Gravel/Bikepack nerds enter...

[bodywhomper]

I understand the geo of some road bikes makes them super twitchy on fast descents, but my steel mid-90’s colnago fucking rails on descents. Tracks amazingly. Slightly and subtle hip movements. Passing cars. Twisty roads where you can just open it up. Reminds me of smooth tight single track, but a lot faster. It’s a dangerous obsession.

Maybe that’s obtainable from a price point gravel bike, but….

[jhyatt]

Looks like it will recommend a Large if you have a 33.5 inseam and are half an inch taller. Guessing it estimates an ideal reach for you given the measurements you input, but makes that secondary to stack. Could probably go either way and adjust the fit by changing the stem and adding/removing spacers and be totally fine.

Hmm... Thanks you are correct with height of 72.5...


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[bfree]

I sort of agree with bodywhomper. I'll choose my 14# Emonda (rim brakes) every time for smooth descents, the steeper and curvier the better. My steel Seven Axiom is also super fun to rip down a 3000' pass at 60mph.

BUT I've been riding road bikes for nearly 30 years and love the quick handling, and rim brakes are perfectly fine if you don't use them much (I'm light and go fast).

For people who don't prioritize max performance, a gravel bike will be a better choice. Ms CE, for example, has a nice Bianchi road bike and hasn't ridden it once outside since getting the Revolt. She immediately preferred the slower handling and better brakes, not to mention the low gears. She does 80-100mi pavement rides with 8000' of climbing on her second wheelset shod with 28s.

Cool, I can appreciate that. TBH I'm kind of a noob to my gravel bike and haven't done much for twisty smooth road descents on it yet. There's not a whole lot of that around here, and probably the best one got chip-sealed a few years back 

[rideit]

I understand the geo of some road bikes makes them super twitchy on fast descents, but my steel mid-90’s colnago fucking rails on descents. Tracks amazingly. Slightly and subtle hip movements. Passing cars. Twisty roads where you can just open it up. Reminds me of smooth tight single track, but a lot faster. It’s a dangerous obsession.….

Two or three years ago I got obsessed with Strava road descents and KOM attempts. (At 54, I wasn’t going to get any on the climbs, lol).
I was WAY faster, confident, and had more control on the gravel bike with 38 Gravel Kings than I ever was on the road bike. Hit over 64 coming down Teton Pass, and never even felt scared…which was the scariest thing about it. However, I hit some centerline pavement crack at 60 that I might not have been able to keep it together on the roadie.
I’m lucky I’m alive, really.

[Peruvian]

Is Lael really always this upbeat?

[huckbucket]

Cross frame is the answer. SuperX can either be a fun single-track whip or a road demon depending on wheels and cockpit.

[buttahflake]

No, cross frames are steep and high, meant to be ridden for an hour or so, on tight off-camber grass and mud. That geometry is not at all conducive to all day rides. Also tire clearance on cross frames leaves a lot to be desired.

[huckbucket]

No, cross frames are steep and high, meant to be ridden for an hour or so, on tight off-camber grass and mud. That geometry is not at all conducive to all day rides. Also tire clearance on cross frames leaves a lot to be desired.

If you're used to road frames, then I think they're just about perfect. I have 42's on mine and the bike is a blast at 20psi on single track using compact. Just don't ask me to go off any jumps. It's also plenty zippy for those routes that are half dirt, half road.

[buttahflake]

If it works for you and you like riding it, thumbs up. Have you done any four or five hour rides on it?

[::: :::]

If you're used to road frames, then I think they're just about perfect. I have 42's on mine and the bike is a blast at 20psi on single track using compact. Just don't ask me to go off any jumps. It's also plenty zippy for those routes that are half dirt, half road.

That summary piqued my curiosity
Now I wanna try a bike like that (never been on a “gravel” bike)

[Vt-Freeheel]

I have ridden a Super X back to back with my Slate and it's certainly twitchyer

[huckbucket]

That summary piqued my curiosity
Now I wanna try a bike like that (never been on a “gravel” bike)

Ironically, I don't think it's any different than the new trend of road bikes that can accomodate big tires. Maybe the cross frame is a little more capable (mud clearence, a little more slack)

[huckbucket]

If it works for you and you like riding it, thumbs up. Have you done any four or five hour rides on it?

Done several thre-day bike packing trips with it. Last one was ~90/day with ~7500' climbing/day on mixed road and gravel. I'm sure I would have been more comfortable on a dedicated gravel geo frame, but we were definitely more efficient in terms of speed.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

No, cross frames are steep and high, meant to be ridden for an hour or so, on tight off-camber grass and mud. That geometry is not at all conducive to all day rides. Also tire clearance on cross frames leaves a lot to be desired.

On this we agree!


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[jhyatt]

Ironically, I don't think it's any different than the new trend of road bikes that can accomodate big tires. Maybe the cross frame is a little more capable (mud clearence, a little more slack)

A true cyclocross racing frame has a higher BB to clear stuff and a larger front triangle to make it easier to shoulder.
no rack or fender mounts.
And often no bottle mounts, either. Open triangle for shouldering.
Steeper.
I feel like I only see true racing bikes at... Races!
I feel like cross bikes were the precursor to gravel bikes and they started making them for cross/gravel.
Or something like that

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[Tech Tonics]

This is all great info

I certainly don’t descend on my Colnago anywhere near it’s speed limit. Those tiny tires and rim brakes and geometry have me super gripped.

Currently in South America but will be selling the Colnago and pulling the trigger on a gravel bike asap


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[huckbucket]

A true cyclocross racing frame has a higher BB to clear stuff and a larger front triangle to make it easier to shoulder.
no rack or fender mounts.
And often no bottle mounts, either. Open triangle for shouldering.
Steeper.
I feel like I only see true racing bikes at... Races!
I feel like cross bikes were the precursor to gravel bikes and they started making them for cross/gravel.
Or something like that

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All (semi)accurate. SuperX has bottle mounts and I obviously load it up with bags that don't require rack or fender mounts. I'm obviously not taking it on the tour of the divide though.

Works for me mostly because I love my position on my road bike.

[forty]

On gentle descents maybe, but on anything challenging I'm glad to have modern hydraulic disc brakes.

@forty, apparently it's pretty big if you want to put a 60mm stem on it?

no not at all, what i meant to imply is that i dont think upsizing stem length for larger size frames makes sense for gravel bikes, they should all come with 60, its a dumb leftover trend from road bikes

[bodywhomper]

Two or three years ago I got obsessed with Strava road descents and KOM attempts. (At 54, I wasn’t going to get any on the climbs, lol).
I was WAY faster, confident, and had more control on the gravel bike with 38 Gravel Kings than I ever was on the road bike. Hit over 64 coming down Teton Pass, and never even felt scared…which was the scariest thing about it. However, I hit some centerline pavement crack at 60 that I might not have been able to keep it together on the roadie.
I’m lucky I’m alive, really.

I don’t use computer stuff on my bikes. My road rides often focus of fun descents. In the SF east bay, i often road a typical loop in the opposite direction of the bike clubs because the descent was more fun (idk Wtf those club guys were thinking).

By me, there are fun/scary and fun/fun descents. If it’s been a while, I’ll sometimes scope the fun/scary descents for things that might make them suck, like dirt or new cracks. There’s a (supposedly) 38% road near me that is a straight shot: fun scary (but holy shit!).

A close friend got into gravel riding partially to lessen risk of very high speed road crashes and increase challenges on dirt. It worked well for him except he can’t ride much anymore due to likely long covid .

[grabtindy]

Whelp, the cult has sucked me in. I gave up my road bike 8 years ago, but just ordered this beauty from the lbs:

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Anyone looking for a new gravel bike that nails being both wildly expensive AND completely perplexing?

[climberevan]

That thing has always confused me. Putting flat bars on it basically makes it into a hardtail, but it looks even weirder.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Right? It's not for me, but I get there are people stoked to own a drop bar version of that bike. That build is so confusing though. Wouldn't a hardtail just make so much more sense?

[grskier]

Whelp, the cult has sucked me in. I gave up my road bike 8 years ago, but just ordered this beauty from the lbs:

You're killing me. You have one of the best groad rides out your front door. Text me when this arrives.

[Kevo]

50 mile lunch ride today. Forecast was rain, so I kept it close to home.








At mile 30 I made a decision to head up another canyon based on weather radar. Ended up getting caught in a fairly torrential rain storm. So. Much. Mud.



Still lots of fun. Hats off to Muck Off Bike wash. That stuff is incredible.