Otso Warakin Review: Steel Gravel Bike for the Win

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By Neil Beltchenko

Associate Editor & YouTube Host

99 Posts

Is steel the perfect frame material for an efficient, dedicated gravel bike? Neil got ahold of the new Otso Warakin steel to find out. Find his in-depth Otso Warakin review here after two months and 350 miles aboard this chromoly beauty, including an overnighter and several big adventure rides to test its mettle…

Over the past two months, I’ve logged 350 miles on the Otso Warakin, including an overnight bikepacking getaway and several longer rides. While I usually gravitate toward bikes that come stock with 2.2″ tires, I found myself consistently reaching for the Warakin this fall. In this review, I’ll do my best to explain why I think that is.

As regular viewers of the site and our YouTube channel have likely noticed, our detailed coverage of dedicated gravel bikes is few and far between. That’s not to say we don’t like them, but we gravitate toward bikes with bigger tires for added capability, comfort, and versatility. That said, I’d be remiss not to mention that each time I’ve reviewed a gravel bike for this channel, I’ve come away enlightened.

To set the stage, I think it’s important to talk about who I am to understand why this is. This doesn’t come up in every review, so maybe it’s a good reminder: I started my bike “career” as a racer. Or, at least, that’s when my love of cycling truly took off. I was never the fastest at single-day races, but I found my specialty in multi-day events like the Tour Divide and Colorado Trail Race. These events require a steady effort over long periods of time, and having an efficient bike made things easier.

Old habits die hard, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop prioritizing efficiency in a bike. While I’ve come to realize efficiency isn’t everything—and my perception has evolved, especially through testing bikes for the site—there isn’t a ride I go on where I don’t think about how well a bike pedals and how efficient it feels. To me, efficiency is just one of many important characteristics. Others include comfort, capability, and features. But when it comes to bikepacking or long-distance rides, I always circle back to that word: efficiency. Of course, it’s influenced by the terrain we ride, which is where the Otso Warakin comes in. It’s efficient, sure, but just how efficient is a gravel bike on mixed terrain? Find out in the full video review below and read on for the written version with photos and details.

Despite using gravel as a defining moniker, let’s clear up that the steel Warakin is coined as an all-road bike by Otso. In fact, it’s the most all-road-style metal bike the Minnesota brand offers. It features clearance for up to 650B/700C x 50mm tires, though, this is dictated by the Tuning Chip dropout system. The bike fits 50mm tires in the rear and middle tuning chip positions, but it won’t clear those tires in the shortest 420mm chainstay setting. Still, these are more guidelines than hard rules; I tested the bike with 55mm Fleecer Ridge tires in the 440mm position without issue, although I never ran into death mud to truly test the clearance.

If you don’t know the Tuning Chip, it’s a standout feature Otso offers on all of its bikes except its slacked-out new hardtail, the Hoot. In essence, it’s an adjustable dropout that enables you to position the rear axle all the way forward or back, which is a 20mm chainstay difference. However, you can bridge that gap by purchasing a middle-position chip, which gives the Warakin 430mm chainstays and a 1033mm overall wheelbase. Otso also offers sliding insert chips for even more versatility, making single-speed setups possible.

By the Numbers

At 5’9.5″ (176.5 cm) with a 32-inch (81.3 cm) inseam and a slightly longer arm span than height, I found the 56cm frame to fit me well. Standover was a bit tight, as expected for this style of bike, but it’s a worthy sacrifice for added frame triangle space. The 383mm reach didn’t seem long on paper, but paired with a 90mm stem, I found myself more hunched over than usual. I considered switching to a shorter stem but decided to embrace the fit, and I was able to adapt quickly. I attribute some of that to the relatively high 596mm stack compared to other gravel bikes I’ve tested. The combination results in a comfortably aggressive position if there’s such a thing.

Sizes 52, 54, 56, 58, and 60cm of the new steel Otso Warakin share the same geometry as the Warakin Stainless and Warakin Ti models.

A growing trend in bike design is size-specific geometry, and Otso has embraced it with six sizes of the Warakin. My 56cm frame came with a 71.5° head tube angle (HTA) and a 73° seat tube angle (STA) in the middle Tuning Chip position. These angles shift slightly depending on the Tuning Chip’s position. For instance, in the longest 440mm chainstay position, the HTA slackens to 71.25°. The Tuning Chip also adjusts bottom bracket height, which is generally higher on the Warakin compared to others in its category. The bottom bracket drop starts at 68mm in the forward (420mm) position, increases to 70mm in the middle (430mm) position, and reaches 72mm in the rear (440mm) position. I tested the bike in both the rear and middle positions, splitting my time roughly evenly, and honestly, I never really felt the difference in BB height.

Finally, the biggest change to the Warakin from its original stainless and titanium iterations is its suspension-corrected design. The bike now comes with a 47mm offset Lithic Hiili carbon fork built around a 420mm axle-to-crown measurement. This means you could easily swap in something similar, such as a Cane Creek Invert or RockShox Rudy. That’s not to say other options wouldn’t work, but using a fork with significantly different dimensions could alter the bike’s feel, making it longer, slacker, and higher than intended.

How Does It Ride?

My first ride on the Warakin was a road ride up the Colorado National Monument just outside of Grand Junction. I was on a press trip with DT Swiss and didn’t have much of a choice, despite my general dislike for road rides. That said, the pavement provided a good warm-up for the new-to-me bike. Initially, the fit felt a bit long, but as the jaunt progressed, I realized it worked well within the all-road category. As we climbed, I started testing its capabilities with a solid effort on the steeper sections. To my surprise, the bike felt very responsive and impressively efficient when I pushed harder.

The descent, however, was another story. As we turned around to head downhill, I quickly realized this bike wasn’t what I was used to at high speeds. Its steep head tube angle and short wheelbase left me feeling a bit timid. Trying to keep up with locals on winding roads wasn’t easy, and bombing down at over 40 miles per hour on a new bike isn’t something I’d recommend. Thankfully, the next two days shifted focus—we loaded up our gear and hit the dirt.

On those rides, The Warakin’s 4130 custom-butted steel frame really shined. It has a nicely balanced feel. In short, it’s not overly flexy but has just enough give to offer the compliance you’d want in a steel frame. This responsiveness, even in the longer 440mm chainstay position, made it easy to punch up short, steep climbs and maintain a good cadence on sustained pitches. I felt the shorter chainstay position more on descents rather than climbing—it was less stable.

As I continued testing the Warakin closer to home in Gunnison, with the leaves nearly gone and snow beginning to fall, I found that the bike encouraged me to push further and explore longer routes, taking on rides I might have skipped on a drop-bar mountain bike or hardtail. That said, those bikes would have been better suited at times, particularly on rough singletrack, highly variable terrain, and loose conditions where larger-volume tires would have offered more predictability and control.

That’s not what the Warakin is designed for, though. It’s built to transition seamlessly from pavement to gravel to simple two-track and back to pavement, not to tackle gnarly backcountry trails or the snowy, off-camber roads I occasionally found myself on. That’s not to say it couldn’t handle those conditions. I managed, but I was trailing behind my friends when the going got especially rough. But as one does, I adapted. Descending became more comfortable as I got used to the bike. With the Warakin, however, it’s more about picking your lines and avoiding obstacles than charging through rock gardens.

All that said, swapping to 55mm Fleecer Ridge tires instantly boosted my confidence. Rocks felt smaller, descents were faster, and my overall comfort improved. Efficiency on the descents also increased, though it came at a cost. Climbing performance, especially on pavement and relatively smooth gravel, took a noticeable hit with the bigger tires. The bike just felt a bit more sluggish. Overall, the Warakin isn’t perfect for every scenario, but within its intended environment, it excels. It’s efficient, versatile, and a joy to ride where it’s meant to be ridden.

Get Carried Away

Otso has done an excellent job of designing adventure-focused frames, and the Warakin is no exception. It offers plenty of features that make it a great bikepacking rig while also being versatile enough to function as an everyday commuter. With rear rack and fender mounts, it’s easy to outfit for either purpose. The frame is loaded with additional mounting points, including three-pack mounts on the carbon fork, mounts on the underside of the downtube, and two mounts inside the main triangle.

There’s plenty of room for two bottles and a half-frame bag, but it also makes an excellent candidate for a large custom frame bag. Having more weight inside the frame always results in a more balanced bike. When loaded, the Warakin’s tubeset offers just enough flex to take the edge off, providing added comfort over washboards and rough stretches. At the same time, it retains the snappy characteristics you’d expect from a bike of this nature. The carbon fork also contributes to this balance, enhancing the ride quality in both loaded and unloaded setups.

Some Thoughts on the Build

One of the standout features when buying a bike from Otso is their custom builder. It allows you to fine-tune your rig, focusing on what matters most to you, such as chainring size, crank arm and stem lengths, and handlebar width. I won’t dive into all the nitty-gritty of this particular build, there are a few key components worth highlighting.

For starters, I really enjoyed the newer Shimano GRX 1×12 drivetrain. It’s the second bike that came with it this year, and it just works, plain and simple. It delivers smooth shifting, the hoods are comfortable, and the flat mount brakes perform well—better than the ones I tested on the Esker Lorax. The 40-tooth Wolf Tooth chainring paired with a 10-51 XT cassette provided ample range for typical gravel riding, though some might wish for a smaller gear than 40-51 on steep climbs. One persistent issue I’ve noticed with Shimano levers, however, is the amount needed to push the lever in to shift. It puts a strain on my wrist, something I’m finding harder to ignore as I get older.

• Frame: Otso Warakin Steel, 56, Tangerine
• Fork: Lithic full carbon fork
• Front and Rear Wheels: DT Swiss GR1600 Spline
• Tires: Schwalbe G-One All Arounds 45MM
• Crankset: Shimano GRX 800
• Derailleur: Shimano 1×12 GRX 600
• Shifter: Shimano GRX 800
• Cassette: Shimano SLX 12 Speed
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano English threaded BSA, Ø68mm
• Handlebar: Lithic Corundum
• Stem: 90mm 6061 Aluminum
• Bar Tape: Dunno
• Headset: Wolf Tooth
• Brakes: Shimano GRX 400 Hydraulic
• Rotors: 160mm centerlock
• Saddle: WTB Silverado swapped out to Ergon SR All Road Core
• Seatpost: Aluminum 27.2

My test bike came with DT Swiss GR 1600 Spline wheels, as it was sent to DT Swiss for a press trip. While the stock build typically includes SunRingle G30 Expert wheels, Otso might consider offering a DT Swiss upgrade option in the future. The stock tires were Schwalbe’s G-One All Arounds in the 45mm width and they were… less than inspiring. They rolled extremely well on smooth surfaces but felt unpredictable on loose-over-hard terrain. I could feel them slipping out on tight turns. In hindsight, I wish I’d mounted a fast-rolling 50mm tire, as it would likely have made the chunk feel much more manageable.

Finally, the bike was equipped with the Lithic Corundum 44cm handlebar. Between using this bar and the narrower bar on the Santa Cruz Stigmata last year, both with rather minimal flare, I’ve started rethinking my love for ultra-wide, flared-out bars. It hit a sweet spot for me and felt very proportional to the bike. I think a 46cm would work well, too.

I would have loved to see the inclusion of a dropper post. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: A dropper belongs on every bike! With how affordable they’ve become, it’s a small price to pay for the added capability and confidence. I also wish I had the chance to try this bike with the Cane Creek Invert fork that’s sitting in my garage, but time didn’t allow for it. I think it would have added another layer of comfort to the overall ride experience.

The steel Otso Warakin is available in Tangerine, Navy Gold, and Racing Green. The frameset starts at $1,400 USD, the GRX 1×11 build begins at $2,500 USD, and the version I tested is priced at $2,800 USD. It weighed in at 23.4 pounds (10.61 kg) with a bunch of dirt caked onto it. In my eyes, that’s a very approachable price point. While the titanium version might offer an even greater sense of responsiveness and urgency, it’s hard to beat the value of the steel Warakin.

• Model/Size Tested: Otso Warakin, Size Medium
• Actual Weight: 23.4 pounds (10.61 kg)
• Place of Manufacture: Taiwan
• Price: $2,800
• Manufacturer’s Details: Otso Cycles

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