Gravel bike as only 'road' bike, and yet-another "what bike"

30 replies · 3,458 views

bopApocalypse
3 posts
#1Jun 1, 2017, 12:16 PM
Finally starting my search for a new bike in earnest, and I feel like I've had a bit of a revelation:

Since I'm not racing on the road anymore, maybe get a 'gravel'/'adventure'/'latest-marketing-buzzword' bike that can cover what I had previously thought would be a quiver of 3+ bikes?

The maybe-unfortunate reality is that 90+% of the time, the bike will be used as a plain-old-road-bike, probably on 28s - so my biggest question is:

How bad (or not) is a bike that's built to fit 40c (or bigger) tires, going to be for normal road riding, on normal road tires?

Terrible? No worse than a 15-year old aluminum Kona? Not as good as a purpose-built road bike, but just fine for all but the most discerning bike owners?

Assuming that I'll be happy primarily using a gravel bike on the road, "what bike"?
My near-requirements are pretty short:
- "aspirational" frame material - carbon fiber, maybe Ti.
- clearance for 40c minimum.
- disc brakes
My nice-to-have list is a lot longer:
- Provisions for mounting front/rear racks
- Bosses for fork-mounted bottle cages
- Under-downtube bottle cage bosses
- Double chainring (the Power2Max powermeter I've got on my road bike now will be going onto the new bike, so it'd be nice if I don't have to change more than just a BB)
- SRAM doubletap preferred
My short list so far includes the Salsa Warbird, Niner RLT 9 RDO, Why Cycles R+, and Jamis Renegade.

Longer list includes the Specialized Diverge, Ridley X Trail, GT Grade, maybe 'cross bikes? (I've already got a CX race bike...)

Other bikes I should be looking at? Recommendations?
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JGamm
23 posts
#2Jun 1, 2017, 12:56 PMedited
I used a Specialized Tricross for 10 years as my road, cross, gravel, and light touring bike. I had two sets of wheels one with road tires and one with cross/gravel. About 5 years ago I bought a Specialized Roubaix and started using that as my road bike and still ended up riding the Tricross on the road just as much if not more. About a month ago I decided to buy a Why Cycles R+ and absolutely love it. I am getting ready to sell the Roubaix to buy a second set of wheels and get back to a single bike for most of my road duties be it gravel or paved.

See my post in the "Show us your gravel bike" section for details on the R+, it is a really fun and versatile bike and the customer service is top notch.
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shoota
91 posts
#3Jun 1, 2017, 2:31 PM
Oh boy here we go again
My first thought when reading your list was a carbon, disc Specialized Crux or Cannondale SuperX.

What's your CX race bike?? Sounds like you may already have the bike you seek.
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dangle
465 posts
#4Jun 1, 2017, 2:51 PMedited
I like shoota's response of 'what cx race bike do you already have' since they usually aren't too far off from a road bike. My Raleigh RXC performs admirably as a road bike with 28/30's.

The fork mounts for bottles are going to be really hard to come by on something that will ride close to a road bike.

If you're looking for all of the above (except fork mounts) The Rodeo Labs Trail Donkey is worth a look. They do a SRAM 22 build and I promise that bike will get lots of attention. It can also do the 650b thing if that's of interest. Otherwise, your list has you on the right track.

I had a Diamondback Haanjo Trail that rode pretty well as a road bike and the stock wheels were excellent with road tires. That meets everything except fork mounts and SRAM doubletap. They are priced very well with no weak points in the spec though. The bottom bracket will accept any crank too.

I also like shoota's response of '...here we go again."
1
bopApocalypse
3 posts
#5Jun 1, 2017, 3:01 PM
shoota wrote:What's your CX race bike?? Sounds like you may already have the bike you seek.
Custom filet brazed steel that doesn't fit quite the way it should, cantis, 130 rear spacing, 32c tires occasionally rub.

As much as I wish it were, it's definitely not the droid I'm looking for. Certainly most any modern CX bike hits the carbon/clearance/discs requirements, but without any of the touring/bikepacking features, the tire clearance isn't nearly as important to me.

That said, looking at the Crux again (my club is partnered with a Specialized shop, so...), they actually do have the 3rd set of bottle bosses... And, would potentially allow me to ditch my current 'cross bike that I'm not super happy with...
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shoota
91 posts
#6Jun 1, 2017, 3:05 PM
bopApocalypse wrote:
That said, looking at the Crux again (my club is partnered with a Specialized shop, so...), they actually do have the 3rd set of bottle bosses... And, would potentially allow me to ditch my current 'cross bike that I'm not super happy with...

Yep, and I'm no Specialized fan, but that's a great bike.
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JGamm
23 posts
#7Jun 1, 2017, 3:53 PM
My wife uses her Crux for cross and gravel she loves it. She will be tackling Kanza on it this weekend as well. Good fast bike.
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Zurichman
1,526 posts
#8Jun 1, 2017, 4:36 PM
bopApocalypse wrote:
Custom filet brazed steel that doesn't fit quite the way it should, cantis, 130 rear spacing, 32c tires occasionally rub.

As much as I wish it were, it's definitely not the droid I'm looking for. Certainly most any modern CX bike hits the carbon/clearance/discs requirements, but without any of the touring/bikepacking features, the tire clearance isn't nearly as important to me.

That said, looking at the Crux again (my club is partnered with a Specialized shop, so...), they actually do have the 3rd set of bottle bosses... And, would potentially allow me to ditch my current 'cross bike that I'm not super happy with...

What size frame are you looking for?

Zman
0
bobknh
794 posts
#9Jun 3, 2017, 3:57 PMedited
I come from a similar background of road racing. To my delight, I've found that my Ritchie Swiss Cross Canti. fills the dual (triple if you include CX) of a fast road bike, and very adequate gravel grinder. At first, I was using 2 wheels sets - one with Panaracer 38mm GK Tubeless for gravel, and one with Conti GP 4000 IIS's with Vittoria Latex tubes for pavement. Lately, I've discovered that 35mm Compass Bon Jon's with Challenge latex tubes, can handle both paved roads, and dirt and gravel equally well. No need, really, for 2 wheel sets. One bike to rule them all!
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Gronck
1 posts
#10Jun 3, 2017, 5:01 PM
I have a Trek Domane for the road,but, it is defenitly not a gravel bike, so I decided to build one. I started with a Kona Rove TI frame (they're made by Lynsky) Enve fork, 40mm Schwalbe g-ones run tubeless on Industry 9 wheels, Jones H-bar, Shimano hydraulic discs. Also, because we have some steep gravel went to a Scram 42/28 chain ring with a Shimano 10 speed 11/32 cassette for max climbing power. This bike is still quick on the road and outstanding on gravel. The combination of low pressure (I run around 45 pounds and I am 165 pounds) seems to work well in most conditions so I am not fiddling with tire pressure. The Jones gives lot of hand positions and much better control than drop bars,
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DerekJ_MI
232 posts
#11Jun 4, 2017, 7:59 AM
I bought a Lynskey GR250 gravel bike to be an all road bike. I purchased the bike with 650b rims and I run 2.1 WTB Nano's on it for early spring when things are sloppy. I bought a second and third sets of wheels too. One for dry gravel (700 by up to 45's) and a set for the road (700 by 25). I'm not racing. No desire to so comfort is king. This combination is spot on. Great all around set up. I also put a Lauf fork on it and an Ergon seat post and that combination sucks up gravel vibration as well as pavement issues just fine.
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Smale Rider
84 posts
#12Jun 4, 2017, 7:15 PM
Diverge might get good with the next version. SCS hub standard made it a terrible bike. New diverge is going to be better http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/is-this-the-2018-specialized-diverge \n \nI ride a Niner RLT RDO. I like it for being a good gravel bike for short people. No under mount for bottles, I think it would create collision issues with the BB cable routing hatch. Bottle mount on the seat tube is total nonsense, a band clamp for the FD passes through the mounting points, so you need to bodge some spacers to put bottles there. If you want sram, you're going to get rival, but I think that is true of any gravel bike really. Power2Max power meter ~should~ work, I run a 46/30 chain ring that replaces the spider on my Rotor 3D+ cranks, that is the same position as the powermeter would be. \n \nAs I built my bike its sitting at a little over 18lbs with pedals, rocking some fat 38's
0
slo_rider
32 posts
#13Jun 5, 2017, 4:34 AMedited
bopApocalypse wrote:...Since I'm not racing on the road anymore, maybe get a 'gravel'/'adventure'/'latest-marketing-buzzword' bike that can cover what I had previously thought would be a quiver of 3+ bikes?

The maybe-unfortunate reality is that 90+% of the time, the bike will be used as a plain-old-road-bike, probably on 28s - so my biggest question is:

How bad (or not) is a bike that's built to fit 40c (or bigger) tires, going to be for normal road riding, on normal road tires?

Terrible? No worse than a 15-year old aluminum Kona? Not as good as a purpose-built road bike, but just fine for all but the most discerning bike owners?...

Although I'm new to this forum, I've been cycling since the mid-1980s...

In a nutshell, my short answer to your question is "not bad at all, and maybe even better than a crit bike w lightening fast/'twitchy' handling". About 15+ years ago, while riding a sweet Indy Fab steel Planet X mounted w/ road tires, I had my "aha!" moment when I realized the Planet X felt just as lively on the road as some of the better road bikes I had ridden.

Fast forward to today, and my carbon 'cross/gravel bike (disc brakes, thru axles) can fit 40+mm tires, but I've currently got a nice pair of 25mm road tires (Conti GP 4000S II) mounted. And I'm enjoying it's feel on the road just as much if not more than the carbon Spec Tarmac I owned a few years ago--the slacker HA and longer CS are noticeably more stable especially when descending mountain roads.

IMO, for anyone who doesn't need a cutting edge racing bike, I don't think there is any downside whatsoever to getting a versatile frame that can accommodate tires up to 40mm wide and have the ability to mount fenders +/or racks, multiple water bottles, etc.

As others have posted, it just comes down to finding the frame that ticks most of your boxes and is within your budget. For dirt, I tend to ride the widest tires that I can fit into whatever frame I'm riding, so the newer frames that can accommodate both 700x40+ and 27.5 x 2.1 tires, like Why's R+ would be on my shortlist.

dangle wrote:...If you're looking for all of the above (except fork mounts) The Rodeo Labs Trail Donkey is worth a look. They do a SRAM 22 build and I promise that bike will get lots of attention. It can also do the 650b thing if that's of interest. Otherwise, your list has you on the right track..."

Hadn't seen Rodeo Labs before. Thanks dangle--I just went to Rodeo's site, and the Flaanimal is sexy AF! Reynolds 725 steel, a crap ton of tire clearance, and mounts galore, incl fork mounts for bottles:
bobknh
794 posts
#14Jun 5, 2017, 7:11 AM
DerekJ_MI wrote:I bought a Lynskey GR250 gravel bike to be an all road bike. I purchased the bike with 650b rims and I run 2.1 WTB Nano's on it for early spring when things are sloppy. I bought a second and third sets of wheels too. One for dry gravel (700 by up to 45's) and a set for the road (700 by 25). I'm not racing. No desire to so comfort is king. This combination is spot on. Great all around set up. I also put a Lauf fork on it and an Ergon seat post and that combination sucks up gravel vibration as well as pavement issues just fine.

Looks like a nice solution to the do everything equation. BTW, I was looking at the Lynskey web site yesterday -- they are having a 35% off sale one frames and complete bikes. Might be a good time to buy. Very tempting!
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PMC
26 posts
#15Jun 5, 2017, 8:44 AM
I tried with my Warbird and ran Challenge Paris Roubaixs on it but eventually bought another road bike. Actually bought a new carbon aero road and rebuilt a Vamoots that I haddn't ridden in a while. If I'm on pavement or only hitting short sections of gravel on a ride I much prefer a road bike.

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dangle
465 posts
#16Jun 5, 2017, 10:43 AM
slo_rider wrote:Hadn't seen Rodeo Labs before. Thanks dangle--I just went to Rodeo's site, and the Flaanimal is sexy AF! Reynolds 725 steel, a crap ton of tire clearance, and mounts galore, incl fork mounts for bottles:

Yeah, I really like what Rodeo Labs is doing.

My Raleigh RXC Pro was my 'road' bike last year when wearing one of four wheelsets. I liked the RXC with a 120 stem on the road and most gravel rides, but it was awful for off-road or cx racing where I wanted to move around the bike more. I typically ran a 100 (and sometimes a 110) fairly upright for CX races. Tired of switching stems so often, I sold an older bike, added some money sitting around from side work, and bought a BH Ultralight this year. A 17 lb road bike with a fairly short wheelbase has been a lot of fun, but I really don't feel like the RXC gave much up to it for road rides. I sort of prefer the slightly longer wheelbase of the RXC for solo rides.
0
Marinerecon
65 posts
#17Jun 7, 2017, 8:29 AM
bopApocalypse wrote:Finally starting my search for a new bike in earnest, and I feel like I've had a bit of a revelation:

Since I'm not racing on the road anymore, maybe get a 'gravel'/'adventure'/'latest-marketing-buzzword' bike that can cover what I had previously thought would be a quiver of 3+ bikes?

The maybe-unfortunate reality is that 90+% of the time, the bike will be used as a plain-old-road-bike, probably on 28s - so my biggest question is:

How bad (or not) is a bike that's built to fit 40c (or bigger) tires, going to be for normal road riding, on normal road tires?

Terrible? No worse than a 15-year old aluminum Kona? Not as good as a purpose-built road bike, but just fine for all but the most discerning bike owners?

Assuming that I'll be happy primarily using a gravel bike on the road, "what bike"?
My near-requirements are pretty short:
- "aspirational" frame material - carbon fiber, maybe Ti.
- clearance for 40c minimum.
- disc brakes
My nice-to-have list is a lot longer:
- Provisions for mounting front/rear racks
- Bosses for fork-mounted bottle cages
- Under-downtube bottle cage bosses
- Double chainring (the Power2Max powermeter I've got on my road bike now will be going onto the new bike, so it'd be nice if I don't have to change more than just a BB)
- SRAM doubletap preferred
My short list so far includes the Salsa Warbird, Niner RLT 9 RDO, Why Cycles R+, and Jamis Renegade.

Longer list includes the Specialized Diverge, Ridley X Trail, GT Grade, maybe 'cross bikes? (I've already got a CX race bike...)

Other bikes I should be looking at? Recommendations?
0
thegreatdelcamo
43 posts
#18Jun 7, 2017, 12:22 PM
I’d look at the 3T Exploro. It’s on the go fast part of the equation. Or, as they say, go slow, faster. http://exploro.3tcycling.com

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Zurichman
1,526 posts
#19Jun 7, 2017, 4:21 PMedited
I ended up buying they Raleigh Tamland 1(because of the cost $799)at my end which weighs right at 24.5 lbs in a 57 cm frame. There was a 56 cm Jamis Renegade Expert on Ebay for 1/2 the cost. It was a 2016 and with what the tires looked like it looked like it was hardly ridden. If you want something for a rear rack I think the Salsa Warbird is out. It also depends on what price range you are looking at. If you are looking at the $1500 - $2500 range you probably could get a good ti or carbon bike. If you are looking in the $800 - $1500 range you are probably looking for steel. Looking back over you bike lists I see you are in the upper cost range so my suggestion would be go ride some and see which one has your name all over it.

Good luck
Zman
0
NoCoGreg
512 posts
#20Jun 10, 2017, 9:55 PM
FWIW - The weight difference between a high end road frame and a similar quality gravel/CX frame is only about a pound. A CF road and CX fork will have a quarter to a half pound difference. \n \nThe point is that one can get a GG/CX bike which till be nearly as light, responsive and as fast as a road bike. The greatest difference IMO will be in the wheels. As previously mentioned, the longer wheelbase and more predictable steering IMHO is great and one of the reasons I spend so many miles on my Dean Torres CX. \n \nFor all the folks riding 25c Conti 4000s II (or similar), I'd suggest trying some 28c tires for an even smoother and more plush ride on the road.
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