First post...new guy, new to the forum, making the same move many of you have made off the road and onto the gravel. So please go easy if I violate the formal rules of the forum and the informal rules of the community. No need to burn me down...just educate me and I'll adjust. Intro <end>
I'm well aware of the religion that forms across these two: small shop vs big shop, modern vs established, and all that goes along with getting a Ti bike. I'm also aware of the resale value at this range of the spectrum which reduces risk. What I really don't have any sense of is how these ride.
A little about me: BMX---->MTB---->(kids)----->can't do same things on MTB post kids-----> road (7YRS)----->Gravel!! 60/40 pavement (some good, some chip seal) to gravel with some light single track. Fortunate to have it right outside my door on 20-40 mile rides. Point being, will be a mix of pavement and gravel on 98% of rides. This bike won't need to double as my road bike as I will be keeping my road bike around. That said, friends say my road bike won't come out of the garage anymore once I have a gravel bike so I'm prepared to sell that down the road and get a second set of wheels for road only days if that turns out to be the case.
Choices: Mosaic GT-2 Moots Routt RSL (both will be GRX Di2 2x)
My thoughts would be to consider buying an initial gravel bike that is not as expensive. Clearly you are an experienced rider and have the budget to buy a great bike. I'm assuming that if you were to buy an entry-level or maybe a tad better gravel bike that the loss if you sell it after a year will not really have a significant impact. Doing this would allow you to confirm that you like gravel, but more importantly to sort out your fit parameters. While road bikes and gravel bikes are typically very similar from a fit perspective, I think it is also prudent to assume you may have some variance in where you are most comfortable between the two bikes. You may want to be a tad more upright on gravel and if you go for the wider/flared bar option, that will also affect your fit. What I am suggesting may be a bit more laborious but in the end I think it increases your chances of having a gravel bike you will love..
SWGraveler wrote:My thoughts would be to consider buying an initial gravel bike that is not as expensive. Clearly you are an experienced rider and have the budget to buy a great bike. I'm assuming that if you were to buy an entry-level or maybe a tad better gravel bike that the loss if you sell it after a year will not really have a significant impact. Doing this would allow you to confirm that you like gravel, but more importantly to sort out your fit parameters. While road bikes and gravel bikes are typically very similar from a fit perspective, I think it is also prudent to assume you may have some variance in where you are most comfortable between the two bikes. You may want to be a tad more upright on gravel and if you go for the wider/flared bar option, that will also affect your fit. What I am suggesting may be a bit more laborious but in the end I think it increases your chances of having a gravel bike you will love..
Thanks for the suggestion. I left out (intentionally) that I am also looking at the U.P. and the W.I.D.E. (not that those are inexpensive bikes either) and fall short of these price points. But this is very true:
"What I am suggesting may be a bit more laborious but in the end I think it increases your chances of having a gravel bike you will love."
You're 100% right. That is the more prudent path. Thanks for the feedback.
Very welcome, hopefully you enjoy gravel riding and end up with the bike of your dreams.
I have been a bike fit tech for ~18 years and it is terrible when I have to tell someone that their new bike is the wrong size. It happens more than you might think; the only thing worse is a fitter who doesn't tell someone that when it is the case..
I'm almost done building up my Routt RSL. Just bled the brakes last night and will be putting in the crankset and bar tape tonight. Obviously not contributing much to answering your 'how do they ride' question but damn, it is beautiful and really top-notch quality. The cats at Moots are quite righteous. Hopefully, I will get a ride in this weekend and be able to honestly say that it rolls down the road like melted butter.
Ok, it's like riding a stick of melting butter on a mirror. Absolutely fantastic! When they describe titanium as 'lively' that is a very accurate word. Maybe not the most ideal for high-torque speed freaks on the pavement, but for gnarly surfaces this thing really shines. As much as I enjoyed my Trek Crockett, this Moots is night and day.
