been running mine as a Smash since I got it. At some point I would like to try the Megasmash or Megatrail, but haven't yet. My bike budget has been allocated elsewhere but if I start to get the new bike itch, I will spring for the seatstay kit and new shock/wheels.
BURN THE WITCH!
I think it’s ok to not expect someone to change his line of work if he’s good at it and is enjoying and tries to do it in the most environmental-friendly way possible.
@CM999: that argument is kinda flawed. I don’t know too much about how local GG sources their materials but by that logic he also wouldn’t be allowed to do an office job with a laptop that is made in China, or wear clothing made in Vietnam. The people would travel anyways because tourism is a thing.
You gotta draw the line somewhere, and total abstinence isn’t really possible in this globalized world. But you can try to lessen the impact and support brands who try to do the same, which is what YB does.
"The American education system" has nothing to do with anything, the guy travels excessively to promote and excessive hobby, as many do. Its as stupid as a racecar driver trying to preach about fuel efficient cars.
Mountain biking and especially mountain bikers need to quit acting like the are champions of the environment. Every industry strives to be more efficient and less wasteful, this isn't groundbreaking heroics, its basic marketing.
I mean, realistically, this partnership is to raise GG's profile further with Yoann's social media reach, and interest people in purchasing bikes from GG, so it will serve to *increase* consumption, not decrease it. Yoann talks of being able to put together multiple bikes on one GG front triangle. That would require purchasing (consuming) multiple shocks, forks, wheels, seat/chain stays as opposed to my, and I assume many other's, current set up of one bike and nothing else.
And it's recyclable carbon. Sure, great, but who recycles their bike when they're done with it? I mean, my previous aluminum frame is recyclable as well, but I sold it as a complete bike to afford my new one. Yes it's "non-recyclable" carbon this time, but I will treat it well, ride it, and then sell it eventually to get a new bike. Literally no one I know buys a bike new, rides it, recycles it like a pop can, and then buys another new bike.
I appreciate Yoann's concerns about the environment. As a relatively new parent myself, I share those same concerns. I, however, remain skeptical of the 'enviro/consumption' message of this sponsorship.
Just because you sold your last bike doesn't mean every bike will always be sold. At a certain point, they hit the end of their life cycle, and they can be scrapped for parts and material. You can also sell the bike to a material scrapper and they'll pay you for it. Then GG can get the recycled carbon for cheaper than new carbon, keeping the cost to the buyer down.
Finally, they're locally made. I suppose if you were to buy one in New Zealand, the carbon footprint of getting the bike there will be significant. But it's much more environmentally friendly to ship from Denver to B.C. than Taiwan to B.C.
The reality of the situation is that very few companies, if any, that produce consumer goods will be of no detriment to the environment. However building up, and in Yoann's case partnering with, companies like GG that are taking demonstrable steps to reduce their carbon footprint is better than the "business as usual" attitude that many people have.
GG reduces environmental impact by sourcing (relatively) local materials and building bikes with a very efficient, in-house manufacturing process. Shipping overseas is horrible for the environment.
All of their bikes use the same front triangle for a given size, further reducing number of SKUs needed to create a full lineup. Less parts manufactured = less environmental impact.
Most riders change up their bikes every year or two, but GG allows you reuse the front triangle by purchasing kits which change the travel and geo easily. A seatstay, shock, and fork air spring are a lot less impact on the environment that a complete bike.
The ability to recycle the frames is just the icing on the cake.
Also, it's much better to sell an old bike or frame to someone who will use it that recycle it. The best thing any of us can do for the environment is keep using stuff until it can't be used anymore, rather than constantly replacing it.
The other thing I find funny is that all these athlete speed countless hours (maybe not in 2020), travelling around the world to sell the products at trade shows and races. Very few athletes would stay local to avoid increasing their carbon footprint.
Thanks for your post. Marshal, the Marketing Director at GG, here. I just wanted to point out a few quick things on the recyclability stuff.
1). GG is working to recycle flash and manufacturing drop (rather than throw it away)
2). Next, GG will recycle warranty returns and un-rideable blem frames
3). Non-warranty post-consumer use bikes at the end of their life are not the focus of the recycling efforts today as that, as you point out, is rather impractical and a very long horizon. We'd rather just build great riding bikes that last a long time.
The reality is that essentially everything is, in some way, destructive to the environment. There is no silver bullet other than simply doing what you can and solving small problems one at a time. For GG, that means reducing what goes into the garbage at our own factory, because every factory puts an awful lot of stuff into landfills.
2021: I absolutely need a guerilla
And I live in Denver so a lot of GG bikes around. I know two people who have broken GG frames and have seen a third broken one at the trailhead.
The rear chainstays were known to have problems on the alloy bikes. Headsets have been problematic on some Revved bikes.
To my knowledge, nobody has cracked a frame on the trail (although I did see a bike that had a crack in the top tube, somehow).
Again, I think what you're looking for in terms of data is something outside the realm the of a bike manufacturer to do. They pointed you towards the whitepapers produced by the aerospace industry because those companies have the money to do research and lab testing of different composites. If the whitepaper said "this recipe of carbon thermoplastic, manufactured in this way, is 300% more impact resistant than the old way of producing composites" and Guerrilla Gravity replicated that manufacturing method for their frames, would we not think the 300% claim is at least somewhat accurate based on the manufacturing method similarities?
Good luck convincing anyone in the industry to give up catchy marketing claims about efficiency, lightness, strength, etc. At least GG can prove one easy fact - they are only mass produced carbon full suspension MTB frames in America.
That doesn't mean GG's process can't produce a frame that will meet whatever any customer throws at it but it will be heavier if you compare apples to apples.
I’m pretty familiar with thermo layups, I paddled whitewater with a thermo paddle out of Canada.
Due to stricter environmental laws in the USA, GG can’t pollute the way you can in places like Taiwan, China, S Korea.
So yeah, I’m pretty sure GG’s process is overall more efficient and better for the environment than having frames made overseas.
In terms of waste, I believe they reuse leftovers, though I don’t imagine they have much waste.
Folks can always find fault, but what GG is going is doubtless worth respect.
And Santa Cruz has a video of them testing their carbon V-10. Why can't GG do the same or similar? Boeing and Northrop can produce insanely strong thermoplastic carbon because they have access to billions of dollars of capital. I don't doubt that it's possible to produce a better bike frame with thermoplastics, but I do doubt that Eric, a dude who owns a small volume bike company and has a bad reputation for cutting corners, can produce a better bike frame using thermoplastic technology.
In either case, I'm not too concerned, because unlike a lot of other carbon frames who's failure mode is basically rip apart, the Revved frame construction is more likely to splinter but stay in one piece.
The lifetime warranty for original owners also gives me piece of mind.
Yoann would totally pass as Che tfipost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Che-500x375.jpg
You would!
an independent local to him bike company, and you think it's just about the dollar? interesting...
This is kind of a big deal, think about the reduction the “carbon footprint”.
I think it’s amazing that Guerilla Gravity can do this ^ without charging outrageous prices and still providing quality customer service.
More companies could learn by this model. Truly, all of us need to support companies like GG and STOP supporting big box companies.
So funny to hear such nonsense from folks who have never ridden these bikes ????
I ride a Shred Dogg 140/150 now, but I previously rode a Pistola 130/130 and a Megatrail 165/180.
I flogged the Pistola just as hard as the Megatrail: Go Fast, Ride Hard, Take Chances.
Surprised they are actually still around......
So Commencal & Giant do in fact suck ? :p