Our X builds on the Forwards philosophies of a no compromise custom bike, which is built for a purpose and not constrained to meet a price / profit point.

For the X, that purpose is competitive performance. The versatile X chassis is perfectly poised for both all-day gravel racing and intense cyclocross racing.

More and more, industry messaging championing the individualities of gravel and cross bikes is being challenged, and for good reason. The continuing evolution of both gravel and cyclocross courses means that in reality now, the best bike for one, is also likely to be the optimal choice for the other too.

To prove this, we’ve put the X through its paces on the UK cross scene with strikingly positive results. The stability of the X provides a tangible advantage on mid-fast corners and off-camber sections, and superb predictability in the mud. Greater tyre clearance keeps your wheels turning longer in extreme conditions and reduces lagging in all conditions. The end result; a competitive overall lap time compared to a classic cross bike.

The X builds on the performance of our GR20 chassis, with tighter triangles, more compact frame design and greater stand over height. This delivers a more responsive machine, perfectly transferring your inputs into controllable speed; the ideal off-road race weapon for either gravel or cross.

Your Forwards bike is designed for you, which is why you can choose your own colour. We’ve chosen a colour here for our feature build but we ask you to imagine it in your own choice of colour. After all, thats what a Forwards is all about, imagining and realising your very own dream bike.

Our bikes are not restrained by factory paint. Every single one is truly individual. They are custom painted by the finest Artisan painters here in the UK.

Our bike graphics are tastefully subtle and feature 30mm tall ‘Forwards’ on the main down tube and the model name on the back of the top tube, 20mm wide. The production number is on the inner side of the left hand chain stay and is 10mm tall. They also have a small Union Jack on the back of the seat tube to mark that they are assembled by hand, here in the UK.

The graphics are airbrushed onto the frame by our Artisan painters, flat polished and clear coated to create a seamless transition between graphic and chassis colour. You can also choose the graphic colour to compliment the chassis colour.

Every Forwards Bike is individually numbered according to its production. This number continues to increase across our entire range of models. We introduced the numbering on build number 10 and the number is 10mm tall to mark this event.