The Hudksi Doggler immediately caught my attention when it was announced back in September. With little else to go on than a quick product launch video and a few photos, my imagination started running wild with ideas about what the Doggler could do. I’ve been pretty hooked on the idea of flat bar gravel bikes for a while now, an obsession that’s only been amplified during all the time I’ve spent testing and reviewing the more common (and sought after) drop-bar equivalent. My Trek 520 flat-bar conversion subdued my desires temporarily, but I wanted more. There was so much about that bike that I liked, but a handful of frame limitations and design choices meant it was far from perfect.

The Hudski Doggler is a modern, category-bending rigid bike that’s offered in three different builds: city, gravel, and mountain. Each model has the same aluminum frame and full-carbon fork, a 1×12 drivetrain, hydraulic brakes, and a dropper post. The only components that differ between the builds are the tire (and wheel) size and handlebars. The frame has clearance for 29 x 2.25” or 27.5 x 2.6” tires, a replaceable derailleur hanger, threaded bottom bracket, and thru-axle hub spacing (12x142mm / 15x100mm). There are triple mounts on the top and bottom of the downtube, a standard seat tube bottle mount, as well as anything cage mounts on the fork legs. It has fender mounts, rear rack mounts, and a lower fork mount for additional front rack compatibility—it’s got a lot of tiny threaded holes in it. While the cables are mostly externally routed, other than the front brake, which hides in the fork leg, the PNW Rainier dropper post that’s specced on all models is internally routed.