Gravel/Bikepack nerds enter...

[CantDog]

Did some exploring around Sandwich Notch in NH. Gorgeous colors, snow capped Presidentials in the distance, really nice gravel and some fun FS trails. Really cool area I haven’t explored before.


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[Peruvian]

^^^Looks lovely, CD.

20 mph headwinds on the way back in were slightly mitigated by narrow dirt roads yesterday. Any open dairy fields were brutal.

[Laps]

CD, did you ride all the way throughthe notch? I grew up a couple
Miles from there. Climb from Sandwich into the notch is no joke!


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[CantDog]

CD, did you ride all the way throughthe notch? I grew up a couple
Miles from there. Climb from Sandwich into the notch is no joke!


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Yeah it’s no joke! There were a couple of kicks that were rough, made harder by the fact the road isn’t wide enough to go back and forth. And no way I was going to stop part way up to let cars by.

We climbed from Sandwich and then turned left on Forest Service 206. Map shows that going through towards Waterville Village/Campton, but it disappears so used some singletrack to drop down towards pavement. Connected up to Page Rd and used that to climb back up and drop down to the river, and back into the notch via the Beebee river road/trail. The descent from there back into Centre Sandwich was awesome!

[Laps]

Used to be able to make it through in my truck (early 90s) but I don’t think it sees much traffic now. Rode through from Campton thru to Sandwich about 10 years ago now and yeah, that descent is fun.


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[CantDog]

Used to be able to make it through in my truck (early 90s) but I don’t think it sees much traffic now. Rode through from Campton thru to Sandwich about 10 years ago now and yeah, that descent is fun.


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There were a bunch of young looking trees but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where the ‘road’ disappeared to. If I had more time I’d follow it back from the other end to see if it was possible to connect up, but the parallel descent was still sketchy fun on a gravel bike. Looks like a lot of stuff to ride in there, although I’m not sure how much hiker traffic some of it gets. I circled where I got stuck—that eventually dumps out on Goose Hollow.


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[Laps]

Yup. We used to drive up there and party back in the day. Goose hollow pops out by a campground w/a big fiberglass bear? (Or at least used to) I have to get over there and pome around again.


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[evdog]

Got a puncture on the way down, way up there, and decided to try to plug it. Which didn't work. And I forgot my pump and only had one 16g co2. So I rode the rest of the way down on about 8psi in the front tire, walking over rocks, going super slow. Made it to the road, got partway down, and pow, pinch flat. So, some walking and call for a ride. it was pretty dark by the time I got picked up. Having to walk all the way out from where I got the first flat would not have been good, not sure what I was thinking with that plug. I did at least have lights, a jacket, gloves, and bear spray. And some candy to eat while I walked.

I've had one of those rides. Started a last-minute 2-3 day bikepack trip on a Friday evening. About 15 miles in I noticed my rear tire was low. Went to pump it up and the presta side of my trusty hand pump that hasn't failed in 15 yrs wouldn't work. Air would come out the shraeder side just fine. Digging around in my pack I found that my CO2 and presta/shraeder adaptor were missing. I'd lost even more air trying to get the pump to work. Tried calling a couple friends who lived in the area but no one picked up on a Friday night. So I nursed it a few miles down the dirt road and then took an alternate pavement route 6 miles back to town where there was a gas station hoping it would have something that would work. No dice.

It was getting on to 10pm now. Pulling up a map in my phone I saw there was a Walmart about 4 miles further that was open til 11. I called to check if they had a hand pump with presta valve and they did. I nursed the bike over there and got the pump, CO2 and an adaptor for good measure. Aired the tire back up, but I'd wasted about 2.5 hrs on all this which would make it too much of a stretch to finish my route at a decent time on Sunday. So I mapped out a route back to my truck. Finished around 1am with around 35 miles. It turned out the valve core was gunked up with sealant the old pump couldn't push air past.

Thanks for this perspective. Mine are 4,6 and 8 and sometimes I question why... good to know they have a purpose later in life! :-)

Don't they get sent off to work in the Nike factory around age 6?

[xyz]

10pcs Bicycle Valve Core Stem Presta Style Tyre Valve Core for Tubeless Road Bike MTB Bike https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07S1DXHVC/...ing=UTF8&psc=1

[slowroastin]

Hey, Im interested in a Cutthroat and found a 2017 Sram Force 1 with frame pack and gascan included for $2000. It looks to be in good shape.

I prefer a more upright position and Ive read the new generation is slightly less mountain bike-ish.

Is this one worth checking out? I feel the price is good. Its a few hours away by car.


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[Peruvian]

Hey, Im interested in a Cutthroat and found a 2017 Sram Force 1 with frame pack and gascan included for $2000. It looks to be in good shape.

I prefer a more upright position and Ive read the new generation is slightly less mountain bike-ish.

Is this one worth checking out? I feel the price is good. Its a few hours away by car.


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There are lots of reviews online about this bike. read them over and make sure it’s the right frame size for your application.

The MSRP was about $4k so $2k sounds reasonable.

[slowroastin]

There are lots of reviews online about this bike. read them over and make sure it’s the right frame size for your application.

The MSRP was about $4k so $2k sounds reasonable.

Ive read all about them on bikepacking.com and such. The non-boost and awkward fork mounts are the only negative I can find.


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[Laps]

I just picked up a 2020 cutthroat and love it. I commute on it, ride gravel with it and explore old forest roads and singletrack with it.
I would buy this bike again in a heartbeat.


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[slowroastin]

I just picked up a 2020 cutthroat and love it. I commute on it, ride gravel with it and explore old forest roads and singletrack with it.
I would buy this bike again in a heartbeat.


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Nice, I plan on getting one soon. What build did you go with?


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[Laps]

Custom build by a friend who rode it once and found his shoulder is too f’ed for drop bars.
Grx 810 brakes, rd and shifters, turbine cranks, gabaruk cassette, pnw dropper and some spank rims with i9 hubs. I may swap the wheels gor something natrower and lighter but it rolls really nice even with 2.25 tires on it.


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[mall walker]

is the garbaruk a 10-46 playing nice with the grx stuff?

[Phall]

I just picked up a 2020 cutthroat and love it. I commute on it, ride gravel with it and explore old forest roads and singletrack with it.
I would buy this bike again in a heartbeat.

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But, is it fixed with a 4 piston XT front brake only, or did you smarten up on your bike choices

[Laps]

is the garbaruk a 10-46 playing nice with the grx stuff?

11-50, and it is playing really smoove for the past 500 miles.


And phall, yes, I have smartened up a bit on bike choices....put a front fork and dropper post on the single this year!


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[mall walker]

11-50, and it is playing really smoove for the past 500 miles.

so the GRX 812 derailleur can take a 50t max cog? doesn’t it spec out at 42? I know Evil specs a bike with an 11-46 but didn’t realize that size cog was in the cards. Wouldn’t a 10-46 be more range, or is it a freehub concern?

[Laps]

It has the gabaruk cage as well, the 50 with a 38 up front makes it a bike I can ride anywhere in the east. Does everything well but nothing exceedingly so.
Biggest thing is it is the most comfortable bike I have ever been on.


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[slowroastin]

Ive had two drop bar bikes and got rid of them because I just could not get comfortable on them. The high stack is appealing on the Cutthroat.


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[TrueNorth]

Since we are discussing the Salsa Cutthroat, what do you guys think of the Apex 1 build? My local shop has one in my size, and it looks like it would be good for long-ish rides with a mix of pavement, gravel, and singletrack / ATV trails.

Browsing through internet reviews, it seems that the Spyre-C brakes and pressfit BB are often mentioned as cons, but that seems to be based more on general prejudice against mechanical discs and pressfit BB than actual problems encountered with the Cutthroat.

[jamal]

The spyre c at least pulls both pads in and feels pretty decent on the floor, although I haven't really ridden them around that much.

Apex is fairly solid although I've been having some funny issues with mine that I think are due to either a burr or some sand in the shifter. I'm going to do new cable/housing again and take the shifter completely off to mess with it pretty soon here. But lately it's had me wishing I'd sprung for rival. Also in the cold I wish for carbon levers.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

I ran Spyres on my first gravel bike. Some people like them just fine, but I was not a fan, and wouldn't personally run anything but hydraulic on a gravel bike that's being ridden hard.

That said, if I was you I also wouldn't upgrade to the GRX600 build just to get better brakes. That bike somehow still specs GRX400/Tiagra brakes and not GRX600. Maybe GRX400 are fine, but not for me at a $3200 price point. So, long story short, if you're set on a Cuthroat I'd get the Apex 1 build and if you hate the Spyres just upgrade later.

[HellgateBasement]

Anyone looking for a cheap-ish gravel bike? I've been riding a Specialized Crux with 38s and wider gearing. 54cm. It's a little beat cosmetically but in pretty good shape mechanically, aside from some easily fixable shifting issues caused by the cassette swap. Moving and probably won't keep it. $450 pickup in SoCal.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/cr...Text=9124-4146