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Can I use a direct comparison between my road bike geometry and possible gravel bikes that I am looking at? I am looking at bikes (all quite different) I can't just go and throw my leg over - BBB, Full Monty, Niner, Escapade, Vitus
People coming from road bikes to gravel, have you kept the same length stem or have you gone longer/shorter... Any considerations I need to take into account?
Where are you based ? You are welcome to try my Escape if you are local .
Thank for the offer! I am based in the North East near Scotch Corner.
Yes, gravel bikes will tend to have a shallower head angle, that will shorten the top tube by about a cm per degree, you can make this reach up with a longer stem if you want. The net result is more weight over the front wheel and slower steering. Gravel bikes will also have longer chanstays, and hence a longer wheelbase for more stability, they may have a shallower seat tube too.
You can reproduce a road bike position on a gravel bike, but there will be a slight weight redistribution for more stable handling. Saddle fore and aft, and stem length may need to be changed to achieve this same position. My road and car bikes and my mtb have pretty much the same rider position as measured by relative locations of contact points.
I don't really want/need to reproduce the fit of my road bike necessarily although I am looking for one bike to take over the role of my road bike and hardtail.
Basically I can go with the same seat tube size and just adjust the cockpit to fit the feel of the new bike?
I wouldn't go on seat tube alone.
I think most gravel bikes will be a bit shorter than their road equivalent, but they do vary, and watch the head tube which may be a lot longer.
Do you want the same position as you have now?
I would like a more relaxed position - I am 6'1 with a 34" inside leg currently on:
560 seat tube
570 top tube
190 head tube - with 73.5 degree head angle
408 chainstay - with 72.5 angle
Looking at bikes
BBBosh in XL
560 seat tube
580 top tube,
head tube 195 71.5
440 chainstay 72.5
its very comparable obviously a bit slacker and longer
What I am unsure about is whether a Niner in 56 rather than 59 gives the 'best' numbers for a similar geo to my road bike but obviously with a slacker head angle...
56: 59:
560 590
565 585
165 71.5 deg 185 72 deg
435 with 73 degree chainstays
Try this website built by my friends: [url= https://geometrygeeks.bike/ ]Geometry Geeks[/url]
I run my CX/gravel bikes with a bit less reach and bar to saddle drop - comfort and control reigns over low and aero. A bit more layback on the saddle helps for seated climbing / engaging quads and rear tyre grip too.
What he said except i don't think saddle payback should be anything other than what's comfortable - you're unlikely to be climbing steep loose climbs for instance, so grip is not a factor.
When looking at height of front end, remember it's not just the head tube, the bb height and fork length will matter too - hopefully the site above accounts for that.
I'll stick all the info in there and see what it says!
Geo geeks does not have BBB or Cotic, shame that
I suspect you would fit the 55.5cm Boardman CX Team quite well, the 55.5cm was great for my weak lower back last week, I have a long torso for someone ~179cm. Standover was a bit fine for my ~81cm cycling inseam.
Was just going to post Geogeeks myself. Has potential
thorpey - you can add your own info. Its dead easy if you're only adding a couple of frames.
I did this for every MTB I've ever owned.
Try this thing here:
http://gearinches.com/blog/misc/bike-geometry-comparator
You put all of the measurements into the spreadsheet for a couple of bikes and it draws a picture of the two bikes and overlays one over the other to compare the sizes of the bikes.
I'm on the same effective top tube - actual size is not normally a great indicator. Stem on my cx is shorter and higher. I think 10mm shorter and 20mm higher.
A gravel bike is effectively a road bike and should not be confused with a CX bike. CX bikes tend to have high bottom brackets, whereas a gravel bike BB height will/should be the same as a road bike.
Take a sportive bike and lengthen the stays by 10-15mm to accommodate wider tyres, and that is basically a gravel bike.
IME I would size it the same as a road bike.
If you're planning on riding technical trails then your fit will probably be different, but for gravel/fireroads typical road bike fit is the way to go (unless of course your current road bike is setup for criteriums/road racing, in which case you probably want to rotate upwards and backwards a bit).
Considering the BB drop should be the same between your road/gravel bike (somewhere around 70mm), the problem you have with all these frames you've listed is the forks.
Road bike forks usually have an axle to crown measurement of 365-375mm, whereas forks for a gravel bike are more like 395-405mm. Therefore, your front end will be 30mm higher, which is quite alot.
I've just seen you want to replace your MTB and Road bike with one bike.
Personally I would not bother. Fast, technical off road is way better on an MTB with wide bars, a short stem and fat tyres. If you set up your "gravel" bike to get close to this, then it'll be shite for road riding.
If I go with a CX rather than gravel bike (I am really starting to think this is the way forward) would there be a bike out there to do both jobs? ...... Still erring towards Bish Bash Bosh...
Also like the look of GT Grade and Dale Slate...