Conquering South Africa’s Nedbank Gravel Burn on bespoke Vielo V+1 Gravel Bikes

When three dedicated Vielo owners—Sam, Caleb, and Lenny—approached us with a wild challenge, we couldn't resist. They had their sights set on tackling the Nedbank Gravel Burn in South Africa and wanted bespoke, purpose-built versions of our V+1 Race Edition gravel bike engineered specifically to survive and thrive across one of the most demanding stage races on the planet.

The Nedbank Gravel Burn: 750km of Frontier Racing

Staged across the rugged expanse of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, the Nedbank Gravel Burn is a 7-day, 750-kilometre frontier gravel stage race tackling over 8,000 metres of vertical elevation. Starting in the historic Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet, the route charts a journey across the arid semi-desert plains of the Great Karoo before finishing deep in Big Five wildlife country at the Shamwari Private Game Reserve.

The terrain throws every conceivable surface at riders: wide, undulating champagne gravel, harsh corrugated farm tracks, loose rocky mountain passes, muddy off-road sections, and fast-flowing river crossings. It doubles as a genuine cycling safari, where racers share vast landscapes with herds of game and native wildlife.

Despite the unforgiving riding conditions, the off-bike experience offers legendary Karoo hospitality. Riders stay each night in remote, purpose-built "Burn Camps" (such as Blaauwater, Merino, and Shamwari). The social heartbeat of the event centres around the Lapa—intimate camp circles of around 35 riders clustered around crackling fires under open, starry skies. With glowing dining bomas, Karoo-inspired gourmet cooking, barista coffee, complimentary local beers and wines, and the ceremonial night burn spectacle, the atmosphere strikes a rare balance between cut-throat racing and camaraderie.

At the pointy end of the field, the 2026 edition saw intense tactical battles featuring an elite international roster. In the Men’s General Classification, South African gravel powerhouse Matt Beers (Toyota Specialized) took the overall victory after a week-long head-to-head battle with Swiss Olympic cross-country racer Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM), followed by Tristan Nortje in third, with riders like Travis Stedman, Hugo Drechou, and Canadian WorldTour pro Nickolas Zukowsky lighting up the stages. In the Women’s race, Germany's Nele Laing (Canyon DT Swiss ATR) captured the GC title ahead of South Africa’s Hayley Preen and Clara Koppenburg.

Prototyping the V+1 Race: Suspension & Stealth

Conquering 750km of unpredictable Karoo gravel demands speed, control, and vibration damping without sacrificing pedalling efficiency. To meet Sam, Caleb, and Lenny's challenge, we entered the R&D lab to build a prototype V+1 Race Edition equipped with front suspension.

Front suspension on gravel bikes often creates a tangle of exposed lines, but maintaining a sleek, aero front profile is central to Vielo design. We engineered bespoke internal cable routing solutions directly around a DT Swiss gravel suspension fork, routing all hydraulic lines entirely inside the chassis for a clean aesthetic.

To field-test this platform ahead of the African expedition, we wrapped a prototype V+1 Race Edition in a geometric automotive-style camouflage wrap and put it on display at the 2026 Stone Circle gravel event. The camo finish was an intentional nod to our roots in 2018, when we first launched Vielo by sending disguised prototypes out to the cycling media in automotive test wraps.

(Note: While this suspension fork system is currently an active development project and not yet commercially available, real-world torture tests like the Gravel Burn are accelerating our development timeline.)

The Build: Fat Creations Custom 'Marble' V+1 Race

While all three bikes were tuned for the harsh Eastern Cape wilderness, one machine was given an uncompromising dream build. Finished in a bespoke hand-painted "Marble" scheme by Alistair and the team at Fat Creations, it paired race-proven 1x efficiency with top-tier components.