Thanks for your feedback. I have read a lot of reviews on other bikes and was half thinking what you just said about those reviewers.
My opinion on this bike that it wouldn’t look out of place at a gravel race, would you agree?
I just want to make sure I’m not getting this confused with more of the touring side of riding because it’s seems like there can be a lot of crossover between these two.
That's a cool bike, and had caught my eye at one point. I haven't actually been to a full-on premier gravel race, just gravel rides where there are racers (chuckling) but i think this would be fine. The Praxis Alba crank is limited to just the 48/32 combo, but it sounds like you're not interested in loading up for bike packing and needing lower gears.
The 2020 Felt Breed 30 has switched to 1x, and comes with the new Shimano GRX group, maybe even more tailored to fast gravel racing.
Yeah, the 2020 model caught my eye...I don’t understand gear ratios for speed/climbing but I assume a 1x will be better for pure gravel with steep climbs but will be worse for faster speeds on the rd so I would loose versatility...have had experience with 1x gearing?
E-man wrote:Thanks for your feedback. I have read a lot of reviews on other bikes and was half thinking what you just said about those reviewers.
My opinion on this bike that it wouldn’t look out of place at a gravel race, would you agree?
I just want to make sure I’m not getting this confused with more of the touring side of riding because it’s seems like there can be a lot of crossover between these two.
the differences between a racing gravel bike , a racing CX bike, and a touring gravel bike and a bike packing bike are ‘exact’ gearing choice, the height of the head tube and how many bottle cage bosses are one it for bags..... and marketing. This would be totally appropriate everywhere outside of a crit or CX course - it’s do both ok at the local level though. Your handlebar height is going to be roughly dictated by your saddle height and flexibility. So if you got a “race” bike that was lower in front relative to the length but have regular flexibility, you’d just end up running more spacers under the stem on a “race” bike. If you normally ride for extended period with your elbows below your hips, go spend some time looking for a bike with a lower stack height relative to reach. Otherwise, you’re better off on the normal bike. This bike is somewhere between a common performance road bike an endurance road bike, but a bit higher in front than a crit/pro bike like the Allez Sprint or Trek H1 fit
Bikes like the Open Up and 3T explo, which have racy steering on 35c tires, can get a little sketchy on 25c tires. That might be the case here too. Might want to try a set of road wheels/tires in front before buying.
E-man wrote: I just want to make sure I’m not getting this confused with more of the touring side of riding because it’s seems like there can be a lot of crossover between these two.
The Broam is Felt's more adventure / touring / casual bike. I actually just did a test ride on one of those today and was extremely impressed with it.
If you have to go out of your way to find a Felt dealer I'd say it's at least worth the effort.
E-man wrote: ...have had experience with 1x gearing?
Not on a gravel bike. My hardtail is 1x, but i rarely ride that now. I like the simplicity of 1x, but 2x seems more natural to me with smaller steps between gears. My buddy's 1x Niner has the same low gear as my 2x if i remember correctly.
someone else recommended this Felt cyclocross bike and said it could double as as a gravel bike but I think it’s going to be too stiff and less comfortable because of the geometry and smaller tire clearance.
someone else recommended this Felt cyclocross bike and said it could double as as a gravel bike but I think it’s going to be too stiff and less comfortable because of the geometry and smaller tire clearance.
the CX is splitting hairs with a gravel bike, but all the wrong hairs. You’ll lose the extra, bottle space - so no 3hr rides into the unknown. You’ll loose top end gearing, so no spirited road rides. It will ride worse. The geometry difference is something most can match with a $40 stem change. You lose a lot of tire space, so a lot slower in mud/sand/rocks.
