Argon18 has been around for some time now, and it was one of the early adopters of fast, lightweight gravel bikes, with its original Dark Matter bike. I was fortunate enough to review it, and at the time, it was easily one of the best gravel bikes I had ridden, blending low weight, responsive handling, and polished trail manners, which made it a great all-around bike.
Times change, though, and the gravel market has moved faster than anything else in the last couple of years, so it's no surprise that there's an updated version on its way. Despite this, Argon18 has stuck to its original formula of a more rounded bike designed for long-distance riding and racing. With its range of mounting options, it should also make a great bikepacking bike.
Longer, slacker, lower
Those of you who ride mountain bikes will be all too familiar with the words, longer, slacker and lower when it comes to geometry, but it is still not as widespread in the gravel world as it probably should be. The latest Dark Matter follows this trend, featuring a longer reach and wheelbase, as well as a 1-degree slacker head angle. This should give it a more planted feeling and make it easier to handle over rough sections and technical descents, which not only enhances trail speed but can also help reduce fatigue on long rides.
It's also bang on trend for wider tyres, taking up to 57mm wide rubber, with 50mm versions fitted as standard specification. It has improved aerodynamics, and thanks to enhancements in its lay-up and dropped seatstays, they have increased comfort levels too, while also reducing the frame weight by 150g. Argon has also included frame storage in the downtube, which is ideal for those who prefer a clean-looking bike free from bags, for day-to-day riding.
There's no mention of suspension compatibility from the Canadian brand, but the Argon18 rider Chris Hall posted some pictures on his instagram feed yesterday of a his dark matter sporting the latest fork from Fox for the upcoming Traka event in Girona that features some pretty technical (for gravel at least) trails and gives an idea of just how capable a bike it could be for those looking to blur the lines between XC mtb and gravel.
Availability and pricing
The Argon 18 Dark Matter will be available in three specifications, with prices ranging from £3,500 to £6,500.
The GRX version will be the first one to hit shop floors, with the two SRAM variants due to follow later. All are built around a 1x groupset, which I'm happy to see, as my main criticism of the original bike was its old-school feeling and tyre width limiting 2x set-up.
Though if you're still a double chainset fan, the frame will take it, but as yet, there's no word on frame-only options.
The specs are as follows.
Dark Matter SRAM Force XPLR AXS
Frame/fork: Dark Matter carbon
Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS Wide 40t, 10-44t
Wheelset: Zipp 303 XPLR S
Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RX Pro TLR 50mm
Bars: FSA A-Wing Pro AGX
Stem: FSA SMR-II
Saddle: Repente Quasar 2.0
Seatpost: Argon 18 TDS-C carbon
Price: £6,500 / $6,650 / €7,395
Dark Matter SRAM Rival AXS
Frame/fork: Dark Matter carbon
Groupset: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS Wide 40t, 10-44t
Wheelset: DT Swiss G1800 alloy
Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RX Pro TLR 50mm
Bars: FSA A-Wing Pro AGX
Stem: FSA SMR-II
Saddle: Repente Quasar 2.0
Seatpost: Argon 18 TDS-C carbon
Price: £4,500 / $4,650 / €5,095
Dark Matter Shimano GRX
Frame/fork: Dark Matter carbon
Groupset: Shimano GRX RX822/610 40t, 10-51t
Wheelset: DT Swiss G1800 alloy
Tyres: Vittoria Terreno T50 Mixed 50mm
Bars: FSA A-Wing Pro AGX
Stem: FSA SMR-II
Saddle: Repente Quasar S 2.0
Seatpost: Argon 18 TDS-C carbon
Price: £3,500 / $3,650 / €3,995
For more information, check out Argon18.com.
