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Unsurprisingly, my MTB (a Bird Zero AM; the older non-boost one) feels a bit overkill (and draggy) on roads and Cheshire bridleways; so my thoughts are moving towards getting a gravel bike (not that I can afford it - in some respects this is a thought exercise out of corona-boredom!)
Anyway, I've only been riding MTB for about 3 years, and recently have thought that a perfect bike stable for me would be a 130mm FS (Bird's Aether, when it comes out in 29er) and a gravel bike.
But, I have no idea what i'm looking for/at. I've never ridden drop bars. The geometry looks foreign to me after looking at long/low/slack MTBs, and the idea of no suspension sounds...uncomfortable.
If I bought one I'd probably try and do long days out on it from home once lockdown is over; I live in Cheshire on the Welsh border to plenty of opportunity to do quiet lanes and double track.
As a start, I like the look of the Bombtrack Hook, the Nukeproof Digger makes sense, but beyond that I don't really know. Should I just buy Ergon barends and gravel tires for my hardtail?
Whaddya reckon?
Should I just buy Ergon barends and gravel tires for my hardtail?
Cheapest way, maybe a larger chainring too to avoid spinning out.
Space chicken/Free ranger.
If you're going to do more offroad than road, go for SRAM 1x and 650b wheels.
Job done!
On the perfect bike stable, I have a 150mm 29er (YT Jeffsy), and a 0mm gravel bike (Space chicken) and just need a 140mm hardtail as a winter SS mullet and summer 29er to fill the (tiny) gap that exists!
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBTIGR700FOR1/titus-goldrush-sram-force-1-titanium-gravel-bike
This looks tasty! I am attracted to the slightly lower standover height...anything that looks a bit like a mountain bike but with drop bars seems attractive!
Pricey though (but not when compared to other Ti bikes)
Trek checkpoint excellent bike or a Trek crockett which is a cross-bike.
I bought a Norco Search S1 from Evans, back in 2015. https://www.evanscycles.com/norco-search-s1-2015-adventure-road-bike-EV211786 . Primary intention back then was a relaxed road bike. I hadn't heard of gravel bikes back then. I liked the spec. Steel frame, carbon fork, Shimano 105, with mechanical disc brakes, was a massive upgrade from what I'd been riding up to then, a basic Halfords ? Carrera mountain bike. I wanted to do more road riding/ exploring. It came on 700C x 28 tyres, and I've been riding it round the lanes of Cheshire, Delamere forest, Wirral Country park, canal tow paths etc, like this, pretty much as standard since then. I've slowly been converting this into a gravel / trekking bike. It already had a good basic spec to start with. Last week i've just fitted, Panarcer Gravelking 700C x 35 tyres and a basic alu rear rack. I've done a few road / off road rides this week like this. I think the 35mm Gravelkings are the optimum tyre size, not too wide to be too draggy on the road and wide enough for most of the trails I ride. Looks quite purposeful too!
There is enough clearance in the stays and fork for up to 40mm tyres, still with adequate mud clearance, but I'll stick with the 35's for now.
I was touring in south east asia when this whole coronavirus thing kicked in, and had to leave my genesis CDF there.
Got back to the UK and with no trails within striking distance from the house the first thing I did was pick up a really cheapo gravel bike to see me through lockdown. I'm supposed to be moving abroad for work when this is all over so I didn't want to spend a fortune.
Ended up with this - discount codes/loyalty points brought it down to £650.
https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-malt-g1-tiagra-gravel-bike-2020-147541.html
Good:
Cheap
Looks good(ish)
Full Tiagra Drive Train
Full Carbon Fork
Good Tyre clearance
Full mudguard and rack mounts
Meh:
Cable Disks
Bit Heavy but not unreasonable
Internal Cable routing (I'm not a fan YMMV)
Weird sizing - they come up very big. Am just over 6ft and went with Merlin's recommendation of a 53. Fits well.
Bad:
Finishing kit
Crap Tyres
Chucked some 38mm hutchinson overrides on it and a new saddle and bar tape. Put about 500km so far on it. A mixture of road, hardpack gravel and easy singletrack.
Final verdict: Bargain
Is doing some very excellent gravel bike reviews atm. Look at them. And don’t under any circumstances get cable discs 😂
Thanks, will look at those options.
And yes, hydraulic only for me i think!
In typical fashion recommend what you ride, I love my Mason Bokeh, very pretty and well thought out.
Should I just buy Ergon barends and gravel tires for my hardtail?
Cheapest way, maybe a larger chainring too to avoid spinning out.
I like (and have) Ergon bar-ends and fat (>2.1) gravel-tyres on a rigid 29er.*
For a hardtail to be gravel-optimised I’d be wanting decent lock-out on the forks.
*Still prefer drops/monster-cross for comfort and efficiency though.
Have a look at the Genesis Fugio 30?
And don’t under any circumstances get cable discs 😂
BB7 (Mtn) here. They work well, are easily-adjusted, don’t squeal, and don’t require bleeding or any toxic fluids. They also have more progressive braking than the hydraulics on my hardtail, which helps in traffic and on long fire-road descents What am I missing? (Not a rhetorical question, I have been eyeing up a used XTR brakeset but can’t fathom why except for spec-matching/OCD)
And don’t under any circumstances get cable discs 😂
A better set of pads and careful set up transformed our two sets.
It stops 14st of me with two panniers on a couple of steep hills, locking wheels if needed.
They have also stopped 12st eldest_oab on various Ochill descents, off-track.
I've got the fairlight secan (ex designer at genesis i believe)
It can take up to 47mm tyres on 700c or 2.2 mountain bike tyre on 650b
i absolutely love this bike. It's so versatile and looks really good
https://road.cc/content/review/248008-fairlight-cycles-secan
Cannondale Topstone looks great.
I've recently ordered an Orro Terra C although it's probably a little more road orientated than some full on gravel bikes.
Everytime I see one of those Fairlights it makes me want one even more. Especially as living at the base of the south downs all the pictures seem to show it doing exactly what I want it to.
Trickydisco what size do you have and spec if you don't mind?
i had this problem 18 months ago the solution turned out to be a 2nd had cannondale caadx for £500 off eBay. didn't want to spend much in case i hated it. I've since spent another £1k on it with upgraded wheels and full tiagra hydro brakes/ groupset on and i absolutely love it.
rickydisco what size do you have and spec if you don’t mind?
I bought it as a frame (40th Bday present). I was umming and arring about the 54T (tall) as most of my road bikes are 56 (32" inside leg) but after speaking to the fairlight guys and giving them measurements of my bikes they recommended the 54R (regular) and it's a perfect fit.
I used the bits from my old cross bike: rs785 brakes, H son plus wheels. 35mm gravelkings
my most used bike: take kids to school/nursery, ride to work, go on the trails
Trickydisco, how tall are you?
If you've got £1800 I can recommend a Sour Purple Haze. I love mine, it feels very fancy but is very capable (I ride a lot of what are basically MTB trails on it, as well as hammering out road miles).
My build with Ultegra (second hand shifters and brakes), Deda Elementi kit and FSA wheels was about £1500.
https://sour.bike/en/shop/models/272/purple-haze?c=122
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5' 9"
have 2 56 road bikes but then one is pretty racey geometry
being a bit of a genesis fanboy I have a 5 yrs old Croix De Fer 30 - the one with the carbon fork, and last year bought a Vagabond for a rough terrain Hebridean trip. I have this week however ordered one of these 🙂
If I was looking for a frame only and had a bit to spend it would be one of these
https://kingdombike.com/collections/cyclo-cross/products/2020-beam-gravel
Recommending what I own, naturally....Sonder Camino Al is superb value. I bought a frame but the builds are good value. Versatile bike that handles well on and off road, room for 700x50mm or 650x2.1 tyres. I'm really liking mine. Pinnacle Arkose another good option.
I always test ride a few bikes to see what I’m getting into and then take it from there. I know Cervelo, Specialized and Santa Cruz all have demo fleets, so maybe get on one of those after lockdown ends. Cervelo is at the racier end, Specialized and SC in the middle.
Thanks again all. Have to say not too keen on an AL frame; was hoping to find something affordable in Steel. Obviously Ti would be lovely but not exactly financially sensible.
Cotic escapade?