Speccing a gravel bike

[Sway]

:swoon:

[LMPanda]

Sway said:

:swoon:

Straight in my basket, arriving this week 😍 next we need some Adidas shell toes!

[Zigster]

LMPanda said:

A little off topic, but at LAST a decent casual/pub bike shoe with SPD’s. Now I just need a belt driven single speed gravel bike....

Not exactly single speed, but have you seen the Shand Leveret? That looks awesome as an all rounder, and I’m really tempted when my cycle to work option comes up again.
https://www.shandcycles.com/shop/shand-leveret/

[LMPanda]

Zigster said:

Not exactly single speed, but have you seen the Shand Leveret? That looks awesome as an all rounder, and I’m really tempted when my cycle to work option comes up again.
https://www.shandcycles.com/shop/shand-leveret/

That’s nice! I’ve a gravel adventure bike and also an old Hercules pub bike! Three speed hub gear and proper racer bars! Full hipster...

Edited by LMPanda on Monday 8th March 09:11

Edited by LMPanda on Monday 8th March 09:12

[Ilovejapcrap]

Zigster said:

Not exactly single speed, but have you seen the Shand Leveret? That looks awesome as an all rounder, and I’m really tempted when my cycle to work option comes up again.
https://www.shandcycles.com/shop/shand-leveret/

I’ve seen this, question what’s the gearing like on them

[Zigster]

Ilovejapcrap said:

I’ve seen this, question what’s the gearing like on them

Fair point. Gearing does look to be a bit high to be used for any sort of gravel bike. Maybe it would just need a bigger sprocket or smaller chainring to fix - not sure with it having a belt drive. Shame, although I think it is aimed more at commuters than gravel riders.

[JD82]

Majorslow said:

I have been fast reading from the beginning of the thread, ( and enjoyed it) I'm looking for a cheap Gravel bike for wet weather rididng around the New Forest and occasional gravel rides around here. I am trying to kep the price down and have found a Genesis Crox defer 10

Has anyone any opinions on them please good or bad

I have a Croix de Fer 20 and love it as an all rounder - as others have said it is slow (relatively) and I feel the hills on road cycles with friends on carbon road bikes. But for 50:50 road and tracks it’s brilliant- very stable and comfortable. I’ve done some up to 70km road outings too and it comes into its own on broken country lanes, though less so on smooth tarmac.

[Majorslow]

JD82 said:

Majorslow said:

I have been fast reading from the beginning of the thread, ( and enjoyed it) I'm looking for a cheap Gravel bike for wet weather rididng around the New Forest and occasional gravel rides around here. I am trying to kep the price down and have found a Genesis Crox defer 10

Has anyone any opinions on them please good or bad

I have a Croix de Fer 20 and love it as an all rounder - as others have said it is slow (relatively) and I feel the hills on road cycles with friends on carbon road bikes. But for 50:50 road and tracks it’s brilliant- very stable and comfortable. I’ve done some up to 70km road outings too and it comes into its own on broken country lanes, though less so on smooth tarmac.

Hi JD,

I bought it, and am still adjusting to it. i am struggling with the comfort on the saddle compared to my 1987 road bike.

It is a fair bit slower than the road bike i suspect owing to the wide tyres, not down to the weight difference as there is not a lot in it.

The rattle of the front mud guard is irritating when I take a hand of the bars to signal or shift position.

I like the modern gear shifting on the brake levers, very different from the levers on the down stem on my old road bike. there are so many options in gearing I tend to change far more to get a comfortable cadence.

riding onto dirt and pot holes etc... on the gravel bike is far more comfortable, as is running over cattle grids as I recently broke a spoke on my road bike going over a local grid.

I am not sure if I have made a mistake yet in my choice of bike, but at the money I have laid out I hope we marry up ok soon. owing to the sore bum I have been using my old road bike in the dry, and today will have to go on the gravel bike owing to the rain.

The disc brakes are not as responsive as I would like, and will have to be careful how I adjust as not really sure what is the best way to get more grip sooner

cheers

[Pablo16v]

Is this your first bike with discs? If so you just need to spend some time bedding in the pads properly.

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/workshop/how-to-b...

I have the same brakes on my Genesis Fugio and after bedding in the pads and adjusting them so they sit a bit closer to the discs (there's a 3mm allen key adjuster on each side of the caliper to increase or decrease pad clearance) I now have a pretty decent set of stoppers. They aren't as powerful as the hydraulic systems on my MTB's, but they are more than good enough for the gravel and XC trails I'm riding.

I hope you get the saddle sorted as well.

[JD82]

Majorslow, I hadn’t actually noticed it had been so long since your post! I’ve not had issues with the seat but it’s a very personal thing much like helmets. As above the brakes are far better than rim pads but not up to MTB full hydraulic standards - I actually have to watch myself when I go on the MTB not to overdo it... when I switch back to rim pads on my single speed I usually have a terrifying first 5 mins where it feels like it won’t stop!!

If I’m honest there have been times when I’ve wondered if I should have gone for a full road bike instead but ultimately I have made peace with it being a compromise unless you are doing 100% trails/ forrest tracks which I never am. I’m typically 50:50 and the truth is it will always be imperfect for one or the other. I swapped the tyres for Schwalbe G Ones too as they are a little more road biased than the Kenda Flintridge tyres it came with... mines a 2017 I think.

[DailyHack]

LMPanda said:

That’s nice! I’ve a gravel adventure bike and also an old Hercules pub bike! Three speed hub gear and proper racer bars! Full hipster...

Edited by LMPanda on Monday 8th March 09:11

Edited by LMPanda on Monday 8th March 09:12

I love it!

What tyres you running on this?

Just done this to my old 80's Raleigh with idea to turn into a gravel/adventure bike.

Already done single speed conversion and converted it to run 700C rims, so much fun.

Kept the downtube shifter's for show, to piss of the roadies when I blast past in my baggies, knowing its not a SS

Edited by DailyHack on Wednesday 10th March 16:06

[loskie]

I road ride in scruffy and/or baggy MTB stuff too, portly. 50 yr old but still ride past many lycra clad locals

Got some "Parrot Performancewear" stuff from the early 2000's mail order before tinterweb took off. I think it was made in Glossop. Robust, functional NOT trendy

[AJB88]

Anybody found them Adidas for sale anywhere? sold out on Adidas website.

[LMPanda]

DailyHack said:

I love it!

What tyres you running on this?

Just done this to my old 80's Raleigh with idea to turn into a gravel/adventure bike.

Already done single speed conversion and converted it to run 700C rims, so much fun.

Kept the downtube shifter's for show, to piss of the roadies when I blast past in my baggies, knowing its not a SS

Edited by DailyHack on Wednesday 10th March 16:06

That looks ace!! The hercules is on (as far as i'm aware!) it's original tyres - might be conti's or something! It's quite quick and very comfortable! Had back swept bars before but they were narrow and the grips were perished.

AJB88 said:

Anybody found them Adidas for sale anywhere? sold out on Adidas website.

keep half an eye on their website dude - they've been randomly restocking them over the last week! I can confirm they are lovely too!!

[AJB88]

Will do, I'm an Adidas collector got like 40 pairs now haha but none are for cycling, my cycling trainers are my old gym ones.

[Evanivitch]

Pft, I cycled across Australia with a pair of Samba on and flat pedals. Who needs clips

[Dnlm]

LMPanda said:

A little off topic, but at LAST a decent casual/pub bike shoe with SPD’s. Now I just need a belt driven single speed gravel bike....

They are awesome. Definitely on the want list.

Reminder that the road 3 bolt Adidas's are also on my list... Anybody tried them?

[demic]

LMPanda said:

keep half an eye on their website dude - they've been randomly restocking them over the last week! I can confirm they are lovely too!!

This, I thought I’d missed out but randomly checked on Sunday evening, they arrived on Wednesday. I’ll be the coolest daddy at the nursery drop off (maybe)

[LMPanda]

demic said:

This, I thought I’d missed out but randomly checked on Sunday evening, they arrived on Wednesday. I’ll be the coolest daddy at the nursery drop off (maybe)

Outstanding choice

[Zigster]

This might explain why some people have been having a less than positive experience at Reilly lately.

https://road.cc/content/news/renowned-framebuilder...