All-City Spins Up the Gorilla Monsoon

Steel dirt drop bikes are always nice to look at and fairly versatile, but when paired with big tires they become an extraordinary thing of beauty. Lately, more and more companies are taking this to heart in effort to create a perfect do-it-all bike. With its latest creation, All-City grabbed this motif and ran. Featuring a 73mm bottom bracket shell and 27.5″ x 2.4″ WTB Riddler tires on a classically designed steel frame, the new All-City Gorilla Monsoon looks to be a stylish bike that can tackle pretty much anything.

• Highlights
• Frame/fork: “612 Select” Steel
• Angles (58cm): 71.5° Headtube, 72.5° Seattube
• Stack/Reach: 621mm/389mm
• BB Drop/Chainstay: 71.5mm/430mm
• Bottom Bracket: 73mm English
• Hub specs: 12x142mm / 100x15mm Thru-axle
• Seatpost: 30.9mm
• Max tire size: 27.5 x 2.4″
• Price: $1999 (complete), $850 (frame)

The Gorilla Monsoon frame is built from All-City’s ‘612 Select’ tubing. Like other All-City bikes, the Minneapolis-based company kept to the ‘handbuilt’ aesthetic with a lovely bi-plane crown steel fork and details such as reinforced bottle bosses. The biggest surprise on the Gorilla Monsoon is the 73mm bottom bracket shell which provides the extra tire clearance and allows MTB cranks. The frame also features front and rear thru-axles, front and rear rack and fender mounts, compatibility with Surly-8 and 24-Pack racks, stealth dropper post routing, 27.5 x 2.4” tire clearance (650b x 48 with fenders), signature All-City dropouts, E.D. coating for rust prevention, and three water bottle mounts. In addition there are three cable mounts on the downtube, giving you the option of adding a front derailleur or a dropper post. For reference, here’s the max ring sizes for each setup: 1X = 38T, 2X = 28/42, 3X = 26/36/48.

The Gorilla Monsoon was also built to handle a variety of other tire sizes, such as 650b x 47mm tires. According to All-City, this results in a slightly lower BB which gives the bike “excellent manners when riding with a load”… a setup they fully endorse. If you want to run 700c wheels and tires, the frame maxes out at 42mm which will raise your BB by 8mm. 700c x 38 keeps the BB about the same.

Frame Specs

The frame features double butted down, top, and seat tubes, externally tapered, ovalized, and dimpled chain stays, tapered seat stays, and a replaceable derailleur hanger. The fork features 4130 CroMoly tapered fork blades, mountain lugged crown and 15mm thru-axle dropouts, straight steertube, and IS Disc Brake Tabs.

• Rear Spacing 142 x 12
• Brake Compatibility Disc Only, 160mm Front & Rear Minimum Rotor Size
• Seatpost Diameter 30.9mm
• Steerer Tube / Headset 1-1/8″ threadless, EC34 upper & lower, Crown race 30.0
• Bottom Bracket 73mm English
• Tire Clearance 27.5 x 2.4″
• Extras Rack & fender mounts, E.D. coated for durability and rust prevention

Complete Build Specs Specs

• Headset Cane Creek 40 Series
• Stem Promax 3D Forged Stem
• Handlebar Salsa Cowchipper
• Bar Tape All-City Silicone Bar Tape w/Locking End Plugs
• Shifter/Brake Lever SRAM Apex1 Mechanical (1×11)
• Rear Derailleur SRAM Apex1, Long Cage
• Brakeset Hayes CX Expert, 160mm Front & Rear
• Crankset FSA Comet 1x, Direct Mount 36t Ring
• Bottom Bracket MegaExo
• Seatpost Promax 30.9mm
• Saddle All-City Gonzo
• Cassette Sunrace 11spd, 11-42t
• Chain SRAM PC1110
• Hubs Novatec Sealed Bearing, 32h, Black
• Rims WTB STP i25 TCS, 27.5″, 32h
• Tires WTB Ridler TCS 27.5″ x 2.4″

The All-City Gorilla Monsoon is available as a frameset only for $850 or complete as specced above at $1999. It looks like it is available now but selling fast. Check your local QBP dealer for details. Learn more over at AllcityCycles.com. We hope to test one soon… stay tuned.

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