Gravel Grinders as Road Bikes

[plugboots]

the new bike i'm looking at has Tubeless with 23mm interior width!

Which brand? Any others you looked at?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Is everybody or anybody riding the new wider rims for this? Mavics are 17 now, as are Stan's and some others are going wider. Makes sense to me.

I've been using Mavic T519s for ages on my rough road touring bike. 24.5 width. I think they're great for tires 32-45 mm wide.

[robrox]

Haha. Great analogy that's relevant to so many bike upgrades. Only true route to faster is a better motor.

Yup, this change was all about getting the 34t cog and the 34t small chainwheel going, mostly so I won't have to walk on Lincoln Gap. The 28c is because most of the riding is paved, but on any ride there could be too much dirt for a 25c under my 190lb carcass.

Already tested the 34x34 on an 18% grade. It was not long, but sitting to spin it made me grin.

[buttahflake]

Which brand? Any others you looked at?

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/renegadeexpert.html

[MrDirt]

I've been selling the shit out of gravel bikes at my shop, but I think anyone with experience on faster bikes and still able to tolerate moderately aggressive geometry is going to be disappointed in their performance. I haven't found that many of them live up to the claim of having a lot of vertical compliance without giving up lateral rigidity. We got a shipment of the new future shock'd specialized roubaix's in a few weeks ago, which I thought were super cheesy until I blasted one around some of the shitty pot-hole ridden and speed-bumped roads around our shop. It is the fastest couch I've ever ridden. Stiff as hell, but the cockpit is completely isolated from it. Cornering traction and confidence is unreal. If you don't see yourself needing anything bigger than 32's, it is definitely worth a test ride.

I like the current crop of cross bikes for do-it-all drop bar duty since the BB drops have been getting more favorable. Picked up a new '17 TCX last month and swapped to an 11-42t cassette and 40c Nano's. It's been a hoot for some of the steeper rutted out gravel trails in my area and light singletrack duty. Planning on a second wheelset for some 28's, but it's nice to know I also have the clearance for 45mm in the frame and 51 in the fork. Really neat, fast bike.

[bodywhomper]

Here's mine in its current fashion

[robrox]

... We got a shipment of the new future shock'd specialized roubaix's in a few weeks ago, which I thought were super cheesy until I blasted one around some of the shitty pot-hole ridden and speed-bumped roads around our shop. It is the fastest couch I've ever ridden. Stiff as hell, but the cockpit is completely isolated from it. Cornering traction and confidence is unreal. If you don't see yourself needing anything bigger than 32's, it is definitely worth a test ride.
...

If you have any of the Roubaix SL4 Disc models, they have the Tiagra 4700 kit with 11-34t cassette. Just upgraded my 2013 Secteur to the same Tiagra 4700*. No Zerts on my bike but the 2014 version had Zerts.

*Compatibility note: 4700 series compact 175 Tiagra cranks were hard to get so I went with the 5600 series 105 crank and BB. Works nicely and the bike is 1/2 pound lighter than when it had all that Sora junk on it

[MrDirt]

If you have any of the Roubaix SL4 Disc models, they have the Tiagra 4700 kit with 11-34t cassette. Just upgraded my 2013 Secteur to the same Tiagra 4700*. No Zerts on my bike but the 2014 version had Zerts.

*Compatibility note: 4700 series compact 175 Tiagra cranks were hard to get so I went with the 5600 series 105 crank and BB. Works nicely and the bike is 1/2 pound lighter than when it had all that Sora junk on it

I'm pretty consistently impressed with the mid level groups like Tiagra and 105. Super easy to set up and shifts are crisp and precise. That said... My first ride on UDi2 was like only listening to grunty hard rock all your life... Then someone plays you Mozart. Same as the new roubaix... Thought it was a gimmick till I rode it.

[robrox]

Thought it was a gimmick till I rode it.

Thought that about index shifters in the 1980's...learned that progress, while sometimes painful, brings better ideas out and the best of them can thrive. Imagine the learning curve of manually controlling shifts on 11 cog cassets with friction levers....

Here in NE we have some steep dirt roads so the 34t cogs really come in handy...heck some of the paved sections get above 22 percent. Flat bar riders have even more options, as some of the pics show...those can even tame the crazy steep roads around PGH.

[bsavery]

Yes. Many I believe. Kona roadhouse is one.

And a Reynolds 853 frame no less!

[Smiley]

Nice looking bike farmguy! I used to ride a 2011 BMC SL01 Roadracer and it was a great bike, but i couldn't fit anything larger than a 25mm Michelin Pro4 endurance tire on it (stretched to 28mm after a couple weeks..) that said i just replaced it with a 2016 Norco Search Ultegra and am quite stoked with its performance. It is slightly more upright than the BMC, but not much. Running the stock 35's tubeless and they are a bit slower on road, but work great off. My usual rides are 20% good pavement, 20% shit pavement and 60% mixed smooth dirt and gravel/singletrack. I don't race but could see 2 wheel sets for those times when i would like a pure road tire to keep up with the roadies.

Attachment 188157

My gravel/winter/go anyplace beat the crap out of bike.
Transition Rapture steel frame with adjustable rear triangle for single speed setup.
SRAM force shifter and SRAM XO long cage MTB DR
BB-7 mech disc brakes 180 frt 160 rear
BB-30 bottom bracket, 38 th chainring
11/40 rear cass.
Kenda Happy Medium 40mm front
Kenda Small block 38mm 8 rear
Aclass tubeless wheels

I put a few hundred miles on it as a SS then just converted to a 1X10 for winter riding and so far it is a blast. The frame will last forever and I can put slicks on if I need to for a road ride, but I like exploring the gravel more.

[farmguy]

Thanks, I forgot to add this pic of the rear triangle adjustment. Pretty simple really, 2 allen screws on each side, you just loosen the bolts and adjust them in or out depending on your SS gear selection. For gears they recommend them tightened all the way in. It is a lot easier them the eccentric BB that my friends ride with, plus their BB's seem to squeak all the time.

[chaka]

what others have said: very nice ride, FarmGuy. I've been commuting on a Felt F3X for three years in Seattle eastside area and am desperate to get onto a frame with true fender mounts, the half-diameter clip ons wear a guy down to tears during the winter months. Been doing a lot of research on the 'gravel' category, I like the looks of the niner RLT and the Raleigh Roker Comp. Similar desired usage as described by others here... I want something I can thrash day to day commuting on a mix of pavement, bad pavement and gravel trail, and occasionally strip down and ride in a century at a good clip. The Felt has done that fine except for the shitty fender coverage and no rack option (god I'm getting old, I seriously curse the Ortleib black sack of death on my back most mornings).

I've found the Schwalbe S-one to be a great commuter tire. the little dimples deliver great traction on everything I encounter and the 30c width tubeless seems near perfect for me.

[plugboots]

I just put the Scwalbe 1 tubeless 23 on my road bike. Fucking most difficult tire I've ever put on a rim.

[buttahflake]

I'm loving my new bike, 2017 Jamis Renegade Expert.
Thru-axles front and rear, so stiff!
Tracks so pure. I'm running WTB Riddlers, tubeless at 37 pounds. The Shimano Hydraulic road levers are the best thing ever! So much modulation. Perfect for the gnarly Class 6 roads. Some fun events around here this fall. I'm doing the Vermont Forest Fondo on Sunday. 51 miles with 6,000 vert. Peak foliage and BBQ and beers.

Pic is from before I went tubeless

[cinnepa]

what others have said: very nice ride, FarmGuy. I've been commuting on a Felt F3X for three years in Seattle eastside area and am desperate to get onto a frame with true fender mounts, the half-diameter clip ons wear a guy down to tears during the winter months. Been doing a lot of research on the 'gravel' category, I like the looks of the niner RLT and the Raleigh Roker Comp. Similar desired usage as described by others here... I want something I can thrash day to day commuting on a mix of pavement, bad pavement and gravel trail, and occasionally strip down and ride in a century at a good clip. The Felt has done that fine except for the shitty fender coverage and no rack option (god I'm getting old, I seriously curse the Ortleib black sack of death on my back most mornings).

I've found the Schwalbe S-one to be a great commuter tire. the little dimples deliver great traction on everything I encounter and the 30c width tubeless seems near perfect for me.

was looking at the niner rlt - really stiff was the review on it....not sure I wanted that on fire roads.....ended up going specialized diverge; coming this friday

[chaka]

Butta - thanks for reminding me of the Renegade Expert! Can you confirm if it has mounts for both fenders and pannier/rack? If yes to fenders, want to guess with what size tire? Also, sizing seems a little wonky, with me being somewhere between the 51 and 54. What size did you get, and do you think it feels big or small for the size. thanks!

[buttahflake]

It does indeed have mounts for fenders and panniers. And extra bottles and whatnot. It has room for 40's, not sure how fat you can go with fenders. I'm 5'10 in bare feet. And had heard they run big, debated between the 54 and 56. I went with the 56, and I'm glad I did. It fits perfect. Bar height is exactly the same as my old OCLV Trek road bike, which is a 58. The sloping top tube, compact frame is tits! Look at those seatstays. Compliant and built for all day affairs. And then look at the bottom bracket, it's freaking massive. And with the chunky chainstays. It delivers, this bike is a joy to just stand and hammer on. Thru axles on this kind of bike are a must have. The Felt rental/demo I was on for a couple of gnarly rides, had QR's and you could hear the discs rubbing in corners. I love this bike

[chaka]

It does indeed have mounts for fenders and panniers. And extra bottles and whatnot. It has room for 40's, not sure how fat you can go with fenders. I'm 5'10 in bare feet. And had heard they run big, debated between the 54 and 56. I went with the 56, and I'm glad I did. It fits perfect. Bar height is exactly the same as my old OCLV Trek road bike, which is a 58. The sloping top tube, compact frame is tits! Look at those seatstays. Compliant and built for all day affairs. And then look at the bottom bracket, it's freaking massive. And with the chunky chainstays. It delivers, this bike is a joy to just stand and hammer on. Thru axles on this kind of bike are a must have. The Felt rental/demo I was on for a couple of gnarly rides, had QR's and you could hear the discs rubbing in corners. I love this bike

thanks for the info and agree on the thru axles. good insights on the fit. the sizing is bizarre to me. most manufacturers land a size on an ETT of about 540. the 51 is 532 and 54 is 551. I probably wont be able to ride one before buying. like the longer wheelbase on the 54. I suppose I could go for the 54 and if stretched get a 90 stem. thanks again for the info, Renegade now solidly on the list.

[chaka]

was looking at the niner rlt - really stiff was the review on it....not sure I wanted that on fire roads.....ended up going specialized diverge; coming this friday

congrats on the new ride!

[Abol98]

Lots of great stuff in this thread. I now own two CX bikes, but never race cross - one is one commuting duty and I was planning to build up a gravel specific machine wtih aforementioned laid out geometry but ran across a Foundry Auger frame on Clist for a price that I still (almost) feel guilty about. I threw on Challenge strada biancas and the 53x39 / 11-26 road group I had at the time with the intention of swapping it out for a 48T 1X group I had on order. Fast forward a year and I haven't really changed a thing, I've really enjoyed jammin' on the paths and limited gravel we have around Chicago on this thing, sometimes going inappropriately fast. The CX geo sometimes assists with late-arriving obstacles and I don't need to take crit-corners on these rides. With this setup I can also keep up with my roadie crew by running regular tires. I obsess over builds as much as the next guy, but this has been the bike that I just always have fun on - a good lesson for myself on not overthinking things.

The strada biancas are the sht, btw. I think the fast rolling tires are one of the reasons I've gotten away with a 53.

[jamal]

The strada biancas are the sht, btw. I think the fast rolling tires are one of the reasons I've gotten away with a 53.

Yeah- high volume, high thread count tires are the way to go. Almost all of my tires for all my bikes are 120tpi or higher. People and websites and magazines love to go on and on about frame compliance and materials and geometry and all that but the biggest thing that will effect ride and comfort and handling is the tires.

One of my favorite quick rides is to go up to this gate



Can keep going, all the way to the ski hill and make a loop out of it but it gets annoyingly steep for awhile (and you can even ride up above the ski hill to 8k ft). I need to get some better gearing on that bike, 1x11 with something in the 40 x 11-36 to 44 x 11-32 range. Plan to put together a new road bike next year so will probably be okay without a bigger chainring.

[Abol98]

(Let's see if I get photo privileges now) Jealous of your elevation opportunities. The other reason I can get away with a 53 is that our local gravel is about like this. When it gets messy I have Challenge Almanzos. Big fans of both, although I understand why guys need more robust rubber for Kansas and some other places. I do still have the 48T 1x groupset on hand but the fun factor of the build as-is means I'll probably sell it. Although, that new Ritchy Outback is calling... (N+1)

My friend is building an RLT this month, excited see how that plays out for her.

[buttahflake]

Perfect day for it!
Love this bike

[buttahflake]

Yeah- high volume, high thread count tires are the way to go. Almost all of my tires for all my bikes are 120tpi or higher. People and websites and magazines love to go on and on about frame compliance and materials and geometry and all that but the biggest thing that will effect ride and comfort and handling is the tires.

One of my favorite quick rides is to go up to this gate



Can keep going, all the way to the ski hill and make a loop out of it but it gets annoyingly steep for awhile (and you can even ride up above the ski hill to 8k ft). I need to get some better gearing on that bike, 1x11 with something in the 40 x 11-36 to 44 x 11-32 range. Plan to put together a new road bike next year so will probably be okay without a bigger chainring.

I built my new rig with a Wolf Tooth roadlink
I'm running 50/34 with an 11-40 out back.
I can climb walls on this thing!