All-Road Exploration : Flagstaff to Grand Canyon on the 6061 Black Label All-Road

To put our latest creation to the test, we asked the State Bicycle Co. team to saddle up and push the new 6061 All-Road bikes to the limit, riding trails and dirt roads from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon via the Arizona Trail. The rocky-route, most appropriate for hikers and mountain bikes, provided a perfect way to see how capable and these machines could be. See how it went down:

Things you'll need for this ride:

• A bike: MTB with suspension preferred, or a gravel bike with 650b tires. Our team decided to use 700 x 38c tires "for speed".
• A plan: we scouted the night before to make sure we knew where we could find the riders are all time. See the route: https://www.strava.com/routes/20149675
• A 'can-do' attitude. 

Pre-ride meeting and planning. The weather swung from low 40s to high 80s so we had to bundle then shed.Loaded up headed to trail.The first 2 miles where paved, from there; all dirt. ..

Heavy would be an understatement of what we put ourselves and these bikes through!  The ride was epic, we couldn’t have planned a better time of year to rip it from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon.  Leafs changing, 40 degree swing in temperature, 8 hours of saddle time and the new State 6061 ALL ROAD, these are the adventures this bike was made for.  This bike makes you fall in love with riding all over again, once you get on it - you can’t help but Explore Your State... and yourself, we sure did and we hope you do as well! - SBC Team Rider Johnny Corcoran

Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon forever changed my mind of what a gravel bike is capable of. The purpose of this ride was to push the ability of what a gravel bike is capable of, and IF it could even be completed on said bike. Not only did the 6061 have us finish with zero mechanicals, I feel like I could have even thrown more at it. Well done to SBC for building an all-around geometry catered to a speedy back country explorer.

As a team, we are careful of who we partner with for sponsors- quality over quantity. I’ll leave you with a shameful plug of the MVPs who helped us succeed on this journey, companies you should consider should you dabble in this challenging world of gravel: AX series Easton components, Vittoria tires, Handup gloves, and HelloBlueCBD- I’m not kidding on that last one, you can imagine how fatigued our backs and shoulders were after navigating such technical terrain. Relax butter made this punishment to my body forgettable in no time.   - SBC Team Rider, Scott Piercefield

When people ask me what my most difficult ride was, it always took me a minute to go through the countless rides that left me splayed out on the floor. Not anymore. Over the course of 6 and half hours, I pushed myself over miles of rock gardens, dozens of sandpits, up and over mountains, and finally to rim of the Grand Canyon. It was nothing like what we expected. No amount of research or scouting could prepare us for the unrelenting punishment that 75 miles of single track could bring. Fortunately our bikes were able to handle it fine, without a single mechanical or failure of any kind. It will be burned in my mind as one of the hardest, but most memorable days on a bike. - Chris Tolley, State Bicycle Co. Team Rider