My gravel bike is a Ragley Trig and it feels, at the moment, very much like a bike of two halves. The rear feels really comfortable (possibly the steel of the frame & a quality saddle) but I'm finding the front end really harsh. Looking at the carbon forks I'd guess that they've been designed to be really stiff & the carbon EC70 AX bars don't seem to be helping either.
A Lauf Smoothie looks nice, but is way too expensive. Where would be the best (and cheapest) place to start?
I'm currently running 700x38 Terreno Dry tyres at about 28psi, I could drop the pressure in the front tyre some more. Also, although the Trig itself is only rated for 700x40 the fork will take a 45mm tyre so I could go larger at the front.
Anything else worth trying? I'm currently riding mostly rough country roads and the odd bridleway & want the bike to remain nippy on smooth tarmac.
Larger volume front tyre & a redshift shockstop stem. The stem is pretty effective at taking the edge of the worst knocks and trail buzz.
Bigger tyre at lower pressure.
"Softer" bars.
Flex stem.
Suspension fork.
Funnily enough, they're in order of increasing cost and increasing effectiveness.
My money would be on the sweet spot being some sort of damped/suspension stem.
Possible to try raising the bars first? (Stem flip possible?)
As often as not a slightly low bar is putting a bit more weight forward than you realise resulting in a harsher feeling over the lumps... If that's no help, then start spending all the moneys.
Bit left field, but could you slide your saddle back a bit. Slightly counter intuitive, but this reduces the weight going through your shoulders, arms, hands and might reduce the discomfort. I'm riding on 40 mm tyres at around 30psi, stock Sonder Camino so fork is nothing special /exotic.
Also, although the Trig itself is only rated for 700x40 the fork will take a 45mm tyre so I could go larger at the front.
I have 45mm tyres both ends on mine, on 25mm internal rims, no problem.
I kept the stock alu handlebar but have it double-wrapped.
There are definitely sections where a suspension fork would be beneficial, but most of the time it's totally fine and comfortable enough.
(do Insta embeds work at the mo?)
Based on around 90% of folk I see riding gravel bikes, have you tried riding with bent elbows? You might need to build a bit of core strength too as a result.
have you tried riding with bent elbows?
And a looser grip on the bars can help too.
I've got Spank Vibrocore rims on my gravel bike. Taken in isolation not a big difference, but enough things that aren't a big difference on their own will add up to a more comfortable ride. Got a Redshift stem and really thick bar tape too.
I've got the Lauf smoothies, they're lovely but for the money don't offer much additional 'softness' and even then you really need to be in the drops to notice.
Biggest differences I've noticed are positional, basically slide saddle back as much as your pedalling position will tolerate (maybe drop saddle correspondingly to keep effective distance to pedals the same).
Also saddle shape and tilt are surprisingly significant. Saddles with a kicked up tail offer noticeable support to my low back but at the expense of tipping weight onto bars, so it can beva see-saw between weight off arms, but through low back instead, or less tension through low back but sore arms!
Like Scotroutes says, both scenarios can be improved with strength work, guess what I'm doing a lot of right now!
Specialized handlebar gel pads are wonderful for a bit of added comfort.
Cheap and effective.
I've sacked off the Jones bars, gone back to MTB bars and bought a cane creek flex stem.
The stem was too wobbly with the softer elastomers. I'm on the hardest one and it takes away a bit of trail buzz.
I'm not totally convinced. I might just put a suspension fork 
on.
Bit left field, but could you slide your saddle back a bit. Slightly counter intuitive, but this reduces the weight going through your shoulders, arms, hands and might reduce the discomfort. I'm riding on 40 mm tyres at around 30psi, stock Sonder Camino so fork is nothing special /exotic.
It took me ages to work this out but was a game changer for my comfort
Thanks all.
I'm a terrible swapper of stems and fiddler of saddle height/angle, I probably just need to settle on something and get used to it. Currently running 70x0 which isn't too acute a position and leaves a bend in the elbows.
A lighter grip is certainly a must. I've ridden my main bike, a flat bar Swift for approaching eight years (and continue to do so) and am very used to it. Anything else just feels different (perceived as wrong).
When on the flats I expect the bike to stop when I tense my fingers, which of course it doesn't, so I tend to be permanently welded to the hoods. Hopefully this'll change when I get more used to the drop bar/brake position.
I'll tinker with tyre pressure & perhaps a bigger tyre too.
But how big a tyre could you actually go to, irrelevant of what it's 'specced' at?
Example; my Free Ranger is stated to have a maximum tyre of 48mm - I've just put 2.1 Thunder Burt's on, measure at 51mm on 25mm internal rims. There's still mud room too.
Also, although the Trig itself is only rated for 700x40 the fork will take a 45mm tyre so I could go larger at the front.
I run 45mm front, 40mm rear, on my bike. For the same reasons. Works well.
Larger volume front tyre & a redshift shockstop stem. The stem is pretty effective at taking the edge of the worst knocks and trail buzz.
I was looking at those stems, is there any issue with feeling the bars rotating?
Larger volume front tyre & a redshift shockstop stem. The stem is pretty effective at taking the edge of the worst knocks and trail buzz.
I was looking at those stems, is there any issue with feeling the bars rotating?
Not really, nope.
I don't actually own one, but two of my mates have them on their gravel bikes and I keep meaning to get myself one.
One of my mates rides a Sonder Camino and is the same size as me, so I rode it quite extensively before making a decision to by myself a Camino as well. It does take a little bit of getting used to, but within 10mins or so it just felt normal. You are aware of a small amount of movement, but it's not distracting and quite subtle.
I guess like many of these things, it probably comes down a lot to personal preference and how much movement you are happy with.
Redshift stem and don't grip the bars so hard. Any carbon bar will offer additional compliance over alloy.
I've been considering a suspension stem recently, BBB do a really cheap one that may be worth trying:
https://www.bike24.de/p1893408.html
Otherwise, you could get an insert for the front wheel and drop the pressure way down?
I was looking at those stems, is there any issue with feeling the bars rotating?
Not really. You do notice it but it's not an issue and you get used to it very quickly. I have one on my Escapade, and the Futureshock on my Roubaix. I don't notice the rotation much going between the two, but I do notice that with the Redpoint you get a softer ride on the hoods than you do an the flats due to the leverage.
Just put an xc suspension fork and flat bars on it. "Gravel" 🙄
Specialized handlebar gel pads are wonderful for a bit of added comfort.
Cheap and effective.
Yep, I run the Fizik equivalent, basically gel strips under the bar-tape, and it works surprisingly well.
After that a bigger front tyre, 45mm is decent, and getting used to staying loose on the bike etc. But bigger tyres at an appropriate pressure make a big difference. My old cross bike with a 35mm rear and 40mm front, I think, was stupidly harsh, my Camino with 45mm front tyre is like a hovercraft in comparison.
That and adjusting your expectations maybe? Or splurge on a RockShox Rudy gravel fork if you're minted and don't mind some extra weight. But even then it's never going to feel like a mountain bike. Also, stuff kind of smooths out as you go faster, well, up to a point anyway. Then it ends badly 😀
I have the fox fork on my gravel bike but previously had the redshift stem. It was really rather good and really took the buzz out of the front end. Didn't notice much bar rotation.
The only downside is that the travel is affected by where you hold the bars.
I'd definitely recommend it.
The above are all good suggestions, improving your core strength also goes a long way to improving comfort on the front end as your body will support itself centrally and get beaten around a lot less.
Replacement fork combined with a significantly bigger-volume tyre?
Not sure how compliant it is relative to other forks, but I've ridden for 5+ years with an eXotic Monocoque carbon fork. It's now on my Cascade combined with a 29x2.2 Conti RaceKing, tubeless at 28psi (I could probably go lower psi) - almost exactly 55mm width on a 25mm internal rim. I've got a decent rise stem and shallow drop bars to keep a relatively high front end. Also double-wrapped the bars - added new tape over 12-mth old stuff.
I'm very aware my core strength is abysmal and needs work, as I can see how that would benefit not just this but also general control with hooning the MTB.
Just go for bigger tyres first mate. Might make all the difference you need.
Drop me a line if you want more info about frame clearance with 45s
+1 bigger tyres
I put a surly disc trucker fork on my aluminium gravel bike. I think it’s more comfortable than the basic carbon job it replaced
+1 on just bigger front tyre and +1 on the gel pads under tape. Inexpensive and effective
Since doing that on mine i'v been abe to fully let the brakes off on pretty bumpy cobbled dh sections that were previously horrid to ride.
I'm into keeping grv bike as mechanically simple as poss so not into fancy stems or sus forks.
Ooh actually, one thing I did was get some of those old school foam grips from drop bars and put them under the bar tape. If you split the ones for the tops lengthwise, they can fit nicely around cables.
Make sure you have decent length bar tape though, and watch the overlaps as you are wrapping. The additional girth can leave you short if your not careful!
Where did the Terrano Dry tyres come from. I’ve read the good reviews so was expecting good things, but the OEM versions that came on my gravel bike are quite wooden feeling and weighed over 700g each. Swapping to GravelKing SS in 42mm made a huge difference.
I have the Easton bar you have(CRC selloff) with Easton pinline cushioned tape and it was a comfort and fit improvement for me over the stock alloy bar, so don’t blame it, it will be doing its job. Bigger, supple tyre up front first!
Bigger front tyre and tubeless make a huge difference. We went from 42mm to 47mm and it’s noticeable
Where did the Terreno Dry tyres come from. I’ve read the good reviews so was expecting good things, but the OEM versions that came on my gravel bike are quite wooden feeling and weighed over 700g each.
There are definitely cheap OEM Terrenos out there, I think the all black sidewalls are a giveaway. The aftermarket TNT ones are ~500g.
I got my Terreno Drys from Merlin. They're 120tpi, folding bead & TLR (tubeless light) and don't appear on the Vittoria site anymore. Dry's now seem to be provided in 2 versions, the premium Endurance line and a much cheaper Adventure line (cheaper, non-graphene casing, low TPI, not tubeless & possibly rigid bead).
The decent versions are a nice tyre (I've ridden 29x2.1" versions on my Swift) and there seem to be some good deals around too.
32” is the new 29”
Go for the larger front tyre. Lower pressures get rid of a lot of vibration.
