School me: CX vs 'gravel' vs roadie disc

[bagtagley]

My neighbor lent me a Masi CXR-Comp for the week. I did my first gravel road ride yesterday; about 19 miles of 95% gravel. I owned a road bike years ago, and do a charity road ride once a year on whatever roadie I can borrow, but beyond that, I have very little to compare it to.

Initially it felt like road riding, only rougher. However, as I got comfortable and the speeds increased, I kinda started to "get it". Compared to the road, there are very few cars to deal with, better scenery, tighter turns, fast rollers, varied terrain. Railing those loose corners was terrifyingly fun. As I mentioned, I don't have much to compare it to, but I could see the value in the slightly lower BB, longer wheelbase and slacker HTA offered by a so-called gravel road bike. The mechanical discs were total shit. This definitely could be helped by some adjusting and replacing the cables, but it's also a reminder of why I dislike mechanical disc brakes.

I've got a couple more rides planned, including some mellow singletrack. I'll decide then whether or not this is something I "need" to own.

[chaka]

Damn that Norco Search looks really nice for a do it all. I've been happy with a Felt F3X as my 'utility' bike (commuting, all round road, some gravel here and there) but this may be the winter where I get frustrated enough by the clip on fenders to consider a new rig.

[The Suit]

Decision has been made!

Norco Search XR 58cm.
£2300 retail
-£250 for their trade in offer.....I spent 20 on this thing but than had to get it back to my buddies place so I attached it to the rack on the public bike like this.....Attachment 166282
+Conti GP 4000's x28c £60 for the pair.
-£350 VAT (tax) because I'm leaving the EU within 90 days.
=new bike with new tires (after losing a few % on the credit card forex fee) for $3200 Canadian....not bad for a bike that has a CAD $4700 retail. Stoked!
Attachment 166283
Sorry it's not the red one......

Hey powtario - how are you liking your Search? My brother-in-law is thinking about getting one and he asked me for advice.

[alfajores]

Just bought a Diamondback Carbon EXP and can say quality and build are really good compared to recent rides. Ratings from reviewers are equally praising. Touring drops and full carbon on a cross touring platform?!? I have a few cx bikes to sell now.

[alfajores]

Building up a 60cm SOMA DoubleCross with campy parts and avid disc brakes. Thompson and Ritchey parts and some options on parts. If you are interested, let me know!

[Groomer Gambler]

Spotted this today. Cross perfection!

[alfajores]

SOMA Double Cross

[alfajores]

Diamondback Haanjo EXP Carbon converted to SRAM Red and XX+XO and XT drivetrain

[jamal]

Hey this thread again. I still have the same CX bike, although I tried to sell it a few times



It does have a tallish bottom bracket and a steep headtube. I like it as a race bike, but it's not as good for general riding. Descending a forest road at higher speeds gets pretty twitchy and the brakes aren't great. It also has a pretty stiff frame so riding on the road with 23-28mm road tires sucks. I have some 32 Clement stradas on there now which is nice. The higher BB is useful in a race since it lets you keep pedaling in some corners. We have had a lot of races with grass lately, which has a lot of grip and you can really lean the bike over. Being able to get in a couple extra pedal strokes helps.

I'm going to keep it for awhile longer, and go to a 1x drivetrain and wider tubeless wheels/tires for this race season. However, something more gravel/touring ready is definitely on the radar. I really like the look of the Kona Sutra LTD, I think that would work great for long off road rides and bikepacking since it will fit a 2.1" tire

http://www.konaworld.com/sutra_ltd.cfm

[plugboots]

Just asking...why not get someone to make you a bike you want?

[teledad]

Is that a Terra? Mini-Vs will work a lot better than those canti brakes (and still be compatible with road levers). Aside from mud clearance and tradition I don't know why anyone would want to run cantis at this point (given the alternatives).

[jamal]

Yes, a terra, and I do plan to go to mini-vs. Friend has some TRPs he's taken off his ritchey because the cable routing and stops aren't really compatible with them. On my bike it will actually work better, giving a more direct housing routing to the calipers compared to the cantis. So it will be like a whole new bike this season- probably sram rival 1, hed ardennes (although china carbon tubulars are tempting), and the carbon sram cranks off my old road bike.

plugboots do you mean me? I bought it mostly to race, and it is good for that. And it was heavily discounted.

[plugboots]

plugboots do you mean me? I bought it mostly to race, and it is good for that. And it was heavily discounted.

Yes. Instead of a Kona whatever, why not get something made exactly like you want from a builder? You just mentioned discount, so there's that.

[jamal]

Not a whole lot I would change on that kona sutra. Maybe a carbon fork and some fancy wheels would be nice? I don't see a custom built bike that is basically the same thing coming in at $1500ish.

[plugboots]

Not a whole lot I would change on that kona sutra. Maybe a carbon fork and some fancy wheels would be nice? I don't see a custom built bike that is basically the same thing coming in at $1500ish.

It's funny, I ride DEANS because I was introduced to the owner/builder years ago, so now I'd feel guilty if he knew I rode something else.

[jackattack]

gravel = roadie manners + cx tires.