Speccing a gravel bike

[Dnlm]

upsidedownmark said:

. With a bit of thinking I can get to box hill (and beyond) from RP with barely any riding on road. .

Nice! I'm opposite corner, in hackney. There are reasonable routes out east, thought mostly canal or walk/bike paths through parks.

Your thinking is clearly significantly better than mine too - have often ended up on the A3 just trying to get from RP to Wimbledon village

[Sway]

TobyLerone said:

Any word when 12 speed GRX will be announced?

Your guess is as good as anyone's!

I'm stuck at the mo - finish paying the C2W for my Enigma in a couple of months, so trying to decide what to do with next voucher...

I want a custom Enigma, but will only ride shimano gears and ideally want a wireless electronic group (at the mo I went for mechanical GRX).

If they bring out 12 speed, especially wireless then that's this year's voucher. Otherwise it'll be some wheels, bling and riding kit. Once it all comes together I'll get the bespoke frame done.

[ArnageWRC]

lufbramatt said:

A 33mm "full mud" tyre like a Challenge Limus or Specialized Terra Pro (or even an "all rounder" like a Challenge Grifo) is surprisingly effective in mud compared to the higher volume semi-slicks you often see on gravel bikes. with the bonus that a rigid gravel or CX bike has less to clean and fewer bits to wear out (suspension forks, pivots, shocks etc) when covered in crap.

If those tyres are good enough for the the top CX riders - then I'd say they're fine for us mere mortals in muddy conditions......

[upsidedownmark]

Dnlm said:

Nice! I'm opposite corner, in hackney. There are reasonable routes out east, thought mostly canal or walk/bike paths through parks.

Your thinking is clearly significantly better than mine too - have often ended up on the A3 just trying to get from RP to Wimbledon village

I do have a pretty decent inbuilt compass, but otherwise Komoot generally does OK-ish. It can have some odd ideas about routing sometimes, but that and stalking other folks (particularly strava) has done me.

I hear ya on canals/parks.. not ideal. Hope you find some alternatives.

[Hard-Drive]

Ares said:

Echo the cleaning bit, especially on a 1x. I usually take mine to TSC for a full wash...but if it's closed, and It's too cold to mess about with my Karcher, I take it to the local garage and use their car jet wash.

£2 for 5mins. High Pressure cold pre-wash, Low-pressure hot pre-wash, quick once over with hot brush, cold high-pressure rinse.

Then home and spray GT-85 over it and keep it somewhere warm.

Hmmm, I've been told that jet washers are bad news on bikes...the pressure displaces the seals and ruins bearings. No doubt if you were using the edge/mist of the spray it's OK, but it's not something I'd like to risk TBH...

[Siao]

Hard-Drive said:

Ares said:

Echo the cleaning bit, especially on a 1x. I usually take mine to TSC for a full wash...but if it's closed, and It's too cold to mess about with my Karcher, I take it to the local garage and use their car jet wash.

£2 for 5mins. High Pressure cold pre-wash, Low-pressure hot pre-wash, quick once over with hot brush, cold high-pressure rinse.

Then home and spray GT-85 over it and keep it somewhere warm.

Hmmm, I've been told that jet washers are bad news on bikes...the pressure displaces the seals and ruins bearings. No doubt if you were using the edge/mist of the spray it's OK, but it's not something I'd like to risk TBH...

You are supposed to avoid spraying directly on the bearings in general (headset, bottom bracket), but should be ok otherwise.

[Ares]

Siao said:

Hard-Drive said:

Ares said:

Echo the cleaning bit, especially on a 1x. I usually take mine to TSC for a full wash...but if it's closed, and It's too cold to mess about with my Karcher, I take it to the local garage and use their car jet wash.

£2 for 5mins. High Pressure cold pre-wash, Low-pressure hot pre-wash, quick once over with hot brush, cold high-pressure rinse.

Then home and spray GT-85 over it and keep it somewhere warm.

Hmmm, I've been told that jet washers are bad news on bikes...the pressure displaces the seals and ruins bearings. No doubt if you were using the edge/mist of the spray it's OK, but it's not something I'd like to risk TBH...

You are supposed to avoid spraying directly on the bearings in general (headset, bottom bracket), but should be ok otherwise.

Given pro-mechanics do it all the time, and the guy that does men weekly has never caused any problems, you need to have a very high pressure at a very close proximity, directly on a bearing, to get close to risking.

[Siao]

Ares said:

Siao said:

Hard-Drive said:

Ares said:

Echo the cleaning bit, especially on a 1x. I usually take mine to TSC for a full wash...but if it's closed, and It's too cold to mess about with my Karcher, I take it to the local garage and use their car jet wash.

£2 for 5mins. High Pressure cold pre-wash, Low-pressure hot pre-wash, quick once over with hot brush, cold high-pressure rinse.

Then home and spray GT-85 over it and keep it somewhere warm.

Hmmm, I've been told that jet washers are bad news on bikes...the pressure displaces the seals and ruins bearings. No doubt if you were using the edge/mist of the spray it's OK, but it's not something I'd like to risk TBH...

You are supposed to avoid spraying directly on the bearings in general (headset, bottom bracket), but should be ok otherwise.

Given pro-mechanics do it all the time, and the guy that does men weekly has never caused any problems, you need to have a very high pressure at a very close proximity, directly on a bearing, to get close to risking.

Indeed

[Hard-Drive]

Siao said:

Ares said:

Siao said:

Hard-Drive said:

Ares said:

Echo the cleaning bit, especially on a 1x. I usually take mine to TSC for a full wash...but if it's closed, and It's too cold to mess about with my Karcher, I take it to the local garage and use their car jet wash.

£2 for 5mins. High Pressure cold pre-wash, Low-pressure hot pre-wash, quick once over with hot brush, cold high-pressure rinse.

Then home and spray GT-85 over it and keep it somewhere warm.

Hmmm, I've been told that jet washers are bad news on bikes...the pressure displaces the seals and ruins bearings. No doubt if you were using the edge/mist of the spray it's OK, but it's not something I'd like to risk TBH...

You are supposed to avoid spraying directly on the bearings in general (headset, bottom bracket), but should be ok otherwise.

Given pro-mechanics do it all the time, and the guy that does men weekly has never caused any problems, you need to have a very high pressure at a very close proximity, directly on a bearing, to get close to risking.

Indeed

Good to know about the guy who does men weekly, great to know that gravel biking is a broad church! And if it's good enough for him, I might well start using mine carefully too in that case...just did mine with a brush and hosepipe and it was bleddy freezing!

[Hard-Drive]

Dnlm said:

Hard-Drive said:

Not sure where you live, but if the roads around me were less rural, potholed and muddy, and there was less off-road riding available, then I too would be probably be less enamoured riding a gravel bike around.

However, I will say it again, I just don't get the 1x thing for any bike that's going to spend any time at all on tarmac...

What do you think re comfort, particularly on the road? I've found the GXT itself decent, but not noticed the Titanium magic carpet effect tbh! Have always been a bit funny though, replaced a Ribble endurance bike with aero Venge after finding it comfier.

To be honest, I'm with you on that. My old road bike was a TCR on skinny 23mm tyres and going to my Canyon Endurace on 28mm was an absolute revelation. But there's much less of a difference between the Endurace and the GXT. The GXT is a lovely comfy thing, however I think that more of the comfort comes from 35mm tyres at low pressure and the "boing" of the Brooks Cambium saddle than the frame itself. I suspect that back in the day Ti was very different to other materials (perhaps steel to a lesser extent) but as carbon technology and layup has got better, aluminium has got less harsh, and more emphasis has been put on more comfortable geometry, contact points, tyre size and better clothing, Ti has probably lost it's advantage. That said, I bought Ti as I wanted the durable finish, something that was less likely to dent than ally, would never rust like steel, and was more durable in harsh/rocky terrain than carbon, rather than the comfort. At the end of the day riding a drop bar fully rigid bike on comparatively narrow tyres at speed into your average British pot hole is just never going to be a "magic carpet" experience!

[Ares]

Hard-Drive said:

Siao said:

Ares said:

Siao said:

Hard-Drive said:

Ares said:

Echo the cleaning bit, especially on a 1x. I usually take mine to TSC for a full wash...but if it's closed, and It's too cold to mess about with my Karcher, I take it to the local garage and use their car jet wash.

£2 for 5mins. High Pressure cold pre-wash, Low-pressure hot pre-wash, quick once over with hot brush, cold high-pressure rinse.

Then home and spray GT-85 over it and keep it somewhere warm.

Hmmm, I've been told that jet washers are bad news on bikes...the pressure displaces the seals and ruins bearings. No doubt if you were using the edge/mist of the spray it's OK, but it's not something I'd like to risk TBH...

You are supposed to avoid spraying directly on the bearings in general (headset, bottom bracket), but should be ok otherwise.

Given pro-mechanics do it all the time, and the guy that does men weekly has never caused any problems, you need to have a very high pressure at a very close proximity, directly on a bearing, to get close to risking.

Indeed

Good to know about the guy who does men weekly, great to know that gravel biking is a broad church! And if it's good enough for him, I might well start using mine carefully too in that case...just did mine with a brush and hosepipe and it was bleddy freezing!

....freudian autocorrect. He does mine. He may do men too, but he's Italian, so I doubt it

The in action:

[Ares]

Hard-Drive said:

Dnlm said:

Hard-Drive said:

Not sure where you live, but if the roads around me were less rural, potholed and muddy, and there was less off-road riding available, then I too would be probably be less enamoured riding a gravel bike around.

However, I will say it again, I just don't get the 1x thing for any bike that's going to spend any time at all on tarmac...

What do you think re comfort, particularly on the road? I've found the GXT itself decent, but not noticed the Titanium magic carpet effect tbh! Have always been a bit funny though, replaced a Ribble endurance bike with aero Venge after finding it comfier.

To be honest, I'm with you on that. My old road bike was a TCR on skinny 23mm tyres and going to my Canyon Endurace on 28mm was an absolute revelation. But there's much less of a difference between the Endurace and the GXT. The GXT is a lovely comfy thing, however I think that more of the comfort comes from 35mm tyres at low pressure and the "boing" of the Brooks Cambium saddle than the frame itself. I suspect that back in the day Ti was very different to other materials (perhaps steel to a lesser extent) but as carbon technology and layup has got better, aluminium has got less harsh, and more emphasis has been put on more comfortable geometry, contact points, tyre size and better clothing, Ti has probably lost it's advantage. That said, I bought Ti as I wanted the durable finish, something that was less likely to dent than ally, would never rust like steel, and was more durable in harsh/rocky terrain than carbon, rather than the comfort. At the end of the day riding a drop bar fully rigid bike on comparatively narrow tyres at speed into your average British pot hole is just never going to be a "magic carpet" experience!

True. My road bikes have 23 and 25s on them, running 100-110psi. The Gravel bike has 47s running fast 40-45psi. It is like a magic carpet in comparison!!

[Dnlm]

Ares said:

....freudian autocorrect.

Also happy to hear it's a broad church

More shocked at the non autocorrect - somebody comes to wash your bike every week?? That's the kind of personal service I'd be willing to pay for!

[Dnlm]

Hard-Drive said:

.I suspect that back in the day Ti was very different to other materials (perhaps steel to a lesser extent) but as carbon technology and layup has got better, aluminium has got less harsh, and more emphasis has been put on more comfortable geometry, contact points, tyre size and better clothing, Ti has probably lost it's advantage. That said, I bought Ti as I wanted the durable finish, something that was less likely to dent than ally, would never rust like steel, and was more durable in harsh/rocky terrain than carbon, rather than the comfort. At the end of the day riding a drop bar fully rigid bike on comparatively narrow tyres at speed into your average British pot hole is just never going to be a "magic carpet" experience!

That all makes sense, both on how the metal probably isn't so amazing these days and doesn't change a lot of the benefits

[Dnlm]

Sway said:

I want a custom Enigma, but will only ride shimano gears and ideally want a wireless electronic group (at the mo I went for mechanical GRX).

If they bring out 12 speed, especially wireless then that's this year's voucher. Otherwise it'll be some wheels, bling and riding kit. Once it all comes together I'll get the bespoke frame done.

Damn, you'd buy new Dura Ace if it comes out with that? Considering electric but the price of di2 or force etap is already putting me off.

Interested why only Shimano? I am the same (with only mechanical experience) but the LBS has said shift action is not much different on the electric SRAM gruppos when discussing upgrades.

[Sway]

Dnlm said:

Sway said:

I want a custom Enigma, but will only ride shimano gears and ideally want a wireless electronic group (at the mo I went for mechanical GRX).

If they bring out 12 speed, especially wireless then that's this year's voucher. Otherwise it'll be some wheels, bling and riding kit. Once it all comes together I'll get the bespoke frame done.

Damn, you'd buy new Dura Ace if it comes out with that? Considering electric but the price of di2 or force etap is already putting me off.

Interested why only Shimano? I am the same (with only mechanical experience) but the LBS has said shift action is not much different on the electric SRAM gruppos when discussing upgrades.

Well, the tax saving/discount is quite nice thanks to C2W!

I'd likely wait until a 1x group is out rather than 2x D-A - but I'm really not a fan of sram levers and prefer shimano's use of mineral oil for brakes. Di2 just seems like an old solution approach instead of modern tech - and if I'm having a custom frame made, it's being made with the absolute minimum of clutter/cable mounting/etc.

I'd like to get the new frame sooner rather than later to maximise resale on my existing frameset, but there's no point rushing it when my crystal ball thinks/hopes what I really want won't be too far from reality.

[Ares]

Dnlm said:

Ares said:

....freudian autocorrect.

Also happy to hear it's a broad church

More shocked at the non autocorrect - somebody comes to wash your bike every week?? That's the kind of personal service I'd be willing to pay for!

No, I take it there after every dirty ride, they have a bike wash - Nico washes it, checks it over and re-oils while I sit and have a coffee.

[Dnlm]

Ares said:

No, I take it there after every dirty ride, they have a bike wash - Nico washes it, checks it over and re-oils while I sit and have a coffee.

That's a service i would kill to have locally.

[Ares]

Dnlm said:

Ares said:

No, I take it there after every dirty ride, they have a bike wash - Nico washes it, checks it over and re-oils while I sit and have a coffee.

That's a service i would kill to have locally.

Thats what happens when the business is owned and run by former pro-cyclists. Great bike service...and incredible coffee

[Anonymous-poster]

I’am converting my winter bike Focus CX into a gravel/adventure bike, what tyres for 50/50 road gravel and what pedals and shoes are people using?