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I've not been on here for a very long time and I am so out of touch with what's what in the cycling world, so some help/advice/ribbing would be appreciated.
I've decided that I need to take advantage of the C2W scheme and get my butt back in the saddle. I currently have an Orange P7 29er which is great at doing mtb things, but it's absolutely awful to ride from my door, as all I have is flatness, bridleways and canal paths. I know that gravel bikes are the new "thing" and after looking at Hybrids a rugged drop bar bike would suit (I had a Giant TCX many moons ago) and one that's a bit more relaxed would be great. After lots of Google fu and YouTube, I'm currently torn between the Sonder Al Camino and the Marin XR.
My main issue ATM is geo and gearing, at a lofty 5'7" ish with monkey arms, I seem to be in between sizes. The ratios on the Marin's 1x look meh, whereas I could get a 2x Camino. Or am I completely missing the point?
Final question are the new suspension seat posts worth it? I.e. the Crane Creek one
Thanks for reading my ramblings.
I got a Camino earlier this year, 1x GRX with the upgraded wheels and the Cane Creek post.
It's good, the post does reduce the chatter but the front still feels the bumps if that makes sense.
Mine is probably heavier than I would like but as of yet I haven't made any effort to tackle that.
I'm 5'10 on a medium, I went +10mm on the stem and the reach is perhaps a touch short but I wouldn't go larger on the toptube.
Thanks for the insight. How's the 1x when it comes to going up and cruising along on the flat?
I have a Camino in 1 x flavour, you can spin out on flat stuff but by that point it’s normally road or something dull in which case going even faster doesn’t make it more interesting. More than enough to get up anything.
I've also got a camino. I use it for getting to work as well as going to meetings and things. I've put in a lot of miles on it.
1x is great. It hits a good sweet spot of low maintenance vs solid performance. I only run out of gears on longer downhills and it goes low enough to cope with most bridleway climbs.
I can't comment on sizing as I'm 6'2" and usually on the biggest bike I can get. Nor on seatposts. I've never thought "this would be much nicer with a suspension post" but I often wish for a dropper.
I've had my camino over 4 years and it's been a faithful sidekick for all kinds of utility and fun riding
How’s the 1x when it comes to going up and cruising along on the flat?<br /><br />
Being a mountain biker I love 1x but I don’t care for perfect ratios / cadence. Those coming from road biking are probably fussier and want the in between gears. Where do you fit in to that?
What I did find though was that out the box my 11 speed Rival Camino wasn’t geared low enough for where I want to take it.
I now run 11-51 cassette on mine and it’s perfect, I usually run a 38T chainring. I’m just dipping my toes in to the bikepacking world and for the Badger Divide with a loaded bike fired a 32T ring, which is probably lower than a lot of people run on their mountain bikes.
I'm 5'6 on a small Camino - 30" inside leg. Personally, I wouldn't want to go any longer.
I went for 1x gearing. If you compare ratios, 2x doesn't give you anymore range, just tighter gears. Maybe better if you ride on road a lot.
This is my first 1x bike and I was a bit worried about the ratios, but it's been fine so far. It's a great bike.
I upgraded the wheels to the Alpha ones and the flatter saddle (Kura, or something) which I find very comfy, as well as the tubeless set-up.
Regarding suspension/comfort I keep thinking about getting a Redshift stem & seatpost.
I’m on 2x here. I’d want a really wide range cassette to get away with 1x
But we are all built differently
Can you get a to a Alpkit store for a test ride? I wouldn’t worry too much about sizing. Drop bars give a bit more wiggle room to tune with different stems
I'm 2* up front on the pinnacle arkose 2.
30 and 46 teeth. The 16t jump is usually too big for me without changing into a different gear at the rear.
I wanted 2* up front as where I live there are some decent downhills where 40mph+ speeds can occur so the bigger chainring is beneficial.
Out back it is a 9 speed 11-36 I think which occasionally isn't low enough but I encounter traction problems with the narrower and harder tyres around the same time.
Size wise I would of liked to go one size smaller (L → M) so I would have had the option of a longer seatpost out of the frame. But the price was right and the bike fits fine.
I'll fit a win wing to it to stop the spray and try and get out on it again soon
Thanks for the replies, unfortunately it's close to a 2 hours drive to the nearest Alpkit store. So it's a bit of a mission to go there (family and work). I've found somewhere reasonably close, where I can go and sling my leg over the Marin.
I think ive settled that 1x12/11 would do me right, as low maintenance does appeal and I am not that fussy about close road ratios. As long as I can get a move on, on the flat, I'll be happy.