Speccing a gravel bike
Discussion
I've had mine for well over two years now and I've put a ton of miles on it. My thoughts on top of what everyone else has said.
Gearing. Go 2x11 with something like 48/32 or 48/30 up front otherwise you will be spinning out a lot when riding on the road.
Wheels: 700c rather than 650b if you are going ride on the road as well as trails.
Tyres: Wide tyres are draggy on the road compared to normal road tyres. Somewhere around 35c is a happy medium depending on trails you are riding but wider tyres with lower pressures will add more comfort so choose which you would prefer. Speed or comfort.
Comfort: The future shock stem on my Diverge makes a huge difference particularly off road but its also really useful on our crappy roads. Dont underestimate how jarring it is to ride a stiff rigid road bike off road. If I was buying again I'd buy the best Diverge I could afford with a future shock fitted.
Gearing. Go 2x11 with something like 48/32 or 48/30 up front otherwise you will be spinning out a lot when riding on the road.
Wheels: 700c rather than 650b if you are going ride on the road as well as trails.
Tyres: Wide tyres are draggy on the road compared to normal road tyres. Somewhere around 35c is a happy medium depending on trails you are riding but wider tyres with lower pressures will add more comfort so choose which you would prefer. Speed or comfort.
Comfort: The future shock stem on my Diverge makes a huge difference particularly off road but its also really useful on our crappy roads. Dont underestimate how jarring it is to ride a stiff rigid road bike off road. If I was buying again I'd buy the best Diverge I could afford with a future shock fitted.
Edited by moonigan on Wednesday 17th June 10:37
Ares said:
Alonso92 said:
Ares said:
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.
How nice is that 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.
What size frame is it and how tall are you?
I know it’s not really measurable but how does it compare on the road say compared to a carbon roadie? I do a 20 miles commute each way and maybe something like this is a step a little bit too far- making the commute harder rather than easier? But then the state of the roads are shocking in London so...
XS Frame - I'm 5'6/61kg.
Difficult to say Vs a road bike, by most used Road Bikes are a Dogma F10 and a Dogma 65.1
It's probably 10% slower, but a world more comfortable. My 65.1 is usually my nominated winter bike, since having the Gravel Bike, I've used that instead - hence the Horizon Tyres. The geo is a lot more relaxed in every way, headset height, flared bars, and overall frame geo. The Titanium is a lot more forgiving than the Carbon too, especially the F10. It's 9.1KG compared to under 7kg for my F10. But it runs on 650s with huge tyres so rides easily enough.
If I had a 20miles commute on crappy roads, I wouldn't look any further - the Gravel Bike is so much more comfortable and virtually bomb-proof. It's a Land Rover defender on two wheels.
Good discussion on this. So much choice, sometimes it's difficult to nail a decision. Carbon, steel, titanium or aluminium? 700c or 650c, 1x or 2x....
I've thought that unless you race, then a gravel/adventure bike ticks most of the boxes for a 'road bike'. Stick road wheels on for fast road rides, then replace with wider wheels for off road riding - and you've got an excellent winter road bike.
I quite like the look of the RIbble/Dolan Ti bikes, as they seem decent value for money; if money is no object, I'd like an Enigma. I'd also be thinking about fitting the RedShift stem if you're doing a lot of off road riding, and possibly going for a slightly more upright position.
I've thought that unless you race, then a gravel/adventure bike ticks most of the boxes for a 'road bike'. Stick road wheels on for fast road rides, then replace with wider wheels for off road riding - and you've got an excellent winter road bike.
I quite like the look of the RIbble/Dolan Ti bikes, as they seem decent value for money; if money is no object, I'd like an Enigma. I'd also be thinking about fitting the RedShift stem if you're doing a lot of off road riding, and possibly going for a slightly more upright position.
Alonso92 said:
Ares said:
Alonso92 said:
Ares said:
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.
How nice is that 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.
What size frame is it and how tall are you?
I know it’s not really measurable but how does it compare on the road say compared to a carbon roadie? I do a 20 miles commute each way and maybe something like this is a step a little bit too far- making the commute harder rather than easier? But then the state of the roads are shocking in London so...
XS Frame - I'm 5'6/61kg.
Difficult to say Vs a road bike, by most used Road Bikes are a Dogma F10 and a Dogma 65.1
It's probably 10% slower, but a world more comfortable. My 65.1 is usually my nominated winter bike, since having the Gravel Bike, I've used that instead - hence the Horizon Tyres. The geo is a lot more relaxed in every way, headset height, flared bars, and overall frame geo. The Titanium is a lot more forgiving than the Carbon too, especially the F10. It's 9.1KG compared to under 7kg for my F10. But it runs on 650s with huge tyres so rides easily enough.
If I had a 20miles commute on crappy roads, I wouldn't look any further - the Gravel Bike is so much more comfortable and virtually bomb-proof. It's a Land Rover defender on two wheels.
My Dogmas are 46.5, my Trek is 48 and Canyon XS for reference.
Alonso92 said:
Oh it has 650 wheels? I would probably go for 700 as i do more road riding and a mtb for offroad however the frame size is interesting as i am of similar height (vertically challenged) haha. How does it feel for size comapared to say your xs Dogma? I was thinking of going for a S if i pull the trigger...thoughts please
Interestingly i found out after my XS Grail arrived (5"7 here) that Canyon spec 650b wheels on the xs and xxs frame sizes! I don't have anything to compare to, but find them fine both on road and off. With the 40mm tyres on, they give a similar overall circumfrence to a 700c wheel with road tyres. Canyon's reasoning is that it add agility and makes the geo better for "smaller riders" which makes sense to me!
ArnageWRC said:
Good discussion on this. So much choice, sometimes it's difficult to nail a decision. Carbon, steel, titanium or aluminium? 700c or 650c, 1x or 2x....
I've thought that unless you race, then a gravel/adventure bike ticks most of the boxes for a 'road bike'. Stick road wheels on for fast road rides, then replace with wider wheels for off road riding - and you've got an excellent winter road bike.
I quite like the look of the RIbble/Dolan Ti bikes, as they seem decent value for money; if money is no object, I'd like an Enigma. I'd also be thinking about fitting the RedShift stem if you're doing a lot of off road riding, and possibly going for a slightly more upright position.
It's funny how things go full circle isn't it. Back in the day when I was growing up in the '80s John Tomac was riding carbon or ally "mountain" bikes with drop bars...obviously that would never catch on eh? Not forgetting Flexstems (which were all the rage until they were rubbish) and Shimano Biopace oval chainrings, which again were rubbish, although now all the rage again. Really crap mountain bikes had single chainsets, and the good ones had triples!I've thought that unless you race, then a gravel/adventure bike ticks most of the boxes for a 'road bike'. Stick road wheels on for fast road rides, then replace with wider wheels for off road riding - and you've got an excellent winter road bike.
I quite like the look of the RIbble/Dolan Ti bikes, as they seem decent value for money; if money is no object, I'd like an Enigma. I'd also be thinking about fitting the RedShift stem if you're doing a lot of off road riding, and possibly going for a slightly more upright position.
Anyway, thanks for all the contributions to this thread. I'm going with the C2W scheme and a Dolan GXT. There's no reviews, however Dolan have a good name and their other Ti bikes review very well so hopefully it's a safe bet I like the dropped chainstay design, but don't like the aesthetics of very dropped seatstays which ruled out the Ribble. The extra bottle/bag bosses are good, although it's a shame it doesn't have the fork mounts for bags up front.
I've gone 2x11 GRX, as per previous comments the positives absolutely outweigh the negatives for me, and I'll just end up with a far more useable versatile bike. 11-34 cassette with a 160mm rear rotor will give me instant swapability with my Canyon, going with the Mavic Allroads 700c (tubeless ready) 35mm Panaracer Gravelkings and flared bars with upgraded tape. Dolan have been absolutely great to deal with so far, so fingers crossed that experience will continue!
Bring on the Ti goodness (and another chainring!)
This is fascinating stuff.
I think finding a sweet spot is tricky but will be what so many cyclists are trying to find over the next few years.
I have just taken the plunge on a 2nd hand gravel bike. I have sold my dedicated road bike with clearance for no more than 25c tyres. This is after riding my rigid xc bike on road loops. I have come to the conclusion that for me, comfort equals more speed over a longer ride. I have been setting road segment PR’s on a bike with 2.1” Schwalbe Thunder Burt tyres. And post ride I am less tired, with less upper body aches.
It must be stressed that my xc bike suffers very little weight disadvantage from my road bike (8.4kgs vs 7.2kgs) and I have fitted inner bar ends which allow me to get in a more aero position too.
I think my findings are consistent with more recent thinking.
I am going to be fitting 37c tyres to my gravel bike and will not miss 25c type road buzz! I hope it is even faster than my xc bike, if not I will sell it on and be happy that I actually found the sweet spot with the xc bike on road and off road.
This is purely my experience and conclusion it must be said.
I think finding a sweet spot is tricky but will be what so many cyclists are trying to find over the next few years.
I have just taken the plunge on a 2nd hand gravel bike. I have sold my dedicated road bike with clearance for no more than 25c tyres. This is after riding my rigid xc bike on road loops. I have come to the conclusion that for me, comfort equals more speed over a longer ride. I have been setting road segment PR’s on a bike with 2.1” Schwalbe Thunder Burt tyres. And post ride I am less tired, with less upper body aches.
It must be stressed that my xc bike suffers very little weight disadvantage from my road bike (8.4kgs vs 7.2kgs) and I have fitted inner bar ends which allow me to get in a more aero position too.
I think my findings are consistent with more recent thinking.
I am going to be fitting 37c tyres to my gravel bike and will not miss 25c type road buzz! I hope it is even faster than my xc bike, if not I will sell it on and be happy that I actually found the sweet spot with the xc bike on road and off road.
This is purely my experience and conclusion it must be said.
Hard-Drive said:
It's funny how things go full circle isn't it. Back in the day when I was growing up in the '80s John Tomac was riding carbon or ally "mountain" bikes with drop bars...obviously that would never catch on eh? Not forgetting Flexstems (which were all the rage until they were rubbish) and Shimano Biopace oval chainrings, which again were rubbish, although now all the rage again. Really crap mountain bikes had single chainsets, and the good ones had triples!
Anyway, thanks for all the contributions to this thread. I'm going with the C2W scheme and a Dolan GXT. There's no reviews, however Dolan have a good name and their other Ti bikes review very well so hopefully it's a safe bet I like the dropped chainstay design, but don't like the aesthetics of very dropped seatstays which ruled out the Ribble. The extra bottle/bag bosses are good, although it's a shame it doesn't have the fork mounts for bags up front.
I've gone 2x11 GRX, as per previous comments the positives absolutely outweigh the negatives for me, and I'll just end up with a far more useable versatile bike. 11-34 cassette with a 160mm rear rotor will give me instant swapability with my Canyon, going with the Mavic Allroads 700c (tubeless ready) 35mm Panaracer Gravelkings and flared bars with upgraded tape. Dolan have been absolutely great to deal with so far, so fingers crossed that experience will continue!
Bring on the Ti goodness (and another chainring!)
Glad you liked my suggestion of the Dolan!Anyway, thanks for all the contributions to this thread. I'm going with the C2W scheme and a Dolan GXT. There's no reviews, however Dolan have a good name and their other Ti bikes review very well so hopefully it's a safe bet I like the dropped chainstay design, but don't like the aesthetics of very dropped seatstays which ruled out the Ribble. The extra bottle/bag bosses are good, although it's a shame it doesn't have the fork mounts for bags up front.
I've gone 2x11 GRX, as per previous comments the positives absolutely outweigh the negatives for me, and I'll just end up with a far more useable versatile bike. 11-34 cassette with a 160mm rear rotor will give me instant swapability with my Canyon, going with the Mavic Allroads 700c (tubeless ready) 35mm Panaracer Gravelkings and flared bars with upgraded tape. Dolan have been absolutely great to deal with so far, so fingers crossed that experience will continue!
Bring on the Ti goodness (and another chainring!)
I’ve dropped the Ribble CGR idea and decided to go for the Dolan GXC in black and red, flared bars with red tape (going to swap my jockey wheels out for red ones to balance it up a bit, maybe some red bolts on the bottle cage mounts too), same wheelset and tyres as you & the GRX 810 1x11 (40T/11-40T). Just waiting on my C2W voucher being approved before getting my order in!
Comacchio said:
Glad you liked my suggestion of the Dolan!
I’ve dropped the Ribble CGR idea and decided to go for the Dolan GXC in black and red, flared bars with red tape (going to swap my jockey wheels out for red ones to balance it up a bit, maybe some red bolts on the bottle cage mounts too), same wheelset and tyres as you & the GRX 810 1x11 (40T/11-40T). Just waiting on my C2W voucher being approved before getting my order in!
Yes, thanks for the steer! Colour combo and spec sounds great. Post pics when you get it!I’ve dropped the Ribble CGR idea and decided to go for the Dolan GXC in black and red, flared bars with red tape (going to swap my jockey wheels out for red ones to balance it up a bit, maybe some red bolts on the bottle cage mounts too), same wheelset and tyres as you & the GRX 810 1x11 (40T/11-40T). Just waiting on my C2W voucher being approved before getting my order in!
Sway said:
Wasn't the only reason Tomac had drops because he was also racing in something else and his coach wanted him to maintain a single riding position?
The Dolan looks really good. Kinda like a Reilly Gradient mixed with an Open UP.
Don’t know if it was the only reason, but it was definitely part of the reason. He was also road racing. The Dolan looks really good. Kinda like a Reilly Gradient mixed with an Open UP.
“ When asked about the drop bar set up on his mountain bike, Tomac has said that it was done to more closely mirror his position on a road bike as he was pulling double duty with a road career on the 7-11/Motorola road team at the time.”
“ He’s also said that it was entirely sketchy to ride aggressively off road with it. I’m a big fan of Marin-style off-road drop bar bikes. A properly set up drop bar bike handles brilliantly. I can say with reasonable certainty that anyone who mimics the Tomac drop bar mountain bikes is going to get an inaccurate impression of riding drops off road. It is sketchy. It is long, low, narrow and a handful to ride in this configuration—a true testament to just how skillful a rider John Tomac was.”
Edited by Barchettaman on Thursday 18th June 08:56
Edited by Barchettaman on Thursday 18th June 08:57
Ares said:
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.
Ares, what rear light is that? Is it the one I keep seeing all over Facebook with the "brake" light built in?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.
Hard-Drive said:
Ares said:
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.
Ares, what rear light is that? Is it the one I keep seeing all over Facebook with the "brake" light built in?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.
Hard-Drive said:
That looks like it's just a mount, and a clip mount?This is what I bought, delivery is about a week https://smartbikelights.com/products/xlite100-bicy...
Very interesting thread.. Getting a bit fed up of being beaten up by my S2, and my touring/rack-capable bike went missing a week ago, so it's time for something to replace.
It *must* take racks.
It will be 2x - most likely 105, 50/34 etc.
It must do at least light off-road.. although technically I could do that on the S2 if I was pig headed enough..
I'm wondering if I can make it replace the S2 - I race, but that's always on a TT, so if it's not too lumpen, and can keep up with group rides and do longer audax type road rides without leaving my sitting parts in need of medical attention it would be a winner!
Budget is.. flexible, depending on what roles it will fulfill:
- The 'cheap' option is something like an Alu 105 topstone. Not much cash, will fulfil the offroad/rack/touring etc, but probably not the bike to use for 'audax' type rides / replace the S2. pure N+1.
- Or I could go carbon - ribble cgr, orro terra c, that kind of thing. That's got a better chance of doing dual duty (most likely with a second wheelset), but while I'm generally a carbon fan, I have a lot of nervousness over a carbon bike off road - less from a strength and crashing angle, more things like having seen the paint stripped off the chainstays of my MTB after a really muddy /crappy ride. One thing abraiding paint, but is carbon really tough enough in this kind of role? Also seems like not many of the carbon frames do rack mounts
Could be 1 in 1 out tho..
- Finally TI.. expensive, but best of both worlds? Never ridden one so not sure..
Oh, and the other possibility is something like a trek domane.. more 'road' with a bit of versatility? Does racks etc., but also will go up to 38mm tyres, so capable of off-road, if a bit compromised?
It *must* take racks.
It will be 2x - most likely 105, 50/34 etc.
It must do at least light off-road.. although technically I could do that on the S2 if I was pig headed enough..
I'm wondering if I can make it replace the S2 - I race, but that's always on a TT, so if it's not too lumpen, and can keep up with group rides and do longer audax type road rides without leaving my sitting parts in need of medical attention it would be a winner!
Budget is.. flexible, depending on what roles it will fulfill:
- The 'cheap' option is something like an Alu 105 topstone. Not much cash, will fulfil the offroad/rack/touring etc, but probably not the bike to use for 'audax' type rides / replace the S2. pure N+1.
- Or I could go carbon - ribble cgr, orro terra c, that kind of thing. That's got a better chance of doing dual duty (most likely with a second wheelset), but while I'm generally a carbon fan, I have a lot of nervousness over a carbon bike off road - less from a strength and crashing angle, more things like having seen the paint stripped off the chainstays of my MTB after a really muddy /crappy ride. One thing abraiding paint, but is carbon really tough enough in this kind of role? Also seems like not many of the carbon frames do rack mounts
Could be 1 in 1 out tho..- Finally TI.. expensive, but best of both worlds? Never ridden one so not sure..
Oh, and the other possibility is something like a trek domane.. more 'road' with a bit of versatility? Does racks etc., but also will go up to 38mm tyres, so capable of off-road, if a bit compromised?
Edited by upsidedownmark on Friday 19th June 13:20
upsidedownmark said:
Very interesting thread.. Getting a bit fed up of being beaten up by my S2, and my touring/rack-capable bike went missing a week ago, so it's time for something to replace.
It *must* take racks.
It will be 2x - most likely 105, 50/34 etc.
It must do at least light off-road.. although technically I could do that on the S2 if I was pig headed enough..
I'm wondering if I can make it replace the S2 - I race, but that's always on a TT, so if it's not too lumpen, and can keep up with group rides and do longer audax type road rides without leaving my sitting parts in need of medical attention it would be a winner!
Budget is.. flexible, depending on what roles it will fulfill:
- The 'cheap' option is something like an Alu 105 topstone. Not much cash, will fulfil the offroad/rack/touring etc, but probably not the bike to use for 'audax' type rides / replace the S2. pure N+1.
- Or I could go carbon - ribble cgr, orro terra c, that kind of thing. That's got a better chance of doing dual duty (most likely with a second wheelset), but while I'm generally a carbon fan, I have a lot of nervousness over a carbon bike off road - less from a strength and crashing angle, more things like having seen the paint stripped off the chainstays of my MTB after a really muddy /crappy ride. One thing abraiding paint, but is carbon really tough enough in this kind of role? Also seems like not many of the carbon frames do rack mounts Could be 1 in 1 out tho..
- Finally TI.. expensive, but best of both worlds? Never ridden one so not sure..
Oh, and the other possibility is something like a trek domane.. more 'road' with a bit of versatility? Does racks etc., but also will go up to 38mm tyres, so capable of off-road, if a bit compromised?
The Domane is the equivalent of my Canyon Endurace, and whilst it's a superbly comfy and fast machine and on 28s will handle basic gravel tracks, I think I'd be wincing if I tried any "proper" off road on it. It's designed to deal with poor roads and the odd pot hole, not constant thrashing off road.It *must* take racks.
It will be 2x - most likely 105, 50/34 etc.
It must do at least light off-road.. although technically I could do that on the S2 if I was pig headed enough..
I'm wondering if I can make it replace the S2 - I race, but that's always on a TT, so if it's not too lumpen, and can keep up with group rides and do longer audax type road rides without leaving my sitting parts in need of medical attention it would be a winner!
Budget is.. flexible, depending on what roles it will fulfill:
- The 'cheap' option is something like an Alu 105 topstone. Not much cash, will fulfil the offroad/rack/touring etc, but probably not the bike to use for 'audax' type rides / replace the S2. pure N+1.
- Or I could go carbon - ribble cgr, orro terra c, that kind of thing. That's got a better chance of doing dual duty (most likely with a second wheelset), but while I'm generally a carbon fan, I have a lot of nervousness over a carbon bike off road - less from a strength and crashing angle, more things like having seen the paint stripped off the chainstays of my MTB after a really muddy /crappy ride. One thing abraiding paint, but is carbon really tough enough in this kind of role? Also seems like not many of the carbon frames do rack mounts
Could be 1 in 1 out tho..- Finally TI.. expensive, but best of both worlds? Never ridden one so not sure..
Oh, and the other possibility is something like a trek domane.. more 'road' with a bit of versatility? Does racks etc., but also will go up to 38mm tyres, so capable of off-road, if a bit compromised?
Edited by upsidedownmark on Friday 19th June 13:20
Carbon is very strong, but it really doesn't like point loads (I've got some amatuer experience of working with it primarily in marine applications). Drop the frame onto a rock and it won't dent, you may end up with a hole instead. If you are just banging around a trail centre on a carbon MTB and break it, at worst it's just a long walk to the car park, if you are off bikepacking out in the wilds it's a much bigger issue. I've gone Ti as it's strong, light, won't corrode, and is IMHO a far better material if you are going to be "out there", and should last a lifetime. Even in my own fairly limited riding life I've known friends break Al and CF frames, although I don't think I've ever heard of a Ti frame failing.
upsidedownmark said:
Very interesting thread.. Getting a bit fed up of being beaten up by my S2, and my touring/rack-capable bike went missing a week ago, so it's time for something to replace.
It *must* take racks.
It will be 2x - most likely 105, 50/34 etc.
It must do at least light off-road.. although technically I could do that on the S2 if I was pig headed enough..
I'm wondering if I can make it replace the S2 - I race, but that's always on a TT, so if it's not too lumpen, and can keep up with group rides and do longer audax type road rides without leaving my sitting parts in need of medical attention it would be a winner!
Budget is.. flexible, depending on what roles it will fulfill:
- The 'cheap' option is something like an Alu 105 topstone. Not much cash, will fulfil the offroad/rack/touring etc, but probably not the bike to use for 'audax' type rides / replace the S2. pure N+1.
- Or I could go carbon - ribble cgr, orro terra c, that kind of thing. That's got a better chance of doing dual duty (most likely with a second wheelset), but while I'm generally a carbon fan, I have a lot of nervousness over a carbon bike off road - less from a strength and crashing angle, more things like having seen the paint stripped off the chainstays of my MTB after a really muddy /crappy ride. One thing abraiding paint, but is carbon really tough enough in this kind of role? Also seems like not many of the carbon frames do rack mounts Could be 1 in 1 out tho..
- Finally TI.. expensive, but best of both worlds? Never ridden one so not sure..
Oh, and the other possibility is something like a trek domane.. more 'road' with a bit of versatility? Does racks etc., but also will go up to 38mm tyres, so capable of off-road, if a bit compromised?
Ti... All day long. It *must* take racks.
It will be 2x - most likely 105, 50/34 etc.
It must do at least light off-road.. although technically I could do that on the S2 if I was pig headed enough..
I'm wondering if I can make it replace the S2 - I race, but that's always on a TT, so if it's not too lumpen, and can keep up with group rides and do longer audax type road rides without leaving my sitting parts in need of medical attention it would be a winner!
Budget is.. flexible, depending on what roles it will fulfill:
- The 'cheap' option is something like an Alu 105 topstone. Not much cash, will fulfil the offroad/rack/touring etc, but probably not the bike to use for 'audax' type rides / replace the S2. pure N+1.
- Or I could go carbon - ribble cgr, orro terra c, that kind of thing. That's got a better chance of doing dual duty (most likely with a second wheelset), but while I'm generally a carbon fan, I have a lot of nervousness over a carbon bike off road - less from a strength and crashing angle, more things like having seen the paint stripped off the chainstays of my MTB after a really muddy /crappy ride. One thing abraiding paint, but is carbon really tough enough in this kind of role? Also seems like not many of the carbon frames do rack mounts
Could be 1 in 1 out tho..- Finally TI.. expensive, but best of both worlds? Never ridden one so not sure..
Oh, and the other possibility is something like a trek domane.. more 'road' with a bit of versatility? Does racks etc., but also will go up to 38mm tyres, so capable of off-road, if a bit compromised?
Edited by upsidedownmark on Friday 19th June 13:20
Big fan of the clutch mechs (so ultegra RX or grx) for the bumpy stuff.
Pair of light wheels on 32s for faster road rides, another tougher pair with 38s for more lumpy /Audax type rides.
Jobs a good un.
Living in a very flat area, with my office on the same flat plain, my battered commuter/does it all (Al / carbon fork / mini V brakes) Kinesis Crosslight on 32mm road tyres (35 CX tyres will fit) almost never shifts out of the big ring.
When I occasionally use it elsewhere, and ride up a steep hill, I find that the front mech has invariably seized....
A single up front, with a 1:1 ratio would probably be a good choice.
When the bike finally dies, I'll probably stick with an Aluminium frame and carbon fork, but with more tyre clearance.
When I occasionally use it elsewhere, and ride up a steep hill, I find that the front mech has invariably seized....
A single up front, with a 1:1 ratio would probably be a good choice.
When the bike finally dies, I'll probably stick with an Aluminium frame and carbon fork, but with more tyre clearance.
Just started looking at gravel options myself, so a useful thread. Most of my cycling is across pretty rough country lanes (Somerset Levels), and due to a bad back I've recently been out on a slick shod mountain bike. Apart from the extra unwanted weight I didn't really miss the Synapse. Thinking that a slacker geometry is probably going to be required from now on.
I originally started out on a Spec Secteur and never had any complaints, so will look for something similar with fatter wheels.
I originally started out on a Spec Secteur and never had any complaints, so will look for something similar with fatter wheels.
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