This Sweet and Classy Gravel Bike Lineup From Temple Cycles Is Much More Than It Appears

Ladies and gentlemen and two-wheel lovers of all ages, feast your eyes on what I find as some of the sweetest gravel bikes east of the Atlantic. Temple Cycles is the team I'm talking about today, and while they craft an array of bicycles and e-bikes, it's their gravel lineup that really has my attention. Why? That's precisely what we'll be exploring today, so grab a helmet, ready those checkbooks, and let's ride.

To get an idea of what we can expect here, let me share a thing or two about this brand. Ever since 2014, the name Temple Cycles has been known to riders within the UK, but as we can clearly see, they're extending their client base, maybe as far as the US. One other aspect you need to know is that they'll build you a tailored machine, each with handcrafted touches and Reynolds steel tubing.

Yes, the bicycles this crew builds, and even the three we'll talk about today, are built out of nothing more than steel. It's also one way to keep prices down to a minimum; the Adventure Disc series starts off priced at £1,312 ($1,600 at current exchange rates). That would be the Adventure Disc 3, and at the opposite end, for £2,167 ($2,650), is the Adventure Disc 1, the gravel wonder that grabbed my attention in the first place.

Now, to start things off, I need to point out that all three versions are built using Reynolds 725 tubes and TIG welded to give rise to the geometry we see. Best of all, the heaviest of the three bikes, the Disc 3, comes in with a total weight of just 11.1 kg (24.5 lbs). The lightest of the bunch, the Disc 1, weighs just 10.3 kg (22.7 lbs).

Overall, each of the three versions is based on the same geometry, and the difference in price is only brought about because of the components thrown onto each one. For example, the Disc 3 is rocking a pair of Schwalbe Marathon tires with a 28 mm cross-section, while the Disc 1 sports tubeless Panaracer Gravelking SKs, also have a 38 mm cross-section. Rims and hubs are also different depending on the model.

But the most important system we need to pay attention to is the drivetrain. Overall, the least expensive of the bunch is rocking a full Shimano setup with an Altus 9-speed rear derailleur and HG400 cassette multiplied by a three-ring crankset. Nothing wow, but once we start climbing up the price ladder, we start to see some serious gear.

The Disc 2 is also sporting Shimano, but this time around, a 105 cassette with 11-34T is multiplied by just two chainrings for a total of 22 speeds. As for the Disc 1, this bad boy shows up to the gravel game with a proven Shimano GRX setup tuned and optimized to just 11 speeds. GRX brake levers are also part of the magic.

Now, each of these beauties is clearly built up on a whole lot more than just wheels and steel tubes, but the list of components for each one is rather long, and if I were to try and cover everything, we'd be here for quite some time. Still, I feel you should know how your life may change if you end up grabbing one of these tensile beauties.

As I dove deeper into the Adventure series, I started to understand why they're dubbed as such, and it has very little to do with gravel riding. Part of the magic that Temple Cycles imbues into each Adventure Disc is that of being your go-far companion or a proverbial steel steed.

What I mean to say is the Temple took the time to add countless cargo mounts all over each of the three versions, helping future owners unlock much more than just Saturday morning rides, downright weekend-long journeys to the edge of town, or further.

Come to think of it, 'weekend-long' rides are simply an understatement. If you ever happen to make it to the Temple Cycles website, you'll witness the story of a man named Jack O'Shea who wanted to ride a bicycle through six countries in Africa, amassing a total of 6,000 km (3,728 mi) on his, wait for it, Adventure Disc bike!

I've added some images to the gallery to see what Jack's bike looked like, and guess what, you can recreate your very own. Give Temple a call and say, "I want a bike like Jack's!" and they'll say, "Okay!" Oh, and Jack isn't alone; countless other ambassadors transformed their Adventure Discs into similar machines, all designed to go the distance.

If you're in the market for a bicycle that has already proven itself in the real world and is ridden by real people with real stories, then Temple Cycles and the Adventure Disc need to be on your "to consider" list.