The New BlackHeart Road Plus Blurs Road and Gravel With 700×42mm Tires
BlackHeart's Road Plus offers 700×42mm clearance, ti or aluminum options, and fender/rack mounts. One bike for road speed and rough pavement—with tradeoffs.
BlackHeart's new Road Plus is a frameset that accepts 700×42mm tires, ships with threaded bottom brackets and UDH hangers, and comes in both titanium and aluminum. The pitch is simple: one bike that works with fast road wheels or wider gravel setups, depending on what you swap in.
The titanium version uses 3/2.5 double-butted tubing and includes a 3D-printed seat tube section with a sculpted cutout behind the rear tire. That cutout isn't just aesthetic—it improves mud clearance and allows full fenders even with 42mm tires mounted. The frame also gets flared internal routing at the bottom bracket and chainstay brake port, which should make bleeding brakes less annoying during builds. Rear dropouts include integrated rack and fender mounts. The ti frameset starts at $3,399 with an ENVE fork, seatpost, and headset.
The aluminum version uses 6066 double-butted tubing and shares the same geometry, hardware platform, and tire clearance. BlackHeart says the ride quality competes with many carbon frames, and aluminum's full recyclability is a quieter selling point than most brands admit. The AL frameset starts at $1,699, also with the ENVE fork and headset. Both frames support 1× or 2× drivetrains and come with a lifetime warranty for the original owner.
Here's the catch: 700×42mm clearance puts this squarely in the all-road category, but it's not a gravel race bike. If you're planning technical singletrack or bikepacking with a full load, you'll want something with more compliance and lower gearing. The Road Plus is optimized for riders who spend most of their time on pavement but occasionally hit dirt roads or rough chip seal—not the other way around.
I haven't put miles on either frame yet, but the spec that matters is the tire clearance paired with fender and rack compatibility. That combination is rare on frames marketed as "road-first." If you're a dad trying to consolidate the bike collection or someone who wants one fast bike that doesn't require perfect conditions, this is worth a look. Pre-orders are open now with deliveries expected in 2026.
