Posted on September 1, 2022 by Tyler Benedict

The new Soma Fab Smoothie HP road bike took what they loved about their steel frame and made it all better. And disc brakes and thru axles are just the start, adding more braking power to a stiffer yet more compliant frame.

Soma started with the need to update their classic road bike with modern group compatibility. What started with the brand itself as a straight-tubed classic had, over the years, received a sloping top tube, carbon fork, and upgraded Tange tubing.

Now, it gets disc brakes, and an entirely new frame using Tange’s Prestige Japan tubing with a mix of tube shapes and walls to make it “High Performance”, hence the HP in the model name.

The Smoothie HP gets the thinnest walled downtubes of any of their bikes, but the diameter increases to oversized 34.9 and 38.1 millimeters (depending on frame size).

Those, combined with stiffer oversized and tapered chainstays (32x18mm oval) give the bottom half of the bike a laterally stiffer, stronger platform for pedaling torque.

The top tube gets ovalized, too, which further improves lateral stiffness but adds a bit of vertical compliance. It still slopes, giving the bike a more modern look and feel.

Soma kept the geometry somewhere between endurance and stage racer, which they say provides a balanced, smooth ride for general (and now somewhat high performance) road riding where the emphasis is on comfort and ride quality.

Traditional touches and backward compatibility remain, though:

Framesets run $1,149.99 and are available now.

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for 14 years. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves finding new travel adventures to share with his family and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter. And, he’s totally gone down the NFT rabbit hole.

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Rim brake mounts? With a thru axle?

Yeah i totally think they should have done canto bosses as well. Real shame

At least the rear dropout system is modular and replaceable, so you can likely replace it with a QR setup if you’re going to run rim brakes. No clue about the front fork?

Yeah there’s some sort of mount up there but I’d be shocked if it were for a caliper brake.

They call for it in the spec. It’s also clearanced for 57mm reach calipers, which is good for tire clearance but pretty limiting to brake choice.

I bet most would build this up with disc. Almost everyone who wants a steel, rim brake bike must have one by now, right?

The front center dimensions are too short to run 32 mm tires comfortably.

I noticed they do not specify a different tire clearance when used with mud guards, too. Those will also crowd toe overlap, which I believe is governed by CPSC here in the US.

wonder if the dropouts can be replaced with a sliding set to run it as a singlespeed.

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