Gravel Burn Bike Check: Kevin Benkenstein's Santa Cruz Stigmata

[News bot]

With Gravel Burn just around the corner, we’ve heard a lot of debate around setup choices. To get an informed perspective, we called on Kevin Benkenstein, South Africa’s original ultra-endurance racer and a pioneer of gravel riding, to unpack his setup choices and share his thoughts ahead of the event. Hear it straight from the horses mouth below: Benky’s Gravel Burn Setup My bike for Gravel Burn is the culmination of far too much tinkering, testing, and learning. I’ve prioritised both speed and comfort, knowing that those two are closely linked, along with the all-important factor of reliability. Ultimately, I’ve […]

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[Ispeed_V]

In other words, just a HT MTB with drop bars

[MongooseMan]

2 hours ago, Ispeed_V said:

In other words, just a HT MTB with drop bars

And road shifters

And 45mm tyres

And an integrated cockpit
And only 40mm of travel

And a 48T chainring.

 

I know it's the kneejerk response, but...

Edited October 20, 2025 by MongooseMan

[rock]

2 hours ago, Ispeed_V said:

In other words, just a HT MTB with drop bars

Road bike with a suspension fork

 

 

[Shebeen]

Guys we are not discussing the eligibility issue of transathletes in college swimming, bikes are non-binary these days. You will get unclassifiable flavours of the three main types overlapping, deal with it or wait till the braai where we get to chew the fat.  

 

That out the way, what is the colour called @Benky, does your wife even know you have her bike?

Edited October 20, 2025 by Shebeen

[Skubarra]

Is it just me who think this is not exactly a great endorsement for his own brand (Curve)? If I pay R100k for a bike I would like to think the guy bringing them in actually prefers riding them 🤷‍♂️

[Benky]

43 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Guys we are not discussing the eligibility issue of transathletes in college swimming, bikes are non-binary these days. You will get unclassifiable flavours of the three main types overlapping, deal with it or wait till the braai where we get to chew the fat.  

 

That out the way, what is the colour called @Benky, does your wife even know you have her bike?

Gloss Purple, and it's fantastic...I love it.

I love that gravel bikes elicit so much debate, it shows how varied the genre is. It is so cool that we can all do different things with our bikes and get the same joy.

[Headshot]

Just needs a suspension seatpost to complete the early MTB bike vibes...

[Danger Dassie]

1 hour ago, Skubarra said:

Is it just me who think this is not exactly a great endorsement for his own brand (Curve)? If I pay R100k for a bike I would like to think the guy bringing them in actually prefers riding them 🤷‍♂️

Nah, he imports the Curve bikes and offers a variety of builds, including some other brands.
I think it’s a great endorsement that he recognises horses for courses and can back those up with for his customers.

[splat]

Looks like a great build !
Carefully chosen components based on a lot of experience.

But, based on that experience, why not a titanium Curve ?

[ajnkzn]

Aero and race geo are a thing when you are running a 46 / 48t chainring.

Edited October 20, 2025 by ajnkzn

[rock]

2 hours ago, splat said:

But, based on that experience, why not a titanium Curve ?

Geo not suitable for the extra 20mm of the Fox?

[Baracuda]

20 hours ago, Skubarra said:

Is it just me who think this is not exactly a great endorsement for his own brand (Curve)? If I pay R100k for a bike I would like to think the guy bringing them in actually prefers riding them 🤷‍♂️

Yip, that feeling when the Merc dealer arrives in a Mahindra....

[Benky]

I do sell Curve, and am proud of those bikes and what they bring to people's lives...my own included. Horses for courses is correct though, I choose the right bike for the course and my own riding and racing goals. I sell Curve, Santa Cruz and Cervelo. I have my Curve Big Kev and a Cervelo too, each has their place. 

If I only ride and sell one brand I can help less riders, and limits my own knowledge and ability to do so. My goal is to speak to as many riders as is possible, being a retailer for multiple brands has improved my ability to do that and doesn't change my view of when and what a Curve does really really well nor when I prefer riding them.

Edited October 21, 2025 by Benky

[Benky]

On 10/20/2025 at 2:28 PM, splat said:

Looks like a great build !
Carefully chosen components based on a lot of experience.

But, based on that experience, why not a titanium Curve ?

It came down to a few reasons. I want to ride the fork and prefer the suspension corrected frame when doing so, specifically as I have quite a low stack for my bike size. Riding the GXR4 with a Fox fork would leave me 30mm higher, so I prefer it rigid with big tyres for my own fit needs.

Similarly, while the Curve is a more comfortable bike, I do hope to be racing and feel that for these shorter days (by my standards to be fair) a slightly stiffer bottom bracket area is beneficial, even though both bikes fit similar tyre sizes. Effectively over 100-150km I feel faster on a Stig, whereas for a multi-day non-stop ride I think the titanium ride quality and its benefits overcome the slightly less efficient frame stiffness and I feel faster on that.

It is a horses for courses approach, one that I am happy to discuss so if there are any other questions let me know.

[Benky]

On 10/20/2025 at 3:20 PM, ajnkzn said:

Aero and race geo are a thing when you are running a 46 / 48t chainring.

They might be when we don't have to slap a number board on the front of our bikes, but we do and so any real aero considerations or benefits are more likely rider based.