Speccing a gravel bike

Speccing a gravel bike

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Hard-Drive

Original Poster:

4,076 posts

228 months

Tuesday 9th June 2020
quotequote all
I'm thinking about a gravel bike...the idea of linking up sections of rural road rides with bridleways really appeals, as does a bit of bikepacking, as does a winter bike for the road that will deal with all the rural mud and poor roads around me. And I really want to try titanium, but not go crazy on spend (using Cyclescheme)

I do like the look of the Ribble CGR Ti, but the spec and price relationship seems a bit odd in some ways. If I'm honest with myself, I won't be doing loads of bikepacking, or really full-on off road stuff. So, I'm leaning towards the CGR Ti Sport. This has 700c wheels and a 2x11 Shimano 105 drivetrain, and even comes with mudguards in that build.

I could specify 650b wheels if I wanted for an extra £50, but would I want to? Am I limiting my tyre choice to stuff that might be a bit horrible as a winter road bike?

Another thing I'd change is probably the bar to a flared version for £20...any view on this?

The really big one for me is the difference in price between the 105 equipped bike and the GRX equipped version, the CGR Ti Gravel. It seems you pay a £600 premium for the GRX equipped bike, however you are on a 1x11 setup instead. I appreciate it's probably better for hardcore off roading, but I can't help thinking if I am honest about how I'll ride it, I'm way better with the 105 version...I can always presumably just swap the chainset for a 1x and ditch the front mech if needed. Seems odd to be paying a lot more, for a lot less, especially as 105 is such a great groupset anyway.

Thoughts?


jimmy156

3,681 posts

186 months

Tuesday 9th June 2020
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I really like the Ribble CGR, it was in my list but went for the canyon grail (aluminium frame) instead. The Ti CGR is certainly a lovely thing.

If you are planning mostly road rides with the occasional tame bit of off road, it sounds like you have the right idea. I have been doing mostly road riding to be honest, and sometimes wonder whether I would have been better off with a road bike, but I like the versatility and don’t have the space (or Money) for multiple bikes!

With the groupset difference you mention, the GRX groupset is 810, which is comparable to Ultegra (with grx600 being comparable to 105, and grx400 to tiagra) hence the increase in price. The big advantage of grx is the clutch in the rear mech, which if you are going off road will save your chain stay from a lot of slap!

I reckon you will enjoy whichever you buy!

abucd4

523 posts

143 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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Just spent the last few weeks looking into these (albeit with a smaller budget). Just bought a diverge and could not be more excited!

700 vs 650 tends to come down to what riding you want to do - I’m gonna be doing some some fast road between gravel (harder to avoid in an urban area) and couldn’t see myself needing more than 42 width so went for a bike with 700c. Don’t think it would limit your tyre choices - the market is full of decent tyres for both now. It’s a big discussion. Check out the Gravel Bikes UK FB group for dozens of posts.

If you like flared bars have a look at the Sonder Al Camino!

PomBstard

6,728 posts

241 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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I bought a Norco Search about 4 years ago with full hydro 105 kit and 35c tyres. Its been awesome and, apart from upgrading the wheels to proper off-road spec MTB 29ers, exactly the bike I need.

I use it a lot on road and to get to off road bits, so a 2x11 set up works better for me and I've never felt I needed a lower gear to get around the local trails, though it has been close... It also gets a fair whacking on rooty, rocky singletrack and has again been perfectly up for the job. Even with a carbon frame its not the lightest thing - it feels like a gravel bike built for mtb'ers - but there is still a nimbleness to it.

35c tyres have worked well for me - a compromise, but I don't think I'd enjoy anything wider with the road use. Good tyres will prob help and pick what you think will work best for your routes.

Comacchio

1,508 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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I'm in the same boat at the moment - our CycleScheme has just opened up with a limit of £2k. I've been speccing up the CGR SL with the SRAM Apex 1 groupset, Mavic Allroad wheelset to allow tubeless, WTB riddler tyres & the flared bars. Ribble added £100 onto all bikes over the weekend there, so I've had to drop some of the spec down, I think I originally specced it with the GRX-600 1x11 groupset but that's now out of budget unfortunately.

Hard-Drive

Original Poster:

4,076 posts

228 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
quotequote all
Comacchio said:
I'm in the same boat at the moment - our CycleScheme has just opened up with a limit of £2k. I've been speccing up the CGR SL with the SRAM Apex 1 groupset, Mavic Allroad wheelset to allow tubeless, WTB riddler tyres & the flared bars. Ribble added £100 onto all bikes over the weekend there, so I've had to drop some of the spec down, I think I originally specced it with the GRX-600 1x11 groupset but that's now out of budget unfortunately.
I checked with Ribble on this, you can pay the difference yourself...

Comacchio

1,508 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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Hard-Drive said:
I checked with Ribble on this, you can pay the difference yourself...
There's dubiety over whether this is legal or not with the change to the C2W scheme last year. I'm waiting on them responding to me on whether I can reserve a bike with a refundable deposit then redeem the C2W voucher once the bike is ready to be dispatched.

Looked at the Dolan GXC this morning:

https://www.dolan-bikes.com/gxc-carbon-gravel/

Can be specced up with Shimano GRX 600 1x11 and a garish orange/black finish.... Comes in at £1999 as well, same as the CGR SL.

Daveyraveygravey

2,018 posts

183 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
quotequote all
Hard-Drive said:
I'm thinking about a gravel bike...the idea of linking up sections of rural road rides with bridleways really appeals, as does a bit of bikepacking, as does a winter bike for the road that will deal with all the rural mud and poor roads around me. And I really want to try titanium, but not go crazy on spend (using Cyclescheme)

I do like the look of the Ribble CGR Ti, but the spec and price relationship seems a bit odd in some ways. If I'm honest with myself, I won't be doing loads of bikepacking, or really full-on off road stuff. So, I'm leaning towards the CGR Ti Sport. This has 700c wheels and a 2x11 Shimano 105 drivetrain, and even comes with mudguards in that build.

I could specify 650b wheels if I wanted for an extra £50, but would I want to? Am I limiting my tyre choice to stuff that might be a bit horrible as a winter road bike?

Another thing I'd change is probably the bar to a flared version for £20...any view on this?

The really big one for me is the difference in price between the 105 equipped bike and the GRX equipped version, the CGR Ti Gravel. It seems you pay a £600 premium for the GRX equipped bike, however you are on a 1x11 setup instead. I appreciate it's probably better for hardcore off roading, but I can't help thinking if I am honest about how I'll ride it, I'm way better with the 105 version...I can always presumably just swap the chainset for a 1x and ditch the front mech if needed. Seems odd to be paying a lot more, for a lot less, especially as 105 is such a great groupset anyway.

Thoughts?
I'm thinking along similar lines to you. I have a decent aero road bike, and an old but useable 26er hardtail mtb. Commuting in the winter wrecks the road bike - it's got minimal clearances so the only mudguard I can fit is an ass saver, and the rim brakes of course grind the rims. Max tyre size is 25 mm so it could do with more grip and comfort. The MTB is the opposite, heavy, triple chainset, wide knobbly tyres (about 55 mm if my conversion is right!) but it suits the local South Downs trails I ride. The only times I crash off road I have been stupid, not the bike letting me down. I personally don't think a lot of the cx/advenure bikes are really up to proper South Downs trails, maybe now when they are dry but in the winter when it is axle-deep muddy in places??

You could look at PlanetX gravel bikes, I think their Ti bikes are a bit cheaper than Ribbles, etc. I believe the frames were designed by Mark Reilly, who used to work for Enigma and now has his own brand. They're made in Taiwan though, and there are horror stories of them snapping, although I think if you look into any frame maker enough you can find horror stories. It's how the one you have bought from deals with you that's the important thing.

I'm not convinced by 1x for any type of riding. If you only ever ride it in mud, and you're very lazy about cleaning and maintenance, there is a bit of an argument for the simplicity. But they either compromise the overall range of gears or you have massive jumps between each cog, and those massive cassettes look ridiculous. I'd stay with 105 or Tiagra, keep it relatively cheap so when it wears out it's cheap to replace and everywhere has parts. I'd also go for flared bars. I'd stick with 700c wheels for now, my gravel bike would do more roads and better bridleways. At the start of April after the rains, all the local bridleways that had seen the horsey set using them were so lumpy you needed a hovercraft to get over them!

Comacchio

1,508 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
quotequote all
Daveyraveygravey said:
I'm thinking along similar lines to you. I have a decent aero road bike, and an old but useable 26er hardtail mtb. Commuting in the winter wrecks the road bike - it's got minimal clearances so the only mudguard I can fit is an ass saver, and the rim brakes of course grind the rims. Max tyre size is 25 mm so it could do with more grip and comfort. The MTB is the opposite, heavy, triple chainset, wide knobbly tyres (about 55 mm if my conversion is right!) but it suits the local South Downs trails I ride. The only times I crash off road I have been stupid, not the bike letting me down. I personally don't think a lot of the cx/advenure bikes are really up to proper South Downs trails, maybe now when they are dry but in the winter when it is axle-deep muddy in places??

You could look at PlanetX gravel bikes, I think their Ti bikes are a bit cheaper than Ribbles, etc. I believe the frames were designed by Mark Reilly, who used to work for Enigma and now has his own brand. They're made in Taiwan though, and there are horror stories of them snapping, although I think if you look into any frame maker enough you can find horror stories. It's how the one you have bought from deals with you that's the important thing.

I'm not convinced by 1x for any type of riding. If you only ever ride it in mud, and you're very lazy about cleaning and maintenance, there is a bit of an argument for the simplicity. But they either compromise the overall range of gears or you have massive jumps between each cog, and those massive cassettes look ridiculous. I'd stay with 105 or Tiagra, keep it relatively cheap so when it wears out it's cheap to replace and everywhere has parts. I'd also go for flared bars. I'd stick with 700c wheels for now, my gravel bike would do more roads and better bridleways. At the start of April after the rains, all the local bridleways that had seen the horsey set using them were so lumpy you needed a hovercraft to get over them!
Planet X no longer offer cycle to work schemes so that sort of rules them out unfortunately.

Hard-Drive

Original Poster:

4,076 posts

228 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
quotequote all
I really really really want Ti hence needing to go a little over budget, so hopefully it will all be OK with Ribble!

Thanks for the advice on wheels, I do think 700c is the way to go for me, and obviously opens things up to a bit more wheel/tyre swapability with my road bike, a Canyon Endurace. In fact, if I went for the 105 option on the Ribble, I could in theory put the 700c 28mm tyred wheels from my Canyon straight on (both 12mm thru axle) for some faster road wheels for tarmac touring and be good to go, especially if I paid the extra £20 to have an identical 11-34 (changed from stock 11-32) casette on the Ribble, to match the Canyon. Would need to decide on whether to stick with the stock 34-50 or go with a 36-52 upfront too.

The only other option is perhaps a no-cost swap from 105 to GRX400, however as this is a 2x10 rather than a 2x11 it precludes any wheel swapping, and is also not as good a groupset. Although I do like the idea of a clutched derailleur, so perhaps an aftermarket addition of a GRX600 mech at £80 if chain slap is a problem might be the best route (altough in all my years of mountain biking on flaky 3x setups, this was never a huge issue anyway). Plus as my Canyon is 105, it means that I need to carry less spares and always have the option of a component swap if the roadie goes wrong before a sportive, or vice versa...


Comacchio

1,508 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
quotequote all
Hard-Drive said:
I really really really want Ti hence needing to go a little over budget, so hopefully it will all be OK with Ribble!

Thanks for the advice on wheels, I do think 700c is the way to go for me, and obviously opens things up to a bit more wheel/tyre swapability with my road bike, a Canyon Endurace. In fact, if I went for the 105 option on the Ribble, I could in theory put the 700c 28mm tyred wheels from my Canyon straight on (both 12mm thru axle) for some faster road wheels for tarmac touring and be good to go, especially if I paid the extra £20 to have an identical 11-34 (changed from stock 11-32) casette on the Ribble, to match the Canyon. Would need to decide on whether to stick with the stock 34-50 or go with a 36-52 upfront too.

The only other option is perhaps a no-cost swap from 105 to GRX400, however as this is a 2x10 rather than a 2x11 it precludes any wheel swapping, and is also not as good a groupset. Although I do like the idea of a clutched derailleur, so perhaps an aftermarket addition of a GRX600 mech at £80 if chain slap is a problem might be the best route (altough in all my years of mountain biking on flaky 3x setups, this was never a huge issue anyway). Plus as my Canyon is 105, it means that I need to carry less spares and always have the option of a component swap if the roadie goes wrong before a sportive, or vice versa...
Not sure what your budget is, but this might be an option:

https://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-gxt-titanium-gra...

Daveyraveygravey

2,018 posts

183 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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I really want a Kinesis, but I can see that ending up the wrong side of £2.5k. For my intended use I think I should keep it nearer 1500, maybe a Kinesis G2...

Hard-Drive

Original Poster:

4,076 posts

228 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
quotequote all
Daveyraveygravey said:
I really want a Kinesis, but I can see that ending up the wrong side of £2.5k. For my intended use I think I should keep it nearer 1500, maybe a Kinesis G2...
Agree on the costs, but on Cyclescheme, it suddenly looks a lot more sensible/borderline no brainer. I guess a Ti frame on that style of slightly "roadied" gravel bike could literally be a bike for the rest of my cycling days...

alolympic

700 posts

196 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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Just pulling out the 650b or 700c question specifically.
I had been planning for a while that the best bike would be one with 2 wheelsets. 700c for a narrower tyre on road, and 650b with a wider tyre for off road.
After riding my 29er MTB, then comparing it to a 27.5" wheeled MTB, I've now changed my mind.
The bigger wheel just feels better off road to me - which is obviously behind the shift in the mtb scene.
So, why would a gravel bike be different and be better off road on 650b. I don't think it would, it is merely convenient if the frame can't fit wide enough tyres on a 700c wheel.
So, now, I will just be looking for a gravel frame that fits at least 45 width tyres on a 700c wheel. Making a 650b wheelset redundant.

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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I went through this process earlier this year.

Ended up with a Titus Goldrush titanium frame, SRAM Force One Chainset & Brakes, Mavic Allroad rims and WTB Horizon 47 tyres. Who thing came in well under £2k

Was intended as a winter bike, replace my fixie as a bike to ride with my daughter plus a bit of gravel fun. It's ended up being some of the best fun I've had on a bike. Wildly different to my road bikes, but bloody great.




d8mok

1,815 posts

204 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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Had my gravel bike around 2 weeks now and I love it. Not touched the road bike as it’s almost as fast on the road , can be ridden flat out in rain , and eats up gravel tracks.

The hoods on GRX are larger than 105 which sounds like nothing but when you are off-road it helps.



alolympic

700 posts

196 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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Ares said:
That looks absolutely great fun!! looks a lot better than you would expect from the Planet X website.

You don't happen to have weighed the frameset did you?

Sway

26,070 posts

193 months

Wednesday 10th June 2020
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I went silly on price...

But similar thoughts to you - a stunning 'bike for life' that would do almost everything (but weighted towards road and bridleways, I've a hardtail mtb that hasn't been used properly in years if I decide I want to do the rough stuff).

I went 700c and GRX 1x. Having done fifty miles on it now, I'm not regretting any of the choices. Gear spacing really isn't that bad. Hoods are super comfortable. Geo is nicely positioned to let me go head down and mental on road, as well as sit up and relax.

Waiting on a bike fit once Enigma open up, and I'll probably go for a slightly flared bar with a little sweep back.

Oh, and I'm only running 32mm tyres. They seemed fine on the field path I ended up on last week, if a tad jolty! I can fit 35s if I need to, possibly up to 37. Don't personally see the need for wider with my use (of course loads of frames will take more) - if I really needed to I could get a set of 650b wheels with plusher tyres.


LimaDelta

6,507 posts

217 months

Thursday 11th June 2020
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I was just about to start a thread about the very same thing, so as long as the OP has no objections I might just jump in...?

I want a bike. My mission profile is relatively simple, but first a caveat. I have never owned or ridden a 'road' bike. I have always been slightly wary of anyone who chose lycra over cordura and slicks over knobblies, traffic over trees - you know what I mean. I don't know whether it is an age thing but I find myself being drawn ever closer to the dark side. It doesn't help that anyone I know who rides has some sort of carbon speedy head down-bum up, pain machine.

So, at nearly 42 I am starting to come around to the idea of longer road rides, maybe some multi-day trips in the mountains, and a gravel/adventure/whatever the latest buzzword is bike might just be perfect for me. I have a few criteria I would like to fulfil, but none are really deal-breakers except one - I will probably sell my hardtail MTB, so the new bike must be able to handle singletrack so I can still go for rides with the boy (8) round the woods. My days of big drops are long gone, but as long as it won't fall apart then I'm happy with that.

What I want:

  • Off-roadable (see above).
  • Mechanically simple.
  • Comfort more important than speed.
  • Will be riding in Les Alpes-Maritimes, so climbing performance is relatively important, but see above.
  • British made. I will accept British designed, or a 'British' brand, since realistically without spending more than I would ideally like I can't seem to find anyone who actually makes their own frames here.
  • I have visions of far-flung adventures so figure steel is the easiest to repair, but again, realistically would be happy with Ti or even carbon since 99% of my riding is likely to be within hours of home. No Al.
  • Must be able to carry a bit of luggage
  • and finally, the hardest criteria to fulfil - must be available to buy in XL. Everytime I think I have found my perfect bike, there are none in stock. Some have an estimated lead time, some no clue. I appreciate that with the lockdown people have been on a bike buying spree but It seems like there is very little available at the moment - is this normal?
  • Budget around £3k, no C2W.
Some of the options I've considered are the Ribble CGR Ti (Sept), Sonder Camino Ti (when?), Shand Stooshie (looks too, slender), Mason Bokeh (A bit over-styled), Enigma Excel (too expensive, I'm not a good enough rider to appreciate that level of cost, maybe for the next one...), Ribble Adventure Ti (too MTB-ey?), Cotic Escapade...

Any thoughts on those? Any I may have missed?

pete

1,586 posts

283 months

Thursday 11th June 2020
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I built up a Kinesis Tripster AT (the aluminium version) a couple of years ago. It's huge fun. Total cost was a smidge over £2k.

Mine is spec'd with SRAM Rival 1x11, which has been completely reliable, and the gear range and gaps are fine with a 10-42 cassette and 42t chainring. I certainly prefer the simplicity for predominantly offroad riding, compared with my normal 2x11 Ultegra-equipped road bike. Wheels are Hunt 650b gravel wheels, with 650x47 Panaracer Gravelking SK tyres, which work really well on harder dirt or gravel as well as tarmac, but get a bit slippery when it's properly muddy. The big advantage of bigger tubeless rubber for me is the ability to run them at 20psi when it's really rough, or 45psi on smoother tracks. They're also near as dammit the same external diameter as a 700x25 tyre, so roll just as well over obstacles, although they're obviously heavier than (say) a 700x32 gravel tyre. I'm not sure it's quite the same as the MTB 27.5 vs 29'er argument, as the rolling tyre diameters you can fit to each size on a gravel bike narrow the difference.

Regardless of the tyre/wheel holy war, the best thing about my gravel bike is the "ride anywhere" mentality, like being a kid on a Raleigh Grifter :-) I've really enjoyed discovering new mixtures of on and offroad routes in my local area, and now find that it's my preferred bike when I'm out on my own, rather than riding with my road club. Sure, I'm a few kph slower than on a road ride, but I'm having more fun and getting a more rounded workout.



(apologies for the terrible crank and tyre valve alignment. Many sins against bicycle photography on display here wink )

Edited by pete on Thursday 11th June 10:26