Antidote Pathseeker
Wheel Size: 700c
Travel:
- Frame:
- FS: 20 mm
- HT: N/A
- Fork: 20 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle (size Large): 72° (varies by size)
- Reach (size Large): 395.3 mm
- Chainstay length: 420 mm
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price:
- Complete bikes:
- Hardtail models: €6,299 to €8,699 EUR (additional upgrades available)
- Full Suspension models: €10,099 to €12,299 EUR (additional upgrades available)
- Framesets:
- Hardtail: starting at €3,799 EUR (includes suspension fork, stem and headset)
- Full Suspension: €4,099 EUR (includes suspension fork, stem and headset)
Intro
Small-scale carbon manufacturers are pretty rare these days, but Antidote has been crafting their imaginative range of bikes in-house in Poland. They’re mostly known for their range of mountain bikes, including the versatile Carbonjack that we rode back in 2022, all of which adhere to a futuristic-looking (and very elegant, to my eyes) design ethos.
Today, though, Antidote is introducing their first offering outside of the mountain bike world, the Pathseeker. In classic Antidote form, it doesn’t look like much else out there, but it also comes with their own new Gravel-specific suspension design called NanoFlex. Curious how it all works? Read on for the rundown of Antidote’s very unique entry into the world of Gravel.
The Frames
The Pathseeker has a low-slung top tube and adheres to a very clean and angular design. Starting with the more conventional aspects of the frame design, all frames are crafted from carbon fiber and built around 700c wheels, with internal cable routing. Antidote reinforces specific parts of their frames with Vectran, which helps to beef up impact resistance in high-priority areas.
There are actually two flavors of the Pathseeker available, the first being the Pathseeker HT, which has a rigid rear end and comes with a suspension fork. The second is the Pathseeker FS, which pairs the suspension fork with Antidote’s own NanoFlex rear suspension design to offer 20 mm of rear travel.
The Pathseeker FS is the more noteworthy of the two for its bespoke suspension design. We wrote about the new Cannondale Topstone not too long ago, which offers a small amount of rear suspension via an elastomer-based system at the intersection of the seatstays and seat tube. The Pathseeker FS takes a similar approach, relying on vertical flex in the rear triangle rather than bearing-based pivot points. A rotating eccentric mechanism guides suspension through its 20 mm of travel and relies on an elastomer packaged inside, which is replaceable to adjust for different rider weights. The mechanism also has a suggested sag point etched on the outside to help riders identify the right elastomer weight.
Comparing the two frames, the Pathseeker FS has a slightly more elaborate shape, mostly due to the chainstays requiring more intricate geometry to allow for vertical deflection associated with the NanoFlex design. The Pathseeker FS is also substantially heavier than the simpler Pathseeker HT, at a claimed 1,590 g for a size Large compared to the HT’s 1,300 g weight in the same size (both weights exclude the fork).
The suspension fork is also a bespoke creation cooked up by Antidote, with 20 mm of travel via either a spring (we assume it’s a coil spring) or an interchangeable elastomer. It looks an awful lot like the HeadShok design that Cannondale came up with back in the day, and integrates nicely with the frame. I’m curious whether there are merits to using either a spring or an elastomer, but details are sparse as to why one may be more appealing over the other. The same fork is used on both the Pathseeker FS and Pathseeker HT, and it also includes a lockout lever integrated into the top cap. It weighs a claimed 1,300 g.
Fit & Geometry
The Pathseeker HT and FS share the same geometry across the four sizes on offer. The geometry is a bit more conservative than some other recent Gravel bikes, manifesting as slightly shorter reaches and top tube lengths along with steeper head tube angles compared to some recent releases in the Gravel world.
Using a size Large as reference, the Pathseeker mates a slightly steeper than average 72° head tube angle with a 395.3 mm reach. For reference, that’s actually shorter than the 400 mm reach on the size Medium for the new Allied ABLE that we recently talked about, and the ABLE’s head tube is quite a bit slacker too at 70.5°. The Pathseeker’s effective top tube measurement is 11 mm longer than the ABLE at 575 mm due to the slacker 72.75° seat tube angle.
Oddly, the head tube angle varies by size by a decent margin, ranging from 69.5° on a Small to 72.5° on an XL. I’d imagine that would yield significantly different steering traits across sizes, and it’s something we don’t see with most other manufacturers.
Bottom bracket drop and chainstay length remain constant across the size range, at 70 mm and 420 mm, respectively. Full geometry details are as follows:
The Builds
Antidote’s made-in-Poland construction doesn’t come cheap, but it does allow a lot of options in build selection and overall customization. The first point of personalization is the ability to choose your paint job, and the Antidote paint shop appears to have some pretty impressive capabilities on that front.
Next comes the build options. The Pathseeker HT gets three of them, including the SRAM Apex AXS build (€6,299 EUR), Rival_GX AXS (€6,999 EUR), and Force_XO AXS (€8,699 EUR). All three builds use Industry Nine’s Road GRCX wheels, and the highest spec Force build comes with a Reverb XPLR AXS dropper as well, which can be added to the two lower spec builds as an upgrade for €500 EUR. Other upgrade options include Industry Nine’s 1/1 Ultralite Carbon wheels for €760 EUR, or Garbaruk’s Gravel Carbon wheels for €950 EUR.
The Pathseeker FS comes in just two builds, but both are on the higher-end side of the spectrum. The cheaper of the two is the Force_XO AXS build, which costs €10,099 EUR, while the fanciest Force_RED AXS build rings in at €12,299 EUR. Both get the 1/1 Ultralite Carbon wheels from Industry Nine, along with a Reverb XPLR AXS dropper.
The Pathseeker HT and FS are both also available as frame-only options, complete with the accompanying suspension fork, stem, and headset — the simpler HT frame costs €3,799 EUR while the FS bumps up to €4,099 EUR.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) Both Pathseeker models come with an Antidote-developed suspension fork. How well does it perform compared to aftermarket options from bigger players like Fox and RockShox?
(2) The Pathseeker FS’s NanoFlex suspension is elastomer-based like the Cannondale Topstone, but its eccentric pivot design is quite a bit different. How easy is it to dial in the right elastomer for your rider weight, and what are the upsides and downsides of the NanoFlex-equipped Pathseeker FS over its HT sibling?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Antidote’s bikes are about as unique as they are rare, and the Pathseeker is a headturner both for its looks and its novel suspension system. It’s impressive that Antidote is able to offer both the HT and FS models as a smaller manufacturer, and though the NanoFlex-equipped Pathseeker FS is certainly the standout for its suspension layout, we’re certainly curious how the two compare on the trail.