What gravel bikes have minimal front suspension travel & ele

[Trash_panda]

I know basically i should just buy an electric hardtail but I've already got a hard tail and not wanting another one (even if it's just human powered).

Anyway, my job locations changed and now still commuterable by bike but speaking to someone who rides the route regularly, part of the track is off road through a forest. I've not ridden it but he says its pretty jarring (obviously I can put schwalbe big apple tyres on and lower the psi which i did on my HT and took it xc which seemed ok on the derrier).

Which after a long pointless story about my situation and being targeted by cookies, an ad popped up from paprika 53 about a gravel bike with 40mm front suspension. The p53 order books open in may but wouldn't have the bike till mid September

After abit more half hearted goggling, canyon have the grizl on fly but does anyone else know of any others?

Alternatively I could just buy an electric full suspension and lock out the rear but it seems like a waste of a bike though apparently there's some technical trails nearby and if i ever come back to the uk, my mates all have different types of full sus so can ride with them.

Thanks

Edit, it's 20km one way. Realistically I'd probably train to the office and cycle back but if I can get it down to 30 minutes, then would cycle both ways

Edited by Trash_panda on Sunday 13th April 15:03

Edited by Trash_panda on Sunday 13th April 15:06

[Tazza]

Lauf Siegle. Fantastic front suspension fork. Not electric but awesome bike. I have a Lauf True Grit (no longer available) but the Siegle is the newer version. Plenty of reviews online.

[Barchettaman]

Redshift suspension stem on a standard e gravel bike.

[Pablo16v]

Specialized have 20mm of travel in their Future Shock system, and a pal I ride with who has one of their gravel bikes seems to be happy to have the extra cushioning.

I've got a Giant Revolt X with a 40mm suspension fork, but I don't think they do an E-version of it from what I can see.

[Evanivitch]

Barchettaman said:

Redshift suspension stem on a standard e gravel bike.

I'd agree.

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

The Cannondale Topstone Lefty has a suspension front fork, although I wouldn't touch it personally.

Specialized Diverge has a Futureshock insert in the headset that provides a bit of shock absorbing, which makes a difference over semi-rough ground - definitely feels in between a road bike and a hardtail, so you wouldn't feel you just had an electric version of a bike you have already. I've got one and it's great for mixed on and off road rides.

Lots of gravel bikes have some kind of comfort damping in addition to running tubeless wide, low pressure tyres, and you can get aftermarket stems and seatposts that provide suspension as well.

[Castrol for a knave]

Tazza said:

Lauf Siegle. Fantastic front suspension fork. Not electric but awesome bike. I have a Lauf True Grit (no longer available) but the Siegle is the newer version. Plenty of reviews online.

I have a Siegle.

They are a fantastic bike. The fork is a bit of an acquired taste, but then again, I like the Morgan Aero 8 so my tastes are not exactly "mainstream".

They give 30mm of travel which is more than adequate to remove trail buzz and it gives great compliance meaning they ascend and corner really really well.

It replaced my cross bike which I was using for gravel and gnarlier off road stuff and I ride it like an MTB. The Lauf has similar racing geometry so is just as agile. That said, I just did a 160 mile weekend on it and apart from realising I need a shorter stem, it was very comfortable.

The kit for the price is a bargain.

[Bill]

Trash_panda said:

Alternatively I could just buy an electric full suspension and lock out the rear but it seems like a waste of a bike though apparently there's some technical trails nearby and if i ever come back to the uk, my mates all have different types of full sus so can ride with them.

Why lock out the rear? If you have e-assistance then just crack on and enjoy the plush ride. Similarly aero advantages like drop bars on a gravel bike are moot, just turn the assistance up if you have a head wind.

[Evanivitch]

Castrol for a knave said:

They give 30mm of travel which is more than adequate to remove trail buzz and it gives great compliance meaning they ascend and corner really really well.

Travel is irrelevant if it's not tuned properly for higher frequency buzz.

[Castrol for a knave]

Evanivitch said:

Castrol for a knave said:

They give 30mm of travel which is more than adequate to remove trail buzz and it gives great compliance meaning they ascend and corner really really well.

Travel is irrelevant if it's not tuned properly for higher frequency buzz.

My point being that it is primarily designed to mitigate buzz but can also deal with bigger lumps and stuff without turning your joints to mush.

[LimaDelta]

My Specialized Diverge has a small amount of travel in the headstock. Just enough for a gravel/rough roads bike. I quite like it. The wheel is static with reference to the frame, but the handlebars move up and down slightly, taking away a bit of harshness or buzz.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Roadcc did a story about a year - 18 months ago about having a gravel bike as a winter road bike. They particularly referenced the Specialised Diverge because of its 20 mm suspension in the headset.
One came up on the 'Bay near me, £1300 down from £3000 3 years ago so I jumped at it. I love the thing. Just been to Paris Roubaix and did a couple of the cobbled sections on it. They were still horrible, but less horrible than they would have been.
I live on the edge of the South Downs and it's pretty capable. The downhills are where the biggest compromises have to be made compared to a hardtail, I go about half as fast (if not less!) and just make sure the tyres are gripping. Everyehere else it's faster than the hardtail, but then again it probably weighs 3-4 kg less than my ancient hardtail.
I had mudguards on it throughout the winter, and it was a brilliant winter road bike. The fact that it can take non-Tarmac surfaces too was icing on the cake.
The Roadcc article also mentioned the Reshift system, but it works differently because its a pivot in the stem, I think. Takes more getting used to because you can see and feel it deflecting.

[SoliD]

Giant Revolt X or Canyon Grizl?

[stargazer30]

A regular gravel bike with 42c or bigger tyres and a redshift stem and seat post combo will happily cover rooty forest terrain. You can get gravel suspension forks but they are ££££, about 3x what a mtb fork costs.

[thisnameistaken]

Canyon Grizl has 40mm front suspension and a clever seat stem to avoid buzz. They also do a Grizl:ON which is electric.

[Trash_panda]

Bill said:

Why lock out the rear? If you have e-assistance then just crack on and enjoy the plush ride. Similarly aero advantages like drop bars on a gravel bike are moot, just turn the assistance up if you have a head wind.

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions, after finding out the route is 70/30 off road, I think I'll be going down full sus trail bike route as there's some semi decent (i believe but I'm a beginner and not ridden trails ages) trails/parks nearby as well for the weekends.

Now the hunt for a decent 2nd hand one but seems to be a minefield out there on these