Raleigh Willard Two review

I've had my Willard over a month now, and have managed 200+ miles of gravel on it, so time for a review! Here are some basics about the bike in case you're not familiar with it:
- aluminum with carbon fork
- same gravel-specific geometry as the Tamland
- Shimano 105 components
- 2x11 gearing with 50/34 front and 11/28 rear
- TRP Spyre mechanical disk brakes
- Clement MSO 40mm tires

Pros
- The ride is smoother than any aluminum I've ridden, and definitely smoother than my steel commuter bike. I won't claim it is "as smooth as steel", but I don't think anyone could call the ride "harsh".
- Handling is SUPERB. I was concerned that this bike would be sluggish in turns like some of its "gravel" competitors (I'm looking at you, Giant Anyroad), but no, this bike steers as snappily as my cross bike.
- Downhill, high speed stability on this bike is really good. My cross bike honestly scared me a bit when I'd hit 35 or 40mph on a hill, but not the Willard.
- The 2x11 shifts beautifully. I didn't realize how clunky my 9-speed 105 setup was until I put a couple hundred miles on this bike.

Cons
- The stock bars did not work for me at all. The drops are too short for my hands, and they are curved for most of their length. If I'm spending hours in the saddle, I need to be able to spend considerable, comfortable time in the drops. I replaced these with Salsa Cowbell 3 bars ($50) after about 100 miles and couldn't be happier.
- The gears are a little tall, so I'll be replacing the 11/28 cassette with an 11/32 at some point this season.

Not Sures
- I know the Clement MSOs are a popular gravel tire, but I've mostly been riding on VERY loose, deep, sandy stuff at this point, and they don't have much bite. It's probably not being fair to pass judgement on these tires until I get more time on other types of surfaces. Also, I have a set of Surly Kinard 41mm tires I'll swap onto this bike at some point so I can compare something with more bite to the Clements.
- Braking is very solid and predictable. However, after a couple of 5-6 hour rides I'm getting some surge when braking hard. I think significant limestone gravel dust has gathered on the pads. I'm going to pull the pads and clean them as instructed by my LBS. Whether or not the brakes are a Pro or Con will depend on how much of a PITA that is and how often I have to do it.

Conclusion
I'm happy with my purchase! I like riding this bike so much that I've switched from my Trek with paniers to my Willard and a backpack for my commute. At least while it is still cool enough to wear a backpack

This weekend I'm riding a 130km challenge on mostly streets and paved trails, so I might update this post after that ride.

Pictures will appear at some point too.

That is one of the most readable, concise, informative reviews I've ever read! Well done

Thanks ayjaydee! I had a slow morning, so...

Alan, thanks for the great review. Glad to hear it's comfortable. Would you say it's a fast bike, capable of keeping up with B group riders with propper tires for an average rider? Would you say it's also well suited for GranFondos?

Hi Walt -- I have slicks I plan to put on it for hard surface rides -- it has plenty of gear for fast road rides so I won't hesitate to use it in that capacity. The riding position isn't as upright as some gravel bikes (middling to low stack height), so when you're in the drops you can get reasonably aero.

Alan, \nAny long term reviews coming?

Hey Walt, sure I can give a quick update to the review; the jury was still out on some things so I'll revisit those:
> Gearing - I said I would probably change my cassette, still need to do that but it obviously hasn't been a pressing issue
> Tires - 1200 (?) miles and no issues. They're not much good on sandy stuff, as mentioned prior, but they've been great on chunky dry stuff, and I the very low lugs are nice on hard surface. I've ridden on wet limestone gravel with these, but nothing really "muddy" so I can't comment on that.
> Brakes - I think I must have gotten something on my brake pads because they are really not doing a good job right now. I will try cleaning them again, but if it is a lubricant on them that won't help and I'll have to try new ones. Maybe another brand.
> I'm still very much in love with the 11 speed 105 shifting, and even with as many miles as I've put on this I have only twisted the barrel adjuster a few times between rides. Very solid shifting group.
> My best speed downhill on gravel was 44mph on this bike. That was scary for obvious reasons, but none of those reasons was the stability of the bike, which has been excellent.

I really like riding this bike in all situations, and will probably sell my commuter and put a rack on this one. The added weight isn't significant on a gravel grind, and a tail bag would let me stow my jacket on cold days turned warm.

And here are some pics of full on dust-mode following a 100km race earlier in October

 

 

Are the Weinmann rims on these bikes (and the included tires) able to be set up tubeless? I just ordered one (a leftover 2015) as I couldn't resist the price. 

I dreamed of an RLT steel, but I just couldn't justify dropping that kind of cash when I could get a complete bike for so much less than a frame.  

GSPChilliwack wrote:Are the Weinmann rims on these bikes (and the included tires) able to be set up tubeless? I just ordered one (a leftover 2015) as I couldn't resist the price. 

I dreamed of an RLT steel, but I just couldn't justify dropping that kind of cash when I could get a complete bike for so much less than a frame.  

I have not tried tubeless on the stock rims, sorry can't help there, but I hope you enjoy your Willard as much as I have! Since purchasing mine I've had a new set of wheels built that are tubeless-friendly (WTB i25 KOM) but i'm still running tubed because the tires I'm using aren't much good for tubeless. Maybe next season I'll put on some WTB Nanos and run them tubeless.

Hey GSPChilliwack
I have a 2016 Willard 2, the rims came tubeless ready, but the Clement MSO 40's are not made for tubeless, although some people have had luck setting them up tubeless. After 450 miles and 7 flats, I switched to Gravel King Sk 40's and set them up tubeless on the Weinmann rims and could not be happier with how they ride, especially at about 30psi and I have had zero issues with flats in about 400 miles.  I'm not sure about the 2015 rims, but you should be able to tape the inside and make them tubeless if they are not ready.  Hope you love your Willard!

The stock wheels and tires on the 2015 are not tubeless ready. You'd be better off just getting a second set of wheels that are TR as well as a pair of good TR tires. My personal set up is American Classic MTB Race wheels with Clement MSO 36 tubeless tires (that measure close to 38 on the wider rim). These wheels are very light and have also been bombproof on everything I've thrown at them. 

I have a bit of budget to work with, as the bike was $999 and came with a $300 store credit at Jenson. Good deal, I figure. \n \nThanks for the input.

I have about 1500 miles on my 2015 Willard 2, did not change a thing on it to ride the DK200 last year. I think overall it's a pretty well thought out package, I have had a total of 1 puncture on the Clements that it came with. Feels a bit in the heavy side for gravel racing. Have just changed out the wheels and tires to HED Ardennes and panaracer gravel king 40 mm, planning on the salsa cowbell bars, then the seat post will have to go for something a tad lighter. \n

Let us know how the 40mm gravel kings work on your Willard; if I recall correctly that tire measures significantly wider than it's label says.

Stevehaycock wrote:I have about 1500 miles on my 2015 Willard 2, did not change a thing on it to ride the DK200 last year. I think overall it's a pretty well thought out package, I have had a total of 1 puncture on the Clements that it came with. Feels a bit in the heavy side for gravel racing. Have just changed out the wheels and tires to HED Ardennes and panaracer gravel king 40 mm, planning on the salsa cowbell bars, then the seat post will have to go for something a tad lighter.

I thought I'd toss up a couple images of the custom wheels/tires I'm running (thanks to the forum software for rotating my images 90 degress...):
- DT Swiss 350 hubs with adapter for the disk brake
- WTB KOM i25 rims
- Surly Knard 41mm (tubed), 47psi rear 42psi front, I'm big (230lbs) so I need to keep it in the 40-50psi range to avoid pinch flats. The air volume increase is significant, and mostly due to the much wider rims spreading out the tires. These end up with a very flat/vertical sidewall which IMO protects from sidewall cuts.

I've run this setup for almost a year and it has been a really nice upgrade from stock.

There is plenty of room for them on the Willard! They are on the HED Ardennes plus that have a 21 mm internal width, early days yet but they rolled very nicely on the gravel this afternoon. Have them at 40 psi, I'm about 180 pounds.

Fellow Willard owner here 2016 W1 , just clocked 2000 miles trouble free. Love the bike.
I have been meaning to ask other owners about something I discovered while detailing my bike awhile ago. On the drive side just above the bottom bracket my seat tube has a depression on the one side. It looks like it is supposed to be there but I thought it was odd so I ask? Have any of you noticed this on your bike?
Thanks

Yep, same on mine! I was wondering about that myself!

Thanks

RoverAl wrote:Fellow Willard owner here 2016 W1 , just clocked 2000 miles trouble free. Love the bike.
I have been meaning to ask other owners about something I discovered while detailing my bike awhile ago. On the drive side just above the bottom bracket my seat tube has a depression on the one side. It looks like it is supposed to be there but I thought it was odd so I ask? Have any of you noticed this on your bike?
Thanks

The dent in the seat tube is for front derailleur clearance.