[Closed] Ideas for Gravel/Adventure bike on a budget.

If it doesn't need disks then modding an early canti model mtb will fit most of the bill. I did a trial run on an early Raleigh mtb, and it looked promising.

If you can get your hands on a set of TEKTRO 866a cantis, they will stretch to 650b.

Alternatively convert a hybrid frame, but if you want dropbars, then the reach may be too long for comfort.

Another option is grabbing a VGC 1980s/90s touring bike (ie older Dawes Galaxy, or CB Dalesman, Raleigh Randonneur, etc. Look for triples with MTB gearing and cantis preferably.

Fit some aero-levers, some fat bar-tape, some RX5 mini-Vs, 28c Marathon Plus tyres (or 35c if there’s room, if not see if can crimp chainstays etc)

Hey presto a very nice bike for about £300 tops.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Just awaiting the mini-vs to come, then going to fit those, strip the rack and guards, fit 35cs and hopefully enjoy the rest of the summer zipping around like that. It rides gravel very well on these 28cs, surprisingly. It’s putting my Longitude out of business for general biking because
1. Covers a lot of distance quickly (genuinely surprises me)
2. Sublime ride-quality, silent and smooth.
3. Addictive to own, admire, research and faff about with.

^ +1 what epicyclo suggests, especially for the ‘adventure’ category. Late 80s and early 1990s ATB bikes are good for gravel.

I did convert a ‘93 Raleigh Apex for that about 10 years ago, yet didn’t get around to fitting wide drop bars* I used some swept touring bars.

*But since found a pic of someone who did

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=180194

Perfect candidate for the Malvern Rider method 😍:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333611880135

Just a terrible shame it's too small for me...

^ that looks minty, I’d feel bad ragging it!

Just in case any XLs interested these are rare as rocking horsepoop - and fit for purpose

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dawes-Sardar-Touring-Bike-Size-XL/153955129122?hash=item23d870d722:g:rJUAAOSwOkle1CFc

@belgianwaffle1 - I've got a 2011 58cm Specialized Tricross sat in the garage doing nowt if your near West Yorkshire. The wheels have been rebuilt onto 105 hubs and upgraded to mini-V brakes. Drivetrain is bit tired though.

Message me if you're interested.

Other budget ideas, get an On-One Pompino. They handle very nicely on dirt and gravel. Mine spends more time offroad than on. All the features that the snobby roadies turned their nose up at turn out to be advantages if your favourite surfaces are rough. Mine has probably done more dirt miles than many mtbs.

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I think they're very much under appreciated and they're still bargain priced on the secondhand market.

On the subject of 26" mtbs, this is my 2004 Voodoo - a singlespeed frame. By sliding the wheel back in the adjusters I am able to get a 700c wheel in, and it has 2" tyres on it.

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And here is a trial fit of 650b wheels in a 1990s Raleigh Ravine, a project I didn't pursue because I had other options, but it had plenty of potential. Those old bikes were well built of quality steel, are well made, yet can be picked up for pennies.

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The long and short of it is with a bit of mix and match, a bike suitable for gravel can be cobbled together from an assortment of old components and frames, and you can have a very good bike by doing so.

I've just converted my Roadrat, which was set-up for commuting/touring, as a gravel bike. Mainly that was just removing all the racks etc., switching from 700c x 35 Schwalbe Marathons to Panaracer Comet Harpack's (on sale at Planet-X at the moment) and changing the Brooks B17 for something lighter from the parts bin. That saved about 5lbs of weight (the tyres were about 1lb lighter each!).

The only previous gravel type bike I had was a Specialized Tricross about 10 years back and, for that type of use, I prefer the flat bars on the Roadrat to the drop bars on the Tricross. That might be because most of my use will be off-road with relatively short tarmac sections. The riding position of the Roadrat feels more like an XC bike in fact - although I suppose that might be defeating the purpose.

@epicyclo Funnily enough I do have a pompino at the moment which I am using as a beater bike for commuting. In terms of the Voodoo, did the frame come with a rear disc mount? Could be a promising option.

Thanks.

@Malvern Rider I was looking at that sort of build, any idea where to look for frames like that as I am not having much luck at the moment.

Thanks.

The MTB or the tourer? Also what size are you after? Pre-emptive answer is local facebook, gumtree, noticeboards, or if online then retrobike forum before eBay

@Malvern Rider The MTB in a medium size (I'm 5"8).

Thanks.

I’ve just converted my Roadrat

I've done the same although mine was set up as a fixie previously. I am absolutely loving it. Munches the miles but still fairly capable on more technical ground. I put on-one Geoff bars on it and they've been a revelation, great control off-road and you can pretty much get into a tt position on the road!

Having raced cross and had cross bikes for years I kind of scoffed at the whole gravel bike thing but I will quite cheerfully eat my words now. All it really is is a return to the more general purpose bikes of yore rather than the super specialized (small s) niches bikes seemed to have evolved into.

I look forward to loading it up and disappearing off into the hills and tracks of Scotland for a few weeks this summer.

I’ve done the same although mine was set up as a fixie previously. I am absolutely loving it. Munches the miles but still fairly capable on more technical ground.

I only sorted mine out earlier this week but initial impressions are positive. Mine has an Alfine on (it was originally one of the factory Alfine's) which is good in a way but the restricted gearing range does hold the bike back a bit. It's on 39:22, which is roughly the same as running a 26" MTB with 32T up front and an 11:32. That works fine on the off-road bits but is a bit slow on the road sections as it tops out at about 22mph and that at 100rpm. The upside to that it is it's ideal for those days when I'm just happy pootling about, as it can't really go fast on-road anyway.

I might change the gearing once I work out what sort of rides I'm going to be mostly using it on.

Mine has an Alfine

Interesting to hear that because that's where I was heading with mine as an all weather commuter.

The LBS couldn't get a hub till August so I set it up as 1x9 speed as that's the bits I had lying about. It's let me check the ratios as it's almost identical to the Alfine spread but I'm enjoying it so much that I think relegating it to commute duties might be a waste and I might go 1x11 or suchlike to make it a bit more versatile.

Maybe not quite budget enough - but last year I picked up a 2017 Boardman CX Team (carbon fork, 1x10, hydraulic Rival brakes) for about £400 (they were £1k when new, and a good deal at that). Should be able to find one for cheaper than that now. It's a great bike - only downsides are QR wheels, and limited on tyre width (currently running 38mm)

Pick a 26" frame, put in 27.5" wheels with semi slicks; 2x9 for cheap road/MTB drivetrain compatibility and a decent range. Very rideable, very versatile. I've now got 2000km on this one I put together just before lockdown. Here it is at dawn yesterday, with panniers on for a litter collection run to the local hilltop scrote congregation point.
[img] [/img]

@montgomery how did you manage to fit the 650b into a 26er frame? Also how is the reach?

Sliding dropouts, but I think with careful tyre choice you could make most frames work. The stem is the high rise one I used to run Geoff bars on the same frame, and puts the reach with drops just where I want it. Here y'go.

I bought a Charge Plug , it was in a bit of a state with no working brakes having been used as someones turbo trainer hack but the frame, post, saddle, bars and stem were sound and it came with some spare tyres.

Paid £100

Added new wheels, dynamo,brakes, etc.

Now being used as a commuter, but without the guards and with knoblies it made a great summer bike, never really missed disks in the dry.

I should add, I like it so much I sold the CAAD8 frameset, wheels etc that I pinched the bars and levers from.

@montgomery the fork is 27.5?

No, a 26" Sus corrected Surly Instigator, but I could fit a 29" wheel in it if I wanted! Toe overlap might be a bit tight, though...but there seems to be more wiggle room on stuff like this than you imagine. Best to just play around and see what you get.

Interesting to hear that because that’s where I was heading with mine as an all weather commuter.

The LBS couldn’t get a hub till August so I set it up as 1×9 speed as that’s the bits I had lying about. It’s let me check the ratios as it’s almost identical to the Alfine spread but I’m enjoying it so much that I think relegating it to commute duties might be a waste and I might go 1×11 or suchlike to make it a bit more versatile.

The Alfine is fine if you're not in a hurry (or also fine with higher ratios if you're either fit or riding somewhere that's not too hilly) although not being able to go fast on the tarmac bits does I suppose defeat the purpose of a gravel bike a bit! My Epic is way faster on most of the tarmac stuff as it's got a triple so doesn't run out of gears anything like as quick.

I was also thinking I might go 1x11 or possible move over the 1x10 set-up (with an 11-42) from my BFe as sticking with the 39t front that'd give quite a decent gear range.

@belgianwaffle1
I've got a 54 cm Tange Prestige Charge 'Filter' canti / V frameset doing nowt if that's of any interest.

The Alfine is fine if you’re not in a hurry (or also fine with higher ratios if you’re either fit or riding somewhere that’s not too hilly) although not being able to go fast on the tarmac bits does I suppose defeat the purpose of a gravel bike a bit!

Yeah, I had a whole thread on the pros and cons of an Alfine 8!

Might need to have 2 bikes really!

@MrBlond do you know what the max tyre clearance is with no fenders thanks.

belgianwaffle1
Funnily enough I do have a pompino at the moment which I am using as a beater bike for commuting. In terms of the Voodoo, did the frame come with a rear disc mount? Could be a promising option.

Time to promote the Pompino. You already have your budget gravel bike, just spend the savings on robust wheels and 35 - 40mm tyres. If you want to be a bit flash, add a carbon fork. and that would give the option of a front disk.

Now all you need is a beater for commuting. 🙂

Another nice thing about Pompinos is they have a higher BB than other comparable bikes, i.e. canti equipped tourers which are also an option, and that's handy if you like really rough stuff.

The Voodoo works because it has disk mounts. Like many bike of its era (2006), it also has canti mounts, so if disks weren't an option, using the Tektro cantis I mentioned would enable the use of 650b wheels.

@belgianwaffle1
I don't know the absolute max - the biggest 700c tyre I possess is 37mm but there's plenty of room front and back with these. I would guess 40mm+

Can get a picture this eve if that helps

@MrBlond yes that would help thanks

On tyre width I've got 700 x 38's on the Roadrat (and I've read that the ones I have measure at about 40mm). The forks have room for more but where the rear wheel is positioned at the moment (which is fairly near the front in the slot dropouts) then I wouldn't want to go much wider as there isn't masses of clearance.

Since fitting the gravel tyres I've only ridden mine in the dry so far but think I'll take a spin up into the Pentlands with it tonight and see how it is in slightly wetter conditions. Fair chance I'll end up on my face!

On tyre width I’ve got 700 x 38’s on the Roadrat (and I’ve read that the ones I have measure at about 40mm).

I got 1.8" 29er tyres in the back of the Roadrat (c46mm) but that was with the axle about as far back in the drop out as possible! With the wheel further forward (as far forward as the mech hanger will allow) I've got 40mm Smart Sams in there but wouldn't want to go any bigger.

I get 40s into my Pompino.

Yeah, I had a whole thread on the pros and cons of an Alfine 8!

After tonights ride on the Roadrat then for my use I think the 39:22 option is spot on. I tried one of the key climbs that I'll need to be able to get up for it to be any use in the Pentlands (Exponential) and managed that (although it wasn't easy at my current fitness level).

I also found out that I can hold 24-25mph on the flat for a while, although that was a pretty high cadence. Managed one Strava PR (on a flat rooty section that should be quick on a gravel bike - although I suspect I could beat it pretty easily on my Epic if I tried) but more surprisingly I had 3 2nd quickest segments, with 2 of them being on road segments that I have ridden the road bikes along several times.

Overall good fun in fact.

@epicsteve - what are the Panaracer Comet tyres like? Every review I've seen is from dusty USA

post-lunch bump

what are the Panaracer Comet tyres like? Every review I’ve seen is from dusty USA

I've only done a couple of rides since they've been fitted and one was really dry and the other fairly dry. I've also not done anything technical with them on yet either. So far though they've seemed fine on road (slightly faster than the Marathon Plus 700 x 35's that it had on before, but that isn't saying much) and I've had no grip issues with them off-road either.

I might do a ride tonight that has a more technical (but still not really technical!) descent so might be able to update after that.

I saw them cheap on Planet-X when I was ordering some other stuff and the reviews seemed decent and they're reasonably light (1lb lighter than the Marathon Plus's - and that's each).

thanks

Converted my 26" Cotic Soda to 650B for gravel style rides and love it. Nice light Richey carbon forks up front and flat USE bars. 42mm slick tyres but I could (and will) fit much bigger tyres. Its so fast and feels like a through back to the early 90's but better. Its a pleasure to ride.

Had been thinking of selling but its suddenly become the go to bike.

I did a more typical route for how I expect to use the Roadrat this evening - 10 miles, 300m of climbing with the majority off-road but rocky tracks rather than singletrack etc. It got pinged about a bit on rocky sections (and I was very slow downhill on those) but the Panaracer Comets coped fine. It was a bit wetter tonight bit not muddy, but they seemed to have plenty of grip. The definitely roll faster than the MTB tyres as I PR'd a couple of downhill tarmac bits on the way home, despite not having the gearing to pedal above 25mph or so (I hit over 46mph at one point).

Cheers

Are you running them with tubes?

re you running them with tubes?

Yes. I don't think the wheels are tubeless compatible although it's worth a thought as, being an Alfine, it's a bit more faff sorting a puncture on the rear than it is for my other bikes.

Had a look at the new calibre ‘Lost lad’ gravel bike in go-outdoors yesterday. Looked good, £600 I think.

Is that the Blue and yellow Lost Lad that was reduced and sold out for £400 ish a month or so ago, or a new one for 2021?!
Not seen a new one online yet?
2020 one:-
http://calibrebicycles.com/bike/lost-lad/

I've been riding my Roadrat a fair bit since sticking gravel tyres on it. Despite the gearing restrictions of the Alfine it's proving quite fast on the right bits of trail (i.e. where it doesn't run out of gears). I've had quite a few Strava PR's on it and tonight even managed 11th overall on one segment (which I will be going back to have a proper go at sometime soon, although not a chance I'll get close to the KOM time). I'm going to try and have a proper go at it on my Epic as well, to see which is faster.

M

where the rear wheel is positioned at the moment (which is fairly near the front in the slot dropouts) then I wouldn’t want to go much wider as there isn’t masses of clearance

Obviously you get more clearance the further back in the horizontal drop out you position the wheel. But moving it messes up your brake set up.

So today I Araldited a 10mm hex nut into the front of each drop out to act as a spacer. Hey presto, perfect alignment and a 42mm smart Sam fits easily. Very pleased with myself.