The previous version of the NS Bikes Rag+ proved so popular that it pretty much sold out straight away. There’s a new version out now though, with a few useful updates and a fresh lick of paint.

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NS Bikes is predominantly a mountain bike company and the RAG+ was a step into a newish market. We say 'ish' as you might have seen us talk about the Rondo Ruut, a gravel bike from the people behind NS Bikes. With the gravel and adventure scene really exploding right now the RAG+ was a thoughtfully designed bike with some nice details.

First, let’s just remind you of what the RAG+ offers. RAG+ is short for road and gravel and the plus is an indicator of its possibility to take both 700c road wheels and 650b mountain bike wheels. It’s all about offering versatile and maximum tyre choice for any style of rider and riding. It uses a 6061 aluminium frame with a carbon fibre fork, thru-axles and disc brakes, external cable routing for simplicity and a dropped chainstay to maximise clearance.

The new bike gets some useful revisions. Tyre clearance has been increased from 40 to 43mm when using 700c wheels, and the production bike will be specced with Panaracer GravelKing tyres.

The carbon fork, their own design, now includes mudguard eyelets and the disc mount has swapped to the flat mount variety. The fork still uses a 15mm thru-axle and not the newer 12mm, but that’s only a problem if you’re building your own bike, but NS sell the RAG+ as a complete bike so it shouldn’t be an issue.

Cable routing, while still external, has been moved to the bottom of the downtube for a cleaner appearance and easier bottle cage mounting. The paint finish has been updated as well, but they’re keeping the same, slightly rebellious, graphics that we loved on the original bike.

For €1,899 (we’re just confirming UK pricing) the RAG+ is specced with a SRAM Apex groupset with hydraulic disc brake, the wheels are Alex Draw tubeless rims on NS Rotary sealed bearing hubs, and all the finishing kit is the company’s own equipment. There’s a change of saddle to one that is claimed to offer more comfort in a lighter package. Talking about weight, NS claims 9.9kg for a size medium. We’ll hopefully get one in for a test soon!

• www.nsbikes.com 

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