Thinking of giving a gravel bike a crack

silentbutdeadly said:
Off Road Bikes Online has a couple of very well equipped options from Genesis Bikes for around $1,500...and that's with some GRX driveline components...
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Apart from anything else I have never seen a more aggressive dumb website.
There is nothing really special about gravel bikes , they are very versatile , like a road bike with fat tyres ,most have 1x and not low enough gears , brakes arent as critical as on a mtbike, some of us prefer wider flat bars .
If you think you may ever go bike packing get a frame with lots of eyelets for attaching stuff.
 
Coopz said:
Not sure if this belongs here but my 2 riding friends bought gravel bikes in the last 6 months. Both enjoying them and I'm thinking about buying one but they do seem expensive. My mates basic alloy frame 105 geared thing cost $2500 and it's pretty basic, the other guys cost about $6500 (Canyon Grizzly or something). To me they just seem to be road bikes with thicker tyres and slightly more weight? They both said they are great fun but shake your fillings out on rough gravel.

Just fearing exclusion I was looking for a basic one when this popped up.
www.myride.com.au

avanti gran durance 1 2022 blue - My Ride AU

avanti gran durance 1 2022 blue - Shop online or in store at My Ride today for the Avanti Gran-durance 1 2022 - Blue. - My Ride AU
www.myride.com.au www.myride.com.au
It's running povo Claris gears and cable brakes though so I'm not sure, but it's the cheapest brand name gravel bike I've seen. Worth it or pass?
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I'm late to the party but my wife bought that model 4-5 months ago (on special). The Claris gears are perfectly fine if a little clunky and spaced apart. The only real negative is the shitty Tektro cable brakes, spent ages trying to find the sweet spot and they still suck. They are fine or dirt and gravel but have no real bite on road. My old Avanti flat bar bike has basic pos rim brakes that are 5x more powerful and I'm heavy. The only other thing is all the cables are routed through the bars, looks super clean and cool but I'm dreading he day the headset bearings need to be replaced.

As others have said try and get a good model second hand or keep saving, once you get over the $1,500 price range they go up another level. Just avoid cable brakes.
 
Mitten said:
I'm late to the party but my wife bought that model 4-5 months ago (on special). The Claris gears are perfectly fine if a little clunky and spaced apart. The only real negative is the shitty Tektro cable brakes, spent ages trying to find the sweet spot and they still suck. They are fine or dirt and gravel but have no real bite on road. My old Avanti flat bar bike has basic pos rim brakes that are 5x more powerful and I'm heavy. The only other thing is all the cables are routed through the bars, looks super clean and cool but I'm dreading he day the headset bearings need to be replaced.

As others have said try and get a good model second hand or keep saving, once you get over the $1,500 price range they go up another level. Just avoid cable brakes.
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Compressionless housing improves them somewhat.
 
Vics, what a steal for a SS or gravel bike that will take a 2.4 x 29 rear. A med frame with drop bars will fit a L to XL with the drop bar reach.

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Final configuration...
IMG_1370.JPEG

I chucked out the Specialised Aerofly knock offs for some 3T Ergonova knock offs. I just found the flared bars did nothing for better control on the trails 😞 I found these normal road bars more comfortable.

With no suspension any bumpy trails means slow speeds to avoid being bucked around or off! My conclusion is that if I'm going to ride trails I'll be doing it on a mountain bike. Currently this has 2 sets of wheels, pictured are 50x29mm with 32mm Goodyear Eagle F1s which I use on road and smooth hard pack. The other wheels are more gravel oriented 38x28mm with 40mm Tufo Speederos.

It's surprising how much extra stability the width adds to the wheels in cross winds. I have a set of 38x22mm on my road bike and they are a bit scary in strong cross winds.

I also swapped the USE suspension post for a Specialized Pave seat post which I've used on many of my bikes over the years to absorb some road buzz. The suspension post was just too bouncy at high speeds and just made everything feel unstable. This bike is nearly as fast as my road bike now and nearly as light. It's great for picking up and running or riding through parks and over overhead bridges, and other little connecting paths.
 
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Slowman said:
Final configuration...
View attachment 419535
I chucked out the Specialised Aerofly knock offs for some 3T Ergonova knock offs. I just found the flared bars did nothing for better control on the trails 😞 I found these normal road bars more comfortable.

With no suspension any bumpy trails means slow speeds to avoid being bucked around or off! My conclusion is that if I'm going to ride trails I'll be doing it on a mountain bike. Currently this has 2 sets of wheels, pictured are 50x29mm with 32mm Goodyear Eagle F1s which I use on road and smooth hard pack. The other wheels are more gravel oriented 38x28mm with 40mm Tufo Speederos.

It's surprising how much extra stability the width adds to the wheels in cross winds. I have a set of 38x22mm on my road bike and they are a bit scary in strong cross winds.

I also swapped the USE suspension post for a Specialized Pave seat post which I've used on many of my bikes over the years to absorb some road buzz. The suspension post was just too bouncy at high speeds and just made everything feel unstable. This bike is nearly as fast as my road bike now and nearly as light. It's great for picking up and running or riding through parks and over overhead bridges, and other little connecting paths.
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Looks pretty rapid.

It is surprising to hear about the increased stability with a bit of extra width on the rims, I have some 60/80mm deep x19 rims and riding over Anzac Bridge on a windy day definitely get the heart rate going.
 
A couple if iterations of mine

First one was a StateBicycles Thunderbird, alloy frame running Ultegra 11spd hydro. Did the job but limited to 40mm tires as it was more a cx bike rather than modern gravel
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I then stumbled across a cheap Cell Bikes Pioneer 26er hardtail. Stripped it back and chucked on a rigid fork and used the same ultegra drive train. Was running 26 x 2.4 High Rollers which were totally overkill, but pretty fun when shit got rough or sloppy. Unfortunately i didnt pay enough attention to BB widths and the left crank stripped right off, had to one leg ride about 10kms back to the car.
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Was in the middle of switching out to a mtb crankset on the hardtail when i found a cheap Bombtrack Hook complete in steel. Currently running SRAM Rival and some 40mm fulcrum hoops, running 700x45s, completed Se7ens last year on it (125km/3200m) and had a blast.
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I’m about to re-enter this cult, looking for some ideas on a few parts.

Will be used 90% off road, mix of fire trails, singletrack and gravel.

1. Tyres in 700x48 (unfortunately I won’t fit 2.0 MTB tyres which is a bummer)

2. Alloy bars with medium flare, 420mm width.

3. Bartape that’s decently sticky and padded, without being ultra thick?
(I like 31mm MTB grips)

That should do for now, thankyou
 
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I'm currently using my on one inbred as a monstercross.
I can squeeze 27.5x1.95 into a 26" wheel frame.
The Ritchey beacon bars are damn comfy. I didn't think I could get along with drop bars but these changed my mind.
Microshift sword levers with Shimano XT derailleur and cheap hybrid hydro/mech brake calipers.
It's fun. It's heavy. But it's fun.
 
caad9 said:
3. Bartape that’s decently sticky and padded, without being ultra thick?
(I like 31mm MTB grips)
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If you like the feel of a thicker bar my hack is to actually buy aerotop bars (you know the ones with a flat top) and then also add gel padding before wrapping. The flatter platform does wonders for longer days in the saddle for your hands and the gel is nice and cushy. This means you can use a thinner (non gel) tape which is easier to wrap tight.
 
1. I like the Vittoria range of gravel and XC tyres.

2. I have the Ritchey WCS and Spank Vibrocore gravel bars. Both are good. The WCS has a tighter curve with less drop. The Spank definitely cuts more buzz.

3. I like Selle Italia Smootape. I have the standard and the thick XL. The standard works well with gel inserts, the XL doesn't need them.

I also really rate the Controltech bar tape.

Sent from my 24069PC21G using Tapatalk
 
Oddjob said:
1. I like the Vittoria range of gravel and XC tyres.

2. I have the Ritchey WCS and Spank Vibrocore gravel bars. Both are good. The WCS has a tighter curve with less drop. The Spank definitely cuts more buzz.

3. I like Selle Italia Smootape. I have the standard and the thick XL. The standard works well with gel inserts, the XL doesn't need them.

I also really rate the Controltech bar tape.

Sent from my 24069PC21G using Tapatalk
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Do you have the Wing or Flare model of Spank bars?
what road bar width do you ride vs gravel Spank bar?
 
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