Go Google "California Sage". No for real, go do it, I'll wait here.
Okay got a photo handy? Good. That's the colour of this beautiful Open UP build, my photos hardly do it justice. I did my best to honour this limited edition colour from Open, I reckon it was a big success, what do you think?
Sagebrush is one of the most common sights in the US American West, or at least southwest. If you've ever driven across Wyoming, you'll know what I'm talking about, that state is just a sea of sagebrush (and f-ing beautiful if I may say so).
This sagebrush colour has been used by any number of companies throughout the years, including none other than Aston Martin back when they made the DB5 in the 60's, the most famous of the James Bond cars. Similar to the known silhouette of that DB5, the Open UP frame just has that sort of category-defining status and reverence.
The dropped chainstay, a previously new and unique thing to Open, now commonplace. Swappable frame hardware to (re)build your Open with or without cables... it's all taken for granted these days, but someone had to design that and take the leap, and well, you're looking the company that more-or-less did exactly that.
A whole suite of Beast Components rounds this build out, with one set of wheels being the RX40 laced to Chris King hubs for mostly road use, and a set of Hope RS4s laced to DT Swiss rims for all the less-than-road adventures. All that built in house, one at a time, with my often sore hands. Also both these sets of wheels are painstakingly adjusted to allow for seamless swapping without brake rub... that takes literal hours sometimes, but really is the cherry on top. The cockpit is the Beast Ultra Bar, easily one of the most comfortable and good looking handlebars on the market, and their seatpost holds up, your, well, saddle.
Bikes like these are a dream to build, working with such a high calibre of components is just wonderful but also a process. Parts for this bike come from quite literally all over the world, mostly from companies with employees you could count on one or two probably-tired hands. Not unlike a 1960's California Sage Aston Martin DB5 with a British, German, and American powertrain, topped with an Italian body... wonder how many phone calls they had to make to get THAT put together?
Fun Fact: Sagebrush is actually related to sunflowers!
