[Closed] Do I want a drop-bar gravelbike?

-700x50mm tyre clearance
-Dropper post friendly
-Steel
-Slackish (relatively) HA

These and this

Needs to be light and fast.

Dont necessarily go together.
700x50 is massive and the weight of a gravel tyre that size will take its toll on overall speed.
Droppers are pointless on a gravel bike, so save yourself the weight.

I think I want:-
-700x50mm tyre clearance
-Dropper post friendly
-GRX810 1x
-BSA BB
-Full carbon fork
-Steel or Ti (or carbon at a push)
-Slackish (relatively) HA
I DON’T want a sit up and beg “adventure” bike like a Genesis Vagabond or a Salsa Fargo. Needs to be light and fast.

How fast and light do you want it? Steel, 700x50, dropper post is NOT fast and light in my book, that's someone who really still wants an MTB 😉

I love the handling of my drop bar bike but I deliberately avoid anything chundery or steep where I would need to be braking loads (I still run rim brakes, they're all I need BECAUSE I avoid the MTB-gnar). I don't tend to get the bike off the ground much either but do love tight and twisty trails, I think a steep head angle, drop bars and maybe also the narrower tyres (I run 700x38) mean the bike handles incredibly quickly, it's brilliant fun.

I've tried to make my MTB as fast as possible for gravely use, the tyres are 2.1" MTB tyres but measure up as 50mm. They feel massive and vague compared to 700x38s.

I guess your build above would still be great with drop bars, at least you have the alternative positions and can get a bit more aero (I've also tried the bar ends inboard of the grips on my MTB, it's good, but not as good as a set of drop bats).

Edit: what he ^ said

Edit edit: I think the point I was trying to make is how gnarly do you want to go on the bike? A fast and light gravel bike (with drops) is an awesome thing, but once you start confusing it with an MTB it gets heavier and slower and I think there is a tipping point of gnar which makes the drops just a liability.

No. My Highball XC hardtail is easily as fast as my gravel bike (which is now a winter bike) on road, with the right tyres, and with the same franken-barend set up as you. It can take a 38T ring, but I find the 34/10 fine (38T only gives you 29mph vs 26mph @ 90rpm anyway). Once you're loaded up you want the gears at the bottom end anyway, so MTB gearing (which gravel is pretty much adopting anyway) is better.

On anything slightly tech it's loads more fun with flat bars, so whatever you do keep the flats.

Depending on how much you want to spend, and just how bikepacky you want to make it, the Sonder Frontier looks good to me.

Sounds like you are getting caught up in what marketing, trends and BS suggest rather than what you need.

To me you are describing a hardtail MTB

Real question should be where are you riding ?

So I’m toying with swapping for a “proper” gravel bike with drops on. However its a lot of cash for what feels like it might be an experiment (I’ve not tried drops off road seriously and the times I have, its felt very compromised) – on the other hand everyone else seems to get on with drops fine…

Mrs_oab didn't and I get her reasons why with small hands and petite sizing. The flat bar with mini bar-ends set up she has is ace, almost old-skool mtb. For touring on roads and light off-road it is ace.

I do have drops, it has been a long time to get used to them. I am still not there, and looking to faff with bars now.

We are much more road riding than gravel, and so the drops do offer that lower aero position and both our bikes are more highly geared than I would like, but it works well on road.
For more gravel I would look at a flat / alt bar set up, lower gears, but keep my 700c, narrower than an mtb tyre and 'gravelly/road' geometry. I would also be tempted by a slightly higher front end than I have got, more like a touring bike set up....

To add: I looked at full on gravel bikes. I decided that my hardtail was what I use for off-road. The other bike was a road bike, that could go on light off-road when needed.

I have totally different riding experiences on the bikes, different purposes. This in my head is better than a drop-bar mtb-esque bike.

It comes down to what riding you intend to do on these two different bikes...

Do you need something like this ?

You'll never even get close to meeting that list of requirements.

Just get a hybrid and stop thinking too much 😉 The Whyte ones look good.

Local riding is Eastern Peak. Stanage Causeway, Green Drive/Burbage, Houndkirk, laps of the Reservoirs, Brough Lane - but also the not-very-well-linked-up bridleways between Sheff and Chesterfield; White Peak "mountainbiking" in the summer when it's not a clag fest. Decent enough offroad, but not enough gnar for even a modern hardtail and plenty of road to link it all together. I'm not the kind to avoid a tech descent just because I'm on the "wrong" bike, but I can enjoy picking my way down slowly so long as I'm feet up. Bakewell golf course or Two Dales comes to mind.

Looking further afield - think Reiver, Frontier 300, Badger Divide kinda stuff. Maybe even Torino Nice. The Badger I'd be aiming for 2 days, stopping at the YHA part way, so would need to be moving efficiently up AND down.

Sounds like you are getting caught up in what marketing, trends and BS suggest rather than what you need.

Possibly, hence the thread. Whenever I ride the Soda, I never feel held back by it, but I don't know how much greener (or not) the grass is on the other side, and the luggage issue is a limitation.

Actually the Specialzied looks nearly there...
https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/road-bikes/specialized-diverge-comp-e5-evo-2021-flat-bar-road-bike--forest-green__71709

It's really down to you to work out whether you like a compromised middle ground (dropper, slack, drop bars, 700x50 etc seems to be there in the middle) or prefer something that's one or the other ie light all-road drop-bar or technically more capable XC 29er. I don't think there's any logic in our answers, it's all about subjective stuff.

Recommend what you have: Camino (in Ti flavour if you must).

I've ridden mine (Camino Al) on a lot of the routes you mention and it's good fun. I can't get on with drop bars on steep stuff E.g. Devil's elbow or the plantation are doable but not fun (YMMV). However, I do really like the drops for cruising on road / easy off-road so for anything less gnar, particularly with road sections then I'd always go drop-bar.

I would think it ticks a lot of your boxes, although only you can decide whether you want drop bars or not.

In the beforetime, Alpkit did some demo days out of Hathersage. Or I think you can borrow one for £50 / day. Maybe do that?

If you’re medium sized buy my Genesis Fugio 30 😉

^^^^ selling it already ?

Looking further afield – think Reiver, Frontier 300, Badger Divide kinda stuff. Maybe even Torino Nice. The Badger I’d be aiming for 2 days, stopping at the YHA part way, so would need to be moving efficiently up AND down.

My experience with longer stuff on my 'fast and light bike' is that I do get a bit battered by day 3/4. Almost spoiled the end of a big trip I did where the last 20km should have been a victorious time trial down a fast, scenic landrover track descent through Glen Tilt, but my wrists and hands were too knackered and I had to just sit up.

For Torino Nice I'd definitely be taking my gravelised (slick tyres, funky handlebar setup) 29er. For 2 dayers or maybe even 3 dayers if I knew the last day would be relatively smooth, I'd be going with the fast and light bike. Fitting a suspension stem to the FnL bike would probably just blur the line a little bit more.

I built up a Whyte Saxon Cross a year or two ago and loved it (its the Gisburn/ friston now). I live in the Midlands so lots of country lanes, canals and a few BWs. Liked it so much I stopped taking my winter road bike out (rim brake, full guard, small tyres).

I have just swapped the two bikes over into a On One FreeRanger and I love it. Fairly racy position if you go by suggested sizing, reasonably light, very comfortable and masses of clearance (runs 29 x 50ish, I currently have full guard on and run GK 42). I have 2 sets of wheels, 32mm TL road [wouldn't bother except I do chaingangs] and a nice light set of DT Swiss 29er wheels.

Ritchey Beacon Handlebars are very shallow with good flare for off road.

I think for general purpose riding, where you want to link up easy off road with roads they are hard to beat. Complete bonus that I can use it as a full on winter road bike. Looking forward to doing the Dirty Reiver if it goes ahead. I've had light Mtbs and that would only be a better option if I lived somewhere with a network of more challenging off road trails

My Kona Libre is close to what you suggest I think. Not sure if it could quite squeeze a 700x50 in, but I’ve never tried. If I want high volume I use the 650b wheels.

Obviously I can’t say whether it would work for you, but it works for me. I’ve got the MTB if I’m going to be on chunky off-road stuff all day, but I much prefer the Libre for a ride that is a mix of road and tamer off-road stuff. Of course it’s a compromise. Not as fast as a road bike on the road, not as good as an MTB off-road, but it’s a compromise that works for me.

Some people are quite anti-gravel and I can see why. The marketing is totally over the top, as marketing always is. But it’s just a bike. All bikes are a compromise, so you just pick the ones that work for you.

Some like to say it’s just a 90s mountain bike. Well I’ve got a 90s mountain bike in the shed and to me they are nothing like each other to ride. Personally I think the “gravel” (ugh) bike is just an update on the old tourer, with modern gears, brakes and frame material and maybe a touch more clearance (although the old tourers took pretty wide tyres).

I see some people don’t see the point of a dropper and that’s fine, but I find it totally transforms what I’m happy to ride off road. Yes it adds a bit of weight, but so does my handlebar bag and all the extra stuff I take on my “tours”. It’s not a race bike so I’m happy carrying an extra few hundred grams if it means I can enjoy the odd off-road descent a bit more. I can also drop it for fast road descents if I’m in the mood.

Riding off road on drops is different but if you have slightly wider drops with a bit of flare and a shallow drop and you are not trying to break any records it can be a fun experience.

Does that mean you should get one? No idea. Of course a hardtail will cope with the roads and probably be more fun off road, but it’s just a different set of compromises at the end of the day.

A Kona Libre does look like the right kind of thing - the CR DL is pretty much as close to "off the peg" right as I think I'd find, but they're not available...!

How fast and light do you want it? Steel, 700×50, dropper post is NOT fast and light in my book, that’s someone who really still wants an MTB

The Soda zings. Wheel weight is negligible and it picks up and turns effortlessly (almost too much of the latter at times!). Looking at the numbers, there's about 40g difference in tyre weight and 25g in the rim between 650c and 700c, so not enormous, and it should roll a good chunk better.
I'd prefer to stay with Ti, but budget rather gets in the way, and my Enigma steel summer road bike is not exactly gravitationally challenged.
Dropper - yeah its weight (and possibly comfort), but even with a small drop, it would be a hell of lot more pleasant riding at speed over chunder - I have some mates who use droppers on their gravel bikes and they all reckon it makes as much difference there as it does on an MTB. Got to be worth trying.

If you’re medium sized buy my Genesis Fugio 30

I am and I have thought about it. They don't seem to take 700C very well (I think you've said that yourself) and I've not been overly enamoured with the ride quality of my Genesis Flyer - it's "leaden steel" rather than "zingy steel" like it Condor predecessor or my Enigma.

What, you want available as well? There is no pleasing some people 🙂

I think for general purpose riding, where you want to link up easy off road with roads they are hard to beat. Complete bonus that I can use it as a full on winter road bike.

This. If that's not the kind of riding you're doing, I suggest a different kind of bike is more suitable.

I was in a similar boat and thought a GB was pointless and what I needed was a XC bike. My pal then got a GB and all our riding went down that route so I bought a cheap, drop bar Marin and really enjoyed it. Just replaced that with a Ragley Trig and initial impressions are very good, just what I wanted.

I spent too much time agonising over XC or GB and came to the conclusion they are so close as to make little difference. The XC will be a bit better and take you further off road, the GB will be better on road and be less of a chore but either will do most jobs. Our riding is suited to the GB side of the coin and I'm defo a convert, riding further and more often than I have for years. My other modern bike is a 150/140mm 29" job so most bases are covered. Also have retro and that's ace but different to GB.

The short answer is buy a Ragley Trig, like I did, they're ace.

Specialized Diverge ticks most of the boxes except dropper compatibility - but you could fit an externally routed one.
Before gravel came along, I had the 'full set' of CX (x2) , a 29er, a 29+ and a fat bike. In the end of got rid of the 29er because I found that for most of the riding I was doing, particularly in summer e.g. SDW the CX/gravel bike was quicker. Also MTB/flat bars are horrible for pushing wind if you're used to riding a road bike.
I now live in the highlands and everything but my Diverge is in storage - it's actually ideal, and I can ride offroad down to Glenlivet, do a lap of the trails and then take the road home. I'm running 700x45 tyres which come out nearer 48mm - these make a big difference over something like a 38/40mm tyre with many of the forest/estate tracks which are often just chunky, crushed rock in places.

I found a solution that works a treat..but isn't a drop bar gravel. I already have a race 29er, I can put 2.2/2.3's on it and happily ride it on any mtb terrain - swap it out to it's main setup of 2.1 Racing ralph/ Thunderburt where I'll happily ride it most places but is much quicker on road. But the latest iteration has been that thanks to modern brake/shifter clamps that open easily I have a second handlebar setup that I can swap out in a few minutes with grips/ bar ends already installed- just whip the face plate off and pop on, the bars are narrower aka 90's 'esque with bar- ends at shoulder width position and ergon grips for more flat bar comfort. Combine this with banging on some Gravelking 38c's and it's a sub 20lb speed merchant, lighter than some steel or Ti gravel bikes but mine adds a lefty suspension fork to the party...

Funnily enough I still want a gravel bike though, because, want....and to keep the 29er in mtb mode.
Orbea Terra worth a look into for reasonably priced carbon with great customisation, availability a big problem... Latest Salsa Warbird would do but bit expensive...not sure I want a carbon gravel bike as have enough issues with carbon other things, and any press fit thing a major turnoff.
Enigma Escape/ Reilly gradient (RIP) still at the top of the preferred metal list...few more years prevarication should see to it.

Orbea Terra worth a look into for reasonably priced carbon with great customisation

I'm still hankering after one of these, would be my summer 'sharp' gravel bike (as the guy in the shop put it) and my current bike could do full time muddy 1x CX duties.

Shows the power of the n+1 that I've found reason why I can't use my gravel bike as my CX bike or vice versa 😀

How fast and light do you want it? Steel, 700×50, dropper post is NOT fast and light in my book, that’s someone who really still wants an MTB 😉

You won't like my gravel bikes 🙂

On my old one I ran 43C, and now 50c on my new one. Added an old (under seat level) dropper last week, PR'd a couple of descents. Helps on the road too, having long, long legs my seat is very high.

Take a look at the Planet X / On One Free Ranger.

....The Orbea colour customiser is a great feature to while away some time on.

One thing I couldn't work out on their website is I'm assuming an order would incur a brexit import tax if shipped directly to house...but one can also nominate a local shop distributor for delivery/ handling, does this get around paying the extra fee's - anyone know?

I was a gravel detractor until I bought one on a whim and love mine now.
Comparisons with an old retro MTB? Not valid really as they are so different.
Dropper posts, 50mm tyres? Personally I think that’s a bit pointless. I live in West Yorks and I’ve taken my gravel bike down a couple of steep rocky paths by accident and I don’t think either of those would have made much difference to how sketchy it felt (I have 42mm tyres on). But you know what, it felt like I was a teenager again, trying to pick a line where I wouldn’t fall off!
I really wouldn’t want to try and ride my gravel bike on Calderdale bridleways for example, I’d either have a full on road bike and grind up the hills or stick to at least a lightweight hard tail at the very least for the off-road.
I would imagine having a gravel bike with more off-road ability as your only bike might be a great choice, especially if you live in less hilly areas, as most modern MTBS are a bit overkill for large parts of the country.

I think you need to be really honest and realistic about what you might want to use it for.
It sounds like a flat bar gravel bike might be perfect for you. I would have got one - a Sonder Camino was my first choice - but ended up with drop bars as their wasn’t much choice of the flat bar stuff available, and as I said I bought it on a whim.

Comparisons with an old retro MTB? Not valid really as they are so different.

Ads the owner of a retro MTB (a '92 Breezer) I think in some ways my Arkose is better off road. For one thing, the brakes actually work...

Came on here to say a Kona Libre based on your want list @JonEdwards, I had one off CRC for about a day but had to send it back as it was too big. Swapped it out for a Kona Sutra LTD which is a great bike. Oh and I suspect I live pretty close as all my local riding is Houndkirk, Blacka Moor, Green Drive and Curbar area. Either Kona would do you very well but only the Libre was silly light.

@tuboflard - you and I have got to know each other by sight as it does sound like we ride exactly the same places...!

I suspect so! Keep an eye out for someone on a Kona Sutra LTD or Singular Rooster 29+ singlespeed in yellow; say hi as that’ll be me...

For me gravel bikes are for high speed, low grip, ride like your arse is on fire type stuff. 38mm tires do the job for me. My view may well be coloured by my bike though, a 3 year old Diverge. I just think if I had bigger tyres and more grip it would spoil the crazy fast idiocy of the whole thing.

Droppers are pointless on a gravel bike, so save yourself the weight.

Hilarious! Have we travelled back in time 5 or 6 years? If you are going to use a gravel bike like a road bike, get a road bike. If you are going to use a gravel bike to have fun on off road trails then a dropper really opens up the possibilities, just like on an MTB!

OP, if you can sink to aluminium level there are a lot more options with slacker geometry than those bikes that are just repurposed road bikes.

Your biggest problem of course is supply. I know https://www.ridefustle.com have just added some stock to their shop. I can recommend them, I reviewed the press bike & liked it so much I bought a frameset. It's pretty slack without going too mad, dropper ready & has lots of stand over. It is Alu though. It'll take 700x50 or 650x2.1 without guards is great off road without too many compromises on the tarmac bits between trails.

Steel wise the new geometry Sour bikes Purple haze looks good and they've added dropper routing.

You could of course stick some drop bars and brifters on the soda & save yourself some cash.

I’ve ridden my GB on quite a few off-road bits and never thought a dropper was necessary. And I’m a full on dropper user on my MTBs.

As I said before, you’ve just got to me honest about what you’ll use it on. For me I can’t see the point in making it so close to an MTB that it’s hard to tell the difference between the two, cos I already have a hard tail MTB. But maybe if my only other bike was a full on Enduro weapon it might make more sense. Unless you have loads of bikes as you want to fill every niche, but then you’ll spend half your time deciding what bike to take and half the ride thinking that a different bike may be better.

I dunno, I just ride whatever and enjoy it.

I think it depends where you ride. Near me the trails are spaced out with sections of back lanes in between and quite a bit of tarmac if I want to go exploring. When exploring I want to roll down stuff to see where is goes, sometimes steep and rough and the dropper is a life saver meaning I can ride rather than walk. If I lived in an area that was mostly off road once you started like the lakes etc I think I'd stick to an MTB. But it isn't do an off road capable "road bike" is the best thing.

@Rocketdog - yep I'm aware of Fustle. Bit annoyed with them to be honest. I was >>.<< this close to ordering a GRX810 build when the last one went. The thing that's pissing me off is that they're only short of rear mechs for the GRX810 bike, but have build kits with exactly the same mech for the GRX600 1x bike and they won't use one of those to let me give them Two And A Half Thousand Pounds...
Neither will they sell me a bike without a rear mech.
Nor will they work out a solution like an XT mech with a Wolftooth Tanpan.

For me gravel bikes are for high speed, low grip, ride like your arse is on fire type stuff. 38mm tires do the job for me. My view may well be coloured by my bike though, a 3 year old Diverge. I just think if I had bigger tyres and more grip it would spoil the crazy fast idiocy of the whole thing.

This is very true. I don't often ride techy, steep stuff but when I do (usually by accident) it's a hoot! Going from 'this is fine' to 'help!' happens very quickly and when you style it out you feel great!

That’s the thing with a dropper (like a lot of things I guess). You can’t see the point of one until you try one. We had these arguments about droppers on MTBs years ago, I seem to recall. I accept that the advantages aren’t as great on a GB, partly because it spends a lot of time on the road and if you’re happier without one that’s fine but it really doesn’t make a GB too much like an MTB. There is still a world of difference between the two. If you care about a few hundred grams on your GB then you probably aren’t going to want to fit one but it’s not a great weight penalty for something that can make the fun buts more fun (at least for me). It’s all personal choice though.

Oh, and check out Nordest too OP. Super Albarda steel or ti would do the job.

https://nordestcycles.com/en/cuadros

The Nordests look nice - the non-super Albarda is still more radical than most. However I'd prefer something that has a UK importer; plus buying frames is the easy bit at the mo - it's groupsets that are the difficulty.

Also - things like big tyre clearance and dropper post. You don't HAVE to use them, but if you've got the design details that allow them, then you do have the option to experiment. Call it futureproofing if you like.

Buy this so I don't!

mid-90s sh*t mountainbiking with road links

This is UK gravel

Except with drop bars

And stuff that works

And better marketing

I'd want a dropper for this

View this post on Instagram

I’d want a dropper for this

Which is fair enough, but the OP said "fast and light", which in the context of gravel bikes is unlikely to also mean "versatile enough to ride steep rocky singletrack", unless you have a lot of money to build something fast that also has big tyres, dropper post etc. and/or the skills to ride it which the guy in the video obviously has

My Salsa Vaya runs 700x50 and is steel, it’s super stable snd fast , don’t think my riding would need a dropper though. I did run it with 650b 2.1’s but I prefer the 700c’s.

-700x50mm tyre clearance
-Dropper post friendly
-GRX810 1x
-BSA BB
-Full carbon fork
-Steel or Ti (or carbon at a push)
-Slackish (relatively) HA

In the usual habit of recommending what you (nearly) own, the Niner RLT ticks all these boxes in 4 or 5* GRX 1x builds, except the BB, which a PF30. Other challenge is stock is really hard to come by (though it turns out by the luck of needing a small frameset mine has just arrived in the UK!). HA 70-72 degrees depending on size, so depends what you consider slackish.

Probably doesn’t tick the light and fast option. I’ve bought it for hopefully the comfortable option.

Fast AND light would mean choosing a gravel bike that is pretty much a road bike with room for up to 40c tyres.
50mm tyres, steel frame and dropper would not be seen on a fast and light gravel bike.

From what is being described I would categorise it as an off road capable and comfortable gravel bike and forget all about fast and light.

I think I've gone full circle on this.
Although I'm currently on a Kinesis Decade Tripster (the original alu one predating the first ATR) I keep pondering upgrades.

Originally, I was going to build something with huge tyres and a dropper, essentially close to monster cross. Then I started to think it would be too close to my hardtail. So, something more akin to a far tyred road bike, probably with 2x11 was the order of the day with a nice flexible carbon post for added comfort. Ideal for exploring tracks and trails from the door.

So, while using the Tripster for more of that sort of stuff, what I've realised is that 40(ish)mm tyres seem fine and have actually cut through some of the muddier sections fairly well. I've been Jo worse off than the wife on the hardtail with a 2.25 riddler out back.

The one think I really want to sort on the next bike though, is toe overlap. If the trail gets even remotely steep and technical it's really limiting.

I thought I wanted 2x11 but having played about with gear calculators until I've gone blind I've realised something that might get tedious. My current set up is 3x9, 11-34 30,39,50. It's a great set up as most of the time, I'm middle ring middle of the cassette. I only tend to switch rings to manage chain line. If I ran the GRX 2x11, my most commonly used gears would actually give worse chain lines and require more front shifts. Fingers crossed that we soon see a 12 speed option using the 10-45 microspline cassette. That would be pretty much perfect. Going 1x would also open up the option for wider tyres that I currently don't think I want.

As for the dropper post, I've gone full circle on that as well. Not for big steep gnar but where I've found myself really wanting one is big fast loose corners where I'd like to more weight on the outside pedal to maximise the limited traction from the tyres. 50-60mm would be ample I reckon.

Never mind all that Onzadog, what bars? 😉 🙂

Drop. FSA Omega currently I think.

Even more impressive is that all that was typed on my phone.

THESE bars...
[img] [/img]

Bars are so subjective, I love venturemax for their shallow drop and flare but got a set of redshift kitchen sink bars coming for a review. They are riser drop flared bars which I can't get my head around but really want to try. Paired with the new pro shock stem.

@montgomery I'd recommend at least a 20mm shorter stem if you fit those much wider bars

I have gone down the CX/Gravel route over the years and although I manage the (mild)single track stuff ok and quite like the flex in flared drops on long forest roads,I still wish for flat bars when I hit any tech downhill. I think if I was starting from scratch it would be a much more carbon 29er based thing with flat bars,clip on and inboard bar ends.As someone back there said,with fast tyres it's not going to hold you back on the road sections. For now I will stick with what I have got and plan the routes to suit 😉

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/do-i-want-a-drop-bar-gravelbike/page/2/#post-11808430

My kitchen sinks arrived today also. Hopefully get fitted and report back after weekend. A long wait for them so interesting to see what like.

My kitchen sinks arrived today also. Hopefully get fitted and report back after weekend. A long wait for them so interesting to see what like.

Kitchen sinks arriving this Saturday, with pro stem & cruise control grips

Nothing wrong with a Spesh Sirrus for me, I just can't get away with drops either.
Best £425 I've ever spent & It's had some hammer since I got it last April.

https://flic.kr/p/2k6pica

It's almost ready for some new transmission now though.

I accept that the advantages aren’t as great on a GB, partly because it spends a lot of time on the road

Wait for someone to win a Tour stage with one, and then all the roadies will have them.

FWIW I put a 100mm dropper (old under-lever KS from an old HT) onto my gravel bike to try it out, and promptly PR'd a tight & twisty road descent.

You're welcome to meet up and ride my Pickenflick with 40mm tubeless rubber. It's set up more for off-road than tarmac, but it'll give you a flavour for hitting your regular stuff on drops. It's not your dream-bike, of course, but it might tell you want you need to know about that style of riding. I know you're more than capable of cleaning Stanage Causeway descent on it 😉

Now what bike are you going to swap for me to try to keep up?!

Simon
(You've probably still got my number!)

What about the BMC that’s just been reviewed?

Looks light and fast to me, especially the higher end models.

Was just going to suggest Nordest 😁

Regards droppers I loved mine on my gravel bike for the off road stuff, great on road descents for aero too when 1x tops out. I just swapped to a regular post when I was doing predominantly road rides.

Unfortunately I no longer have the dropper compatible gravel bike and my current one has a nice carbon post.

Your spec isn't unrealistic.

I have a DeAnima DeFer custom steel gravel bike. It is light and VERY fast. With G One tyres, it is my bike of choice for Mallorcan road riding. For touring, I run a pair of XT tubeless wheels with Racing Ralphs (2.1 at the back and 2.25 up front) and when the mood takes me, I swap over to Pacenti 700c rims and Bruce Gordon Rock and Road tyres.

It has a carbon fork, is internal dropper compatible and has three sets of bottle mounts. Personally, I would forgo 1X for the versatility of 2X.

I like the versatility of going fast on road and off. Ok so it isn't a technical trail bike but there are other machines for that. For a machine that I can do big adventures and long rides on, it is terrific fun. It, a fat bike and a long travel 29er full susser cover all the bases for me.

I've always enjoyed riding drop bar bikes off road. Gravel bikes are just a more off road capable version of my Ritchey Swiss Cross which I used to take on mountain bike club rides and never had any issues about keeping up. They have limitations but if you are cool with that then you may well be surprised about just how much fun they are. I would take a gravel bike over my old S Works Carbon Epic every day of the week for riding off road.

Cheers

Sanny

Well I've gone and done what any right-thinking bloke would do - I've N+1ed...

FunkmasterP is now rid of his Fugio, and I have a yellow and orange thing cluttering up the cellar...!

Swapped some of my bits onto it, knocking off the best part of a kilo into the bargain (600g in the wheels/cassette). I've done one ride on it so far.

Thoughts:-
Plus
GRX800 is bloody awesome. Even with a SRAM cassette.
The front end has much more compliance to it than the Exotic Carbon fork on the Soul. Nowhere near as wristbreakingly crashy.
Lower BB is nice - feels quite stable (in one way at least)
Not running out of gears as soon as it points downhill (this is 40/10 top, the Soda was 36/11)
Space for 2 waterbottles and a frame bag.

Minus.
Feels terrifyingly short and twitchy. I'm used to road bikes, and commute on a fixie, and this is longer than all of those, so it's not unfamiliarity with drops. Part of it is lack of weight on the front wheel - which is not helped by...
...the drop bar setup. Run the bars high enough to make descending comfortable in the drops and the flats and to a lesser extent the hoods are too high/close to be usable. When climbing steeper/techier stuff the front wheel feels like it's going very light. I also don't really feel like I can attack stuff from such a high/narrow position. (the Soda looked kinda like an XC race bike, my roadies run a fairly substantial saddle->bars drop).
A 50mm dropper post doesn't make much difference!
It feels pretty quick in a straight line through the rough(ish) stuff, but swoopy singletrack is bloody hard work.

I need to ride it more and play with setup. I'm going to try a slightly longer stem, but also see if I can find some radically more flared drops, so I can lower the hoods position AND raise the hooks at the same time. Give it a month, then try the Soda again and see which feels righter/wronger.

Riding around some fairly rutted Cambridgeshire bridleways today on my HT 29er (Stanton Sherpa), I was pondering just how awful a gravel bike would be. I think I would have spent a lot more time watching the sky and the earth swap places today on the fast rutted downhill sections.

Dropping into the sketchy clunch pit would have been much more entertaining (if you live anywhere near Cambridge, you know where I mean).

I had my Singular Swift setup with drop bars years ago before it was trendy. And it was OK, but suspension forks and flat bars are just so much better.

However, there is a shiny new perfectly flat gravel race track been put in by the National Trust at Wimpole Hall. I have no idea what they were thinking of, it's the ugliest thing for miles around. They must have had a load of cash to burn before the end of the financial year. Anyway, for that, a GB would be perfect.

@oldnpastit - whereas my memory of Cambridgeshire riding (25 years old of date!) is that a GB would be nigh on perfect for stuff like the roman road through The Gogs. In Summer anyway...!

@JonEdwards it's mostly those long fast descents where it turns into a mess of concrete-hard ruts made by giant industrial-scale agricultural machines; with a rigid front end you need to be paying attention that much more, you can't just float over the top and let the suspension figure it out.

Of course, you can always just slow down.

You have to explore beyond the Roman Road and the Gogs, there's so much more. I'm not sure it's any better, but it's different, which is almost the same.

Unfortunately I no longer have the dropper compatible gravel bike

Eh?

https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Seatposts,30/KS/E-Ten-Adjustable,15228

Hope you’re making more use of it than I did and with time you find a setup that works for you? The Spank vibrocore drops look pretty interesting and the Salsa Cowchipper is a good, not too flared, option.