Adventure-Worthy Gravel Bike, Incredible Value: REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 Review

It’s so nice that I had to do it twice. Last year, I forced the 2023 REI ADV 2.2 to drag my 200-pound rear from the chunky access roads of the mountains north of Flagstaff to the prickly pear spine-laden dirt roads of Sedona Red Rock country. From bombing down highway switchbacks to lugging 60 pounds of gear up steep chunks, the 2023 ADV 2.2 was a value-conscious mensch.

Some of that value came not only from the bike but also from REI itself. Its bikes come with a year of free basic service. Members also get 20% off service rates for any other maintenance indefinitely. With locations aplenty, the ability to pull up to a shop for some last-minute, discounted fine-tuning before or after a trip added extra bang for the buck.

It’s rare when a product’s next iteration fixes your every complaint. Back in yellow and black in 2024, REI’s mid-range 29’er comes with mounting points galore. A complete Shimano GRX drivetrain and braking system brings more feedback, range, and versatility to the platform. A wider 45mm tire clearance gives the 2024 version added capability and versatility on roads and trails alike.

For a few months, the newest REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 carried me all around Illinois and Nevada, both loaded and unloaded with gear. The riding surface covered the entire range, from unmaintained and rough pavement to fast dirt roads and chunky single-track trails. It served as a training tool, grocery-getter, and adventure steed.

In short, REI Co-op Cycles’ revamped ADV 2.2 brings considerable upgrades, upping its adventure game significantly for a relatively insignificant increase in price. Add in REI’s discounted services, and the versatile gravel bike leaves little to complain about. There’s just one catch: It’s marked down at a steep discount, making it an absolute steal right now — but it might not be around for long. 

Where We’ve Gone With the ADV 2.2

Before we talk about the new updates, let’s review where we started. The ’23 ADV 2.2 was REI’s premiere 29” adventure bike. Naturally, “What exactly is an adventure bike?” was a major question throughout testing. “Adventure Cycling” always seemed tied up in gravel bikes — themselves a category only slightly less opaque. Were they road bikes cosplaying as MTBs, lighter touring bikes with shorter chainstays and more mounting points, or something else entirely?

Putting aside geometry, if you asked the 2023 ADV 2.2 what made it an adventure cycle, its various components would have given some disparate answers.

2023 ADV 2.2 Drivetrain

The Shimano GRX 400 drivetrain pointed to making it up and down most gradients. Fair. Personally, I believe gravel drivetrains’ value is in their clutch, reliability, and gear inches. For my money, the 2 x10 400 series offers one of the best values for performance on the market, even over its 2 x11 GRX 600 sibling.

Gear inches is simply a measure of the ground covered per crank revolution at the lowest and highest gearing. Lugging gear up steep gravel on bikepacking trips? I want 20″ or below at the lowest gearing. Bombing down a section of highway switchbacks? I want my high-end north of 105 inches.

The GRX 400 was a reliable drivetrain with smooth shifting that ranged from around 23 to 117 inches. I didn’t have to walk up any hills short of “oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” I never dropped a chain. And the rear derailleur clutch prevented chain slap, even when bombing down washboard roads.

Brakes

The Tektro mechanical disc brakes on the 2023 ADV 2.2 were reliable when riding at a moderate pace. Granted, bombing down paved and chunky switchbacks alike with a total ride weight near 280 pounds is a big ask. On fast descents, the ’23 treated stopping as less of an immediate command and more of a time-sensitive conversation.

I had to put more oomph into the brake levers and make do with a touch of muddiness in the feedback. Also, for a flagship model to not have hydraulic disc brakes seemed like an unworthy corner to cut.

Mounting Points and Tire Clearance

The 2023 carbon fork had ample space for racks and cage systems that work without mounting points. However, for a bike marketed for adventure cycling, skimping on fork and frame mounts seemed an odd choice.

The wheels and tires asked for hardpack, kitty litter, and roads alike. But, at 40mm wide, washboard BLM roads, chunky access roads, and any slippery surface or single-track trail would have been best left to REI’s DRT 1.3 MTB.

Where We’re Going With the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2

A new year apparently comes with a more refined identity, as the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 has solid upgrades.

2024 ADV 2.2 Drivetrain and Brake Upgrades

The ’24 is built around the same GRX 400 drivetrain. The switch between last year’s Tiagra 4700 shifters and this year’s GRX 400 ones is a small difference. The latter was a touch more ergonomic in my hands. When it was time to clamp down, though, the difference got pretty noticeable.

If you’re covering thousands of miles where bike shops are hard to come by, there’s still an argument to be made for mechanical brakes. However, if you’re looking at sheer versatility and performance for an adventure-oriented gravel bike, it’s hard to compete with hydraulics — especially when said hydraulics are Shimano GRX 400 brakes.

The ‘24’s GRX brakes were considerably more powerful and delivered better feedback, especially when braking at high speeds and in steep terrain. In addition to its general reliability, even on long trips through remote areas, you’d be hard-pressed to find a shop that couldn’t service a system as popular as GRX.

Expanded Tire Clearance

The ’24 2.2 opts for 45mm Kenda Alluvium Pro tires. They’re less knobby — a more generalist road/fine gravel tread. I typically prefer clearance for at least 50mm tires on gravel bikes. The Alluvium more or less maxed out the 2.2’s clearance (in the rear, at least, the front could manage up to 47mm, provided you’re not riding through mud).

I told myself I wouldn’t convert it to tubeless until I had to replace an inner tube. This usually doesn’t take long. I rack up flats like a panini press. It’s now been months.

Through hundreds of miles along Illinois rail trails, Nevada highways, BLM access roads that were more rut than the road, and chunky singletrack, I’m still rocking the same inner tube. With the ‘23 tires, I racked up two flats within 250 miles of cycling around Flagstaff and Sedona.

Numerous Mounting Points

My bikepacking trip with the ’23 saw me running a handlebar bag and strapping Topeak Versacages to my fork. The 24’s plentiful fork mounts allowed me to run a versatile, maximalist luggage system up front: Versacages for 1.5L bottles, a wide Old Man Mountain Pizza Rack for camera gear, and a handlebar bag for food.

Add to that a bevy of other mounting points for frame packs, cages, and braze-on tube top bags, and the ’24 already felt more like a bike actually meant to carry gear farther and through a wider variety of terrains than its predecessor.

2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 Frame Geometry

Moderately Aggressive Geometry

The new ADV 2.2 frame geometry is moderately aggressive. Its somewhat long stem is offset by a relatively upright seat tube. In terms of the ratio between its stack and reach, the 2024 ADV 2.2 is pretty comparable to contenders like the Canyon Grizl 6, Cannondale Topstone 2, Giant Revolt series, and Salsa Warbird.

It was athletic enough for speedy rides and roadie descents but still relaxed enough for multiday gravel and dirt trips. It fell in the category of “I could bike pack or tour 50 miles a day, but my back will occasionally complain, and past day 4-5, I’d wish I were more upright.”

For a bike aimed at covering a wide swath of riding, including road training, light touring, gravel grinding, leisurely rides along dirt roads, and moderate bikepacking along moderately technical access roads, two-track, and light, simple singletrack — it was a sensible build.

Bucking a Few Trends

The 2.2’s geometry is pretty standard, but it does buck a few trends. Gravel bike manufacturers have, over the last few years, shortened chainstays and slackened head tubes. This leaves the front wheel lighter and more maneuverable and makes the bike a bit more lively.

Instead, REI Co-op Cycles opts for a 438mm chainstay, which is shorter than your average touring bike but longer than most 2024 gravel bikes. Even with size 12 feet, my heels had enough clearance for large 27L panniers. The longer chainstay also made seated climbing, my preference when carrying extra gear, easier.

Perhaps to compensate for some of the lost liveliness, the 2.2 opts for a slightly steeper head tube angle (71.5 degrees) and lower trail (65mm). This made for slightly twitchier and more responsive steering, which was somewhat damped by the slightly longer-than-average stem.

The whole setup worked quite well with weight. Over the last few months, with the 2024 ADV 2.2 as my primary commuter, I’ve carried, on the front fork and handlebars, everything from a few bottles and light groceries to 40-pound loads of water, camera gear, and food. The combination of moderately steep head tube, low trail, and longer stem felt plenty stable, with less sluggishness than many gravel bikes.

Handlebar Width

However, the 44cm-wide handlebars, with only 12-degree flared drops, felt like an odd choice for a large frame on an “adventure” bike. For my money, unless you’re committed to primarily ripping as fast as possible, gravel bikes are best complemented by moderately wider, more flared bars. Around 46-48cm, with 15-20 degrees of flare at the drops, is my sweet spot.

For an adventure-marketed bike, either slightly more width, slightly shallower drops, a few degrees more flare, or some combination of all of the above would have kept the bars comfy on roads while offering more powerful steering for loaded rides. 

Who Is It For?

The 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 was fantastically versatile. REI’s tweaks added considerable value, with some caveats. It’s a great pick for the right rider — but who is that? 

Describing gravel cycling can be pretty nebulous at times. Thus, I’ve come up with a rating system that is completely original and inspired by no other. It categorizes the sorts of rides the ADV could absolutely smash and those I’d pass on with the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2. 

Daily Riding

High-intensity training rides on pavement and fine gravel are an absolute smash. The ADV 2.2 became a favorite for tackling a 13-mile climb, with nearly a mile of vertical, up to an alpine lake. Hitting high speeds on the asphalt switchbacks on the way back down is also a smash. At high velocity, the 2024 edition still felt lively, if a bit of a wide turner, with exactly the braking power I wished I had a year ago. 

Rail trail leisure and ripping along hard-packed roads: smash. Gravel roads and two tracks: a general smash with a few caveats. Get into heavily washboard roads, and the vibration will quickly have you wishing for wider tires. And upgrading to a suspension stem would certainly help. 

Ditto for chunky gravel. The odd golf ball-sized rocks were welcome. Should the chunk get two out of the following three — heavier, sharper, or larger than a cue ball — it’s a pass. I’ve found more than a few roads throughout Great Basin and Ozarks country where the next time I ride them, I’ll opt for a bike boasting the clearance for 50mm of rubber.

Light single track with wider turns and hazards in more open areas, where they’re easier to avoid: a joyful under-biking smash. However, the second you make the trails tight, the turns sharp, and toss in the occasional boulder on uphill swings, I’d pass with the ADV 2.2.

Loaded Touring

Bikepacking and touring along roads and moderate access roads: broadly a smash. However, as someone with more mass, a bigger appetite, and entirely too much camera gear, I run heavy. The ADV 2.2 handled a total ride weight (including the bike itself) of up to 280 pounds pretty well on straightforward terrain.

Still, personally, on trips with more than 10 solid days of pedaling, I’d favor something like the Marin Four Corners 2. With a truly long-distance loadout, I’d want a stiffer frame, fatter tires, and a more upright ride.

Value and Verdicts: The 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2

The biggest downside of the 2024 ADV 2.2 is simply that it may not be around for long. REI’s 2023 model has been on a discontinuation sale for months, marked down from $1,600 to around $960. That’s a steal. 

So is the 2024. By all accounts, it seems that the 2024 model is hitting the end of its limited run. It normally retails for around $1,850. Considering the quality and versatility of its construction, as well as the warranty and discount that comes with it, it’s a good value at that price. 

However, the 2024 REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 has been marked down to around $1,480 for weeks as part of a discontinuation sale. At that price point, it’s a steal. Even with its predecessor cheaper, the improved braking, mounting points, and tire clearance would be worth the difference in price.

Considering that the 2023 has been discontinued for months and is still selling, the ‘24 will still likely be around for at least a few more months. Nevertheless, the clock is ticking. 

So, where does that leave us? With REI’s latest swing at a midrange adventure bike, it leaves us many miles down just about anything short of technical single track and comfortably carrying 50+ pounds of gear. It also kept a considerable amount of money right where I like it: in my wallet.