Gravel Bikes - what exactly are you supposed to do with one?
Discussion
yonex said:
My Bokeh goes anywhere. You can ride on the road and still get on with it and then just hop onto a bridleway etc. The comfort with 35c tyres is on a different level and with 1x and mtb mech it’s silent and bomb proof. About to fit hope calipers to complete it.
The geometry is good for long rides, allot frame takes a lot of abuse and it’ll go with cx, trails, road and everything.
I'd love a Bokeh, especially the Ti version. The geometry is good for long rides, allot frame takes a lot of abuse and it’ll go with cx, trails, road and everything.
I have been running Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H in 35mm for a couple of weeks now and, looking at my stats, on the road my average speeds and average powers are pretty much the same compared to when I was running Schwalbe Pro Ones (28mm) .
On hard pack trails they feel planted and work well in mud given that they have pretty flat knobblies! There is a hint of road noise but nothing compared to the Panaracer Gravel Kings I tried that were noisy and hard work on the road.
On hard pack trails they feel planted and work well in mud given that they have pretty flat knobblies! There is a hint of road noise but nothing compared to the Panaracer Gravel Kings I tried that were noisy and hard work on the road.
WinstonWolf said:
Barchettaman said:
In fact, inspired by this thread, I’m going to convert my old commuter bike (currently with a mate who isn’t using it) into a gravel slag.
Started like this:
Currently like this:
You'd be amazed what you can build from an old MTB Started like this:
Currently like this:
Not to everyone's taste but I love it..
Gives me an idea or two for my 1990 Courier Comp.
fathomfive said:
WinstonWolf said:
Barchettaman said:
In fact, inspired by this thread, I’m going to convert my old commuter bike (currently with a mate who isn’t using it) into a gravel slag.
Started like this:
Currently like this:
You'd be amazed what you can build from an old MTB Started like this:
Currently like this:
Not to everyone's taste but I love it..Gives me an idea or two for my 1990 Courier Comp.
Likewise the forks, there's a good reason MTB forks are generally 5cm offset, stability, road forks with 4 or 4.5cm offset are fine for fast right angle bends if you are racing a town centre crit but not ideal for a fast gravelly descent, you also need to make sure that your toes don't strike the front wheel! Also a fork with higher axle to crown dimension will be more stable as it slackens the head angle, think Motocross M/C !
I swapped the 4.5cm offset fork on my State Thunderbird for a 5cm offset Genesis fork that was also a bit taller and it transformed the bike from being twitchy to super stable and eliminated the toe strike.
A properly sorted gravel bike on the right tyres gives nothing away to a road bike but does open up all sorts of adventure possibilities, we are lucky to have a good network of trails, byways and bridleways, get on your bike and ride them and don't forget to pack your sense of humour cos you will need it at some point!!
Barchettaman said:
WinstonWolf said:
Your pub bike is on 26” wheels though, isn’t it?Mine is on standard 700c. It was a cheap steel Focus hybrid originally that I found in a hedge.
FRG0 said:
In reply to the thread title - I don’t know but I’ve been caught by the bug and have been to Planet X today to pick up a Space Chicken.
Good work, probably the best value gravel bike out there.I was running 650b WTB byway tyres on mine, 47mm - have just taken them off and put on a set of WTB sendero 650b 47mm tyres, knobblies for the win.
Kingdom (makers of titanium bike porn) are re-working their Beam Cyclocross frame to be more... gravel. Want.
https://www.facebook.com/kingdombike/posts/3817519...
Edited by Tall_Paul on Friday 6th December 23:22
Tall_Paul said:
Good work, probably the best valye gravel bike out there.
I was running 650b WTB byway tyres on mine, 47mm - have just taken them off and put on a set of WTB sendero 650b 47mm tyres, knobblies for the win.
Kingdom (makers of titanium bike porn) are re-working their Beam Cyclocross frame to be more... gravel. Want.
https://www.facebook.com/kingdombike/posts/3817519...
I had planned to buy a 650b but they had a 700c with Force 1 for £1350 in the clearance section. I’ll see how I get on with it for now and maybe get a 650b wheelset later on. I was running 650b WTB byway tyres on mine, 47mm - have just taken them off and put on a set of WTB sendero 650b 47mm tyres, knobblies for the win.
Kingdom (makers of titanium bike porn) are re-working their Beam Cyclocross frame to be more... gravel. Want.
https://www.facebook.com/kingdombike/posts/3817519...
FRG0 said:
I had planned to buy a 650b but they had a 700c with Force 1 for £1350 in the clearance section. I’ll see how I get on with it for now and maybe get a 650b wheelset later on.
That's a great price, I paid £1400 for mine with force 1 which was very cheap. Bring on the winter mud!
Mr Ted said:
fathomfive said:
WinstonWolf said:
Barchettaman said:
In fact, inspired by this thread, I’m going to convert my old commuter bike (currently with a mate who isn’t using it) into a gravel slag.
Started like this:
Currently like this:
You'd be amazed what you can build from an old MTB Started like this:
Currently like this:
Not to everyone's taste but I love it..Gives me an idea or two for my 1990 Courier Comp.
Likewise the forks, there's a good reason MTB forks are generally 5cm offset, stability, road forks with 4 or 4.5cm offset are fine for fast right angle bends if you are racing a town centre crit but not ideal for a fast gravelly descent, you also need to make sure that your toes don't strike the front wheel! Also a fork with higher axle to crown dimension will be more stable as it slackens the head angle, think Motocross M/C !
I swapped the 4.5cm offset fork on my State Thunderbird for a 5cm offset Genesis fork that was also a bit taller and it transformed the bike from being twitchy to super stable and eliminated the toe strike.
A properly sorted gravel bike on the right tyres gives nothing away to a road bike but does open up all sorts of adventure possibilities, we are lucky to have a good network of trails, byways and bridleways, get on your bike and ride them and don't forget to pack your sense of humour cos you will need it at some point!!
I've always found having a MTB and a sense of humour to be essential partners.
Well found out at the weekend that my dad, 64, intent on spending my inheritance ( ;-) ) has ordered an Orange X9. can't wait to have a go when it arrives. Got a 40mm travel "gravel specific" version of a Fox 32 stepcast fork on it. Blurs the lines even more between gravel and a hardtail MTB.
lufbramatt said:
Well found out at the weekend that my dad, 64, intent on spending my inheritance ( ;-) ) has ordered an Orange X9. can't wait to have a go when it arrives. Got a 40mm travel "gravel specific" version of a Fox 32 stepcast fork on it. Blurs the lines even more between gravel and a hardtail MTB.
Just looked it up: https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/x9-pro/2020Looks interesting, like a Slate, but without the Slate issues (wheel clearance, cost of fork etc etc)
ThisInJapanese said:
lufbramatt said:
Well found out at the weekend that my dad, 64, intent on spending my inheritance ( ;-) ) has ordered an Orange X9. can't wait to have a go when it arrives. Got a 40mm travel "gravel specific" version of a Fox 32 stepcast fork on it. Blurs the lines even more between gravel and a hardtail MTB.
Just looked it up: https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/x9-pro/2020Looks interesting, like a Slate, but without the Slate issues (wheel clearance, cost of fork etc etc)
yellowjack said:
ThisInJapanese said:
lufbramatt said:
Well found out at the weekend that my dad, 64, intent on spending my inheritance ( ;-) ) has ordered an Orange X9. can't wait to have a go when it arrives. Got a 40mm travel "gravel specific" version of a Fox 32 stepcast fork on it. Blurs the lines even more between gravel and a hardtail MTB.
Just looked it up: https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/x9-pro/2020Looks interesting, like a Slate, but without the Slate issues (wheel clearance, cost of fork etc etc)
Enjoy the test ride
I’m not really into cycling for fitness as such (I run a lot..) but thinking of a gravel bike to get further afield at weekends. Not on roads too often. Plenty of bridal ways & towpaths around here.
To get a bit further, it got me thinking of an electric gravel bike !
Does such a thing exist ?
To get a bit further, it got me thinking of an electric gravel bike !
Does such a thing exist ?
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff