The Liberation Fab x Unison Bike Lab MXT is a premium race-ready gravel bike

This collaboration is the distillation of many years riding and racing gravel bikes. Named after Unison Bike Lab’s weekly mixed-surfaced ride, the MXT is ready for any riding you can throw at it from steep singletrack to roadie pacelines. It shines on long gravel races and has already topped several podiums from the mountains of West Virginia to the rolling hills of Michigan.

Philosophy

I was a little excited when the first gravel bike I made cracked in half during Grinduro 2023. It was the third frame I built and I had made several mistakes during the fabrication process, but it served as a great test of the “progressive” gravel bike geometry that was just beginning to gain popularity at the time. With that frame officially retired, I was excited to set my sights on the next great design.

I took everything I loved about that first design and refined it little by little. Mixed-surface rides through Pittsburgh’s city parks and seldom traveled corridors served as inspiration for a bike that could handle mountain bike trails just as well as long stretches of pavement. It had to be fast, fun, and look incredibly fresh.

After over a year of iteration, the MXT was born. It’s unabashedly different than every other gravel bike on the market and turns heads wherever it goes. The understated nature of the frame rewards closer examination and the raw finish welcomes inevitable patina. It’s ready to go the distance, whatever the terrain.

-Eva, Fabulous Fabricator at Liberation Fab

Design

The MXT takes cues from 80s and 90s bonded aluminum/carbon fiber road frames with its lugged construction, but fully embraces modern fabrication techniques with several 3D printed titanium parts. The frame is the best of both metal and composite materials with titanium tubes in the most abrasion-prone areas and carbon fiber where weight is most easily trimmed. An optional Ø27.2mm carbon seat mast opens up a level of compliance unattainable with any other materials or fabrication techniques.

As a firm believer in “wider is better,” the MXT can easily clear 2.1” tires and will behave well down to 40mm for more refined gravel rides. The custom dropped chainstay yoke allows for up to 42 tooth chainrings at a normal “gravel” chainline. Special accommodations have been made to enable some road crankset compatibility for those who are sensitive to wide Q factors.

Specs

This frame is compatible with most standard “gravel” forks with an axle-to-crown measurements of around 395mm. We’ll generally recommend the Rodeo Labs Spork but are able to supply lighter options as well.
The MXT is nominally designed around 44mm tires, but the frame can clear up to 2.1” (54mm). You can always run smaller tires but below 40mm tends to look a bit odd.
Most sizes will be designed around 700c/29” wheels but smaller sizes tend to look more proportional with 650b/27.5”. There is no additional tire clearance to be gained with the smaller wheel size.
The MXT is compatible with all major 1x gravel drivetrains with chainrings up to 42t. We recommend a chainline of 47.5mm for adequate clearance. Get in touch if you have any compatibility questions!
Immense care has gone into choosing the correct tubing for the MXT frame. We use different diameter titanium and carbon fiber tubes for different sizes and rider weights. All carbon fiber tubing is bicycle specific and designed to withstand high torsional loads.
Headset: EC34 upper and EC44 lower
Seat Mast Diameter: 27.2mm
Seatpost Diameter: 30.9mm
Brake calipers: Flat mount 140/160mm
Brake Housing Routing: Internal
Shifting: AXS, Di2, or cable-actuated
Shift Housing Routing: Options for none (AXS-only) or internal routing
Axles: 100x12mm (front) and 142x12mm (rear) thru-axles. Replacement axles are available through Paragon Machine Works. TBD PART NUMBERS
Bottom Bracket: 68mm, T47 threaded
Custom paint is available for the carbon fiber tubes which require at least a clear coat for UV protection. The titanium parts of the frame are available raw or custom anodized.