I’m still on the hunt for the perfect gravel bike for my wife. After the Rose Backroad FF and the Cube Nuroad SL, the Propain Terrel CF is now entering the fray. You can use the configurator to customise your dream bike. But will I have to go over our budget of 4,000 euros to do so?
My verdict on the Propain Terrel CF
For me, the Propain Terrel CF is a real winner. The manufacturer’s versatile modular system allowed me to tailor the bike precisely to my wife’s comfort requirements – from the short stem to the ergonomic carbon handlebars. Combined with the massive Zipp aero wheels and the electronic shifter, we’ve managed to put together an absolute dream setup. The fact that my wife was so pleased with the elegant gold design made our Saturday evening perfect.
The mission: the perfect bike for the commute
They say marriages are made in heaven. But the real test takes place on earth – or, to be more precise, in a bike manufacturer’s online configurator. My task was clear, but by no means easy: I’m still on the hunt for the ultimate dream gravel bike for my wife. Her daily commute isn’t a gentle stretch of tarmac, but a proper challenge – a good 30 kilometres of gravel there and back. The budget? A solid 4,000 euros, fully covered by her employer’s ‘Jobrad’ leasing scheme.
The crux of the matter lay in my better half’s requirements. What was wanted was a bike that looked like a razor-sharp World Tour racehorse, but rode like a laid-back Haflinger. Sleek and racy to look at, but as comfortable as can be for your backside.
To begin with, I had my sights set on two of the usual suspects: The Cube Nuroad SLX and the Rose Backroad FF. The Rose model certainly looked incredibly fast, but in practice it turned out to be far too sporty – a nose-dive posture isn’t exactly ideal on the way to the office. The slightly more comfortable Cube therefore had the edge for quite some time. But just as I was about to click the ‘Order’ button, a new contender entered the fray: the Propain Terrel CF.
Mountain bike DNA meets gravel comfort
Propain? The bike manufacturer from Lake Constance is really only known for its downhill-focused full-suspension mountain bikes, which riders use to hurtle down treacherous Alpine trails with death-defying courage. With the Terrel CF, the Upper Swabians have added their very first gravel bike to their range. I know from our own experience that this bike is a real performer. Test team: “Sporty, comfortable, cleverly equipped and really fast,” was the verdict of our colleagues.
Particularly exciting: the high-modulus carbon frame has genuine mountain bike DNA. It features a flat head angle for exceptionally smooth riding and a massive tyre clearance of up to 50 millimetres. Added to this is a clever, rattle-free storage compartment in the carbon down tube – essentially a built-in boot for your windbreaker and energy bars.
The cockpit: precision engineering for your comfort
Propain’s biggest selling point is its in-house online configurator, which allows you to customise almost every component individually. As my colleagues warned that the Terrel tends to be on the large and long side, I opted straight away for frame size S after consulting the manufacturer and checking my wife’s biometric measurements. I certainly didn’t want to risk an overly stretched riding position!
When it came to the cockpit, it was time for some customisation. As standard, Propain fits a Sixpack aluminium handlebar with an impressive 136 mm drop (the vertical distance between the top and bottom sections of the handlebar). For a modern gravel bike, that’s a bit low – if my wife were to ride in the underhand grip, she’d be missing a disc after just the first week of commuting.
So I switched to the carbon category. For an extra €130, the 420 mm-wide Sixpack carbon handlebar found its way into my shopping basket. Not only does it offer a significantly more relaxed drop of just 115 mm, but it also saves 120 grams in weight compared to its aluminium counterpart. Combined with a generous 30 mm spacer stack (to raise the front end) and a crisply short 70 mm stem, the comfort geometry was spot on.
Bargain electronics and luxury balance bikes
I didn’t waste any time deciding on the groupset. The standard mechanical Shimano GRX 610 is certainly solid, but with a budget of 4,000 euros, you’d expect a direct-to-consumer retailer to offer electronic wireless shifting. Propain’s timing was spot on here: The SRAM Rival XPLR AXS 1x13 was on offer in the configurator. Instead of a 490-euro surcharge, it cost just 250 euros! An absolute no-brainer, which brought the total so far up to a fair 3,179 euros. I gratefully did without the expensive dropper post – which weighs half a kilo and has a 75 mm travel – as, fortunately, the flat commute to the office doesn’t involve any steep alpine slopes that would require lowering the saddle.
That left enough wiggle room in the budget for the visual highlight: the wheels. Because let’s be honest – no matter how well a gravel bike rides, without aero carbon rims, nobody’s going to turn their head as you ride past the café. The standard aluminium wheels from DT Swiss were out of the question. The Newmen Advanced carbon wheels, with their 34 mm rim height, were too understated for my taste, whilst the beautifully curved Fulcrum Sharq GRs, at an extra cost of 1,705 euros, were way beyond my budget.
The solution: the Zipp 303 XPLR S. With a massive tread depth of 54 mm, they give the bike exactly that aggressive, high-end racing look my wife had been hoping for. Surcharge: 990 euros. Together with the stylish Schwalbe G-One R Pro tyres, complete with classic beige tanwall sidewalls, the technical masterpiece was complete.
Final cost check and tempting colour options
A nervous glance at the total: 4,169 euros. Spot on! Thanks to the SRAM discount, we were only just over the Jobrad budget. Proud as a Spanish bullfighter, I marched over to my wife with the finished setup to explain the shifting precision of the AXS and the aerodynamic benefits of the 54-mm carbon rims.
Her attention span was – to put it mildly – rather limited. Whilst I was still talking about the merits of the bolted T47 bottom bracket, she had long since become engrossed in Propain’s colour palette. And whilst the technical configuration had taken me about two hours of intensive research, choosing the design turned into an activity that kept me occupied for the whole evening.
After what felt like hundreds of combinations, the visual concept was finalised: the frame shines in the understated, sophisticated ‘Moon Shine’ (an elegant, understated shade), contrasted by minimalist decals in size Small and the colour ‘Shakima Gold’. The metal head tube emblem at the front has also been finished in Shakima Gold to match.
The verdict on Saturday evening was a positive one for both of us. “What a brilliant bike!” I said, looking at the components. “Yes, it looks absolutely brilliant!” said my wife, looking at the gold emblem.
An overview of the dream setup
- Frame: High-modulus carbon with an integrated down tube storage compartment and up to 50 mm of tyre clearance
- Frame size: S (height 175 cm)
- Colour & Design: Frame in "Moon Shine", decals and head tube emblem in "Shakima Gold"
- Cockpit: 30 mm spacers for a higher front end, a short 70 mm stem and an ergonomic Sixpack Carbon Gravel Handlebars (115 mm drop, 18° flare for maximum control off-road)
- Circuit: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS 1x13 (electronic wireless shifting)
- Wheels: Zipp 303 XPLR S Carbon with an impressive 54 mm rim height for the ultimate aero look
- Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R Pro with stylish tanwall sidewalls
- Final price: 4,169 euros (including a saving of 340 euros thanks to the special offer on gear groups)
Josh Welz
Editor-in-Chief
