One Year With the Chumba SOCO

Mitchell Pilon • February 6, 2025

It's fall of 2022 and I'm sitting around thinking about what's next from an industry stagnated by going all in during COVID and are now dealing with inventory bloat by offering killer deals, man, in hopes of releasing gas in an over-inflated helium balloon of greed and then suddenly it hits, "An all-road bike! That's like two bikes in one!" Well, that's what I was thinking anyway.

It's now late 2022, I remember calling Vince at Chumba to talk about bikes and other BS and mentioning, "I think the next thing in cycling is/should be an all-road bike. It just makes sense." It was basically a crafty way to squeeze out some insider information from an otherwise tight lidded bike builder. I should have been careful what I wished for because after we hung up my wallet was a lot lighter.

It's December 2023 and I'm taking the SOCO out for its first bigger ride: a rainy 50 degree day on a lot of washboard, water filled pot-holed gravel with some fast, packed action thrown in there to keep my mediocrity feeling fast. The two b-roads (see above picture) I found were muddy but manageable with some rolling hills thrown in. The 34c Cush-Cored Vittoria Terreno Dry tires did well - they're a touch draggy on the pavement - but overall the bike kicked ass. Not to forget though, the first ride on a new bike is typically a blissful moment as it's hard to find a fault on something you just dropped a butt-load of money on.

Summer 2024 I took the SOCO on the ultimate ride with my best friends: Ride 10K. 100 miles, 10 thousand feet of climbing on variable terrain near Galena, IL., ranging from deep gravel, chunky gravel, fast gravel, 9-15% gravel hills, pavement, and a creek crossing. It's tough. I ran 35c Schwalbe G One RS tires with no other changes to the bike. The SOCO climbed the steep gravel well but I must admit the tire size restriction on the SOCO coupled with the slightly steeper angles assured I was in the back during dicey descents watching my wily friends gap and leave me in physical and metaphorical darkness. But I can't and won't complain.

The third notable ride I took the SOCO on was the Big River Gravel Burning Quad. It's a fast gravel race starting and ending in Erie, Illinois. The SOCO was the perfect frame for this ungulating gravel course but my tire choice: 700x34 Vittoria Corsa Pro Controls were terrible. Fast? Yes. Able to handle hard cornering on gravel? No. Major failure. I drifted often and had to pull a foot out on most of the corners. But the SOCO was light and fast. Still had a ton of fun and the people at Big River Gravel do it right.

The final and best big ride was one I do every August. Madison, WI to Port Byron, IL. It's 150 mixed terrain miles ranging from rails to trails, gravel, pavement, and 40 miles of flat segregated bike path along the Mississippi river. It's a nice payoff for a challenging 110 miles. This is where the SOCO shines the brightest; long, variable terrain rides where one dominating surface doesn't overtake the ride. When I pulled into Port Byron around 1 in the morning I had a huge smile on my face because I was comfortable and pain free. Still surprised at how good the bike feels. The power effortlessly transfers from foot to ground, and the bike doesn't grumble or groan, it just goes.

If you're looking for a frame that doubles down on performance and fun, get a Chumba SOCO.

Mitch P.

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