Not sure how to parse that. Are you saying you will be more cautious with a pricier bike? Or are you concerned that your current selection criteria are skewing your price point upwards?
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New Gravel Bike - Guidance
- Thread starter AngryAnalyst
- Start date
Not sure how to parse that. Are you saying you will be more cautious with a pricier bike? Or are you concerned that your current selection criteria are skewing your price point upwards?
I always wonder about carbon and crashing. Especially the seat stays which are often very small. Maybe a steel bike like a Niner RDO or All City may be more appropriate. That's where I was headed with my next road bike, basically a gravel or CX bike but steel and fit both gravel and asphalt.
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Sorry, I am saying I’m concerned about breaking a carbon fiber bike because I think of carbon fiber as being relatively brittle. If there’s a big durability difference between different brands or grades of carbon fiber I would care about that. Some of the marketing copy made me think carbon fiber wasn’t necessarily identical between brands or even within a brand. It’s of course possible that’s bullshit and carbon fiber is roughly the same in all bikes.
Does that make sense or am I getting lost in the sauce?
Most of the manufacturers mentioned all make good bikes. I think you need to ride them to see how they “feel” to you. If you are going to be on road and off road, I would consider something like GRX 48 x 31 front and 11-34 for the cassette. This will give you a good range of gears for both road and “gravel”. I ride a Scott Addict Gravel (2018 version) which is basically their CX frame with a higher bottom bracket. I go with 38 Panaracer gravel king SK+ tubeless on Shimano GRX rims. The tires work well enough on road and have enough bite for wet and extremely dry terrain. The bike/tires handles “easyish” single track with the roots and rocks of New England.
At the $3000 - $5000 price point, the carbon fiber that all the manufacturers use is pretty much the same. The difference in price will be the component group and the wheels. On road bikes, many of the manufacturers use a “high modulus“ carbon fiber and the frame is lighter and the price of the bike is $9000 - $10,000.
At the $3000 - $5000 price point, the carbon fiber that all the manufacturers use is pretty much the same. The difference in price will be the component group and the wheels. On road bikes, many of the manufacturers use a “high modulus“ carbon fiber and the frame is lighter and the price of the bike is $9000 - $10,000.
Carbon fiber is actually really tough... Unless you damage it in a certain way. Then it can just crack and fail. Most carbon bikes are pretty similar and many are made in the same factories and just relabelled. They can be tailored to specific conditions by changing layup etc which is really cool for bikes. But many are doing it in a similar way. It really boils down to fit and feel. Geometry and handling. Have to try them and make sure they fit you correctly. It makes a huge difference. And buy good shoes!
Gotcha. What ^they said. Geometry/handling, fit, feel, components.
And ride the absolute $ht out of it, don't even try keep it pristine for 10 years from now.
Cannondale Slate,…or the new Topstone are really sweet bikes if you can get used to the lefty fork.
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As others have stated... First determine if a gravel bike is really what you want. I have everything from pro level road bikes up to pro level FS mtn bikes. If my ride includes a lot of single track and roots, mixed with gravel and a bit of pace, I go with an few generations old S-Works Epic HT, who's geometry is much like today's gravel bikes. The head tube angle is right around 71. You might look for something like that on e-Bay. If you know what you are looking at, deals abound. Their policies protect buyers.
The upgrade route is absolute BS. You will bleed money. Just buy the bike that you want up front. Don't screw with it. If you are really of that caliber that you need upgrades, you should be on a team that is supplying you with bikes.
CF is way tough. If you want a primer on the material, listen to Ruckus Composite's podcast. Get your info from actual composite engineers.
Other than that... it is tough to go wrong with the big three. They own the bulk of the manufacturing. If they place an order for 1,000 CF frames, that boutique brand with an order for 50 frames gets shoved out of the way. Giant provides about 80 - 90% of the prepreg that everyone else uses. The big three have the best engineers. The big three have the best testing protocols. The big three have the deepest dealer networks.
Enjoy.
The upgrade route is absolute BS. You will bleed money. Just buy the bike that you want up front. Don't screw with it. If you are really of that caliber that you need upgrades, you should be on a team that is supplying you with bikes.
CF is way tough. If you want a primer on the material, listen to Ruckus Composite's podcast. Get your info from actual composite engineers.
Other than that... it is tough to go wrong with the big three. They own the bulk of the manufacturing. If they place an order for 1,000 CF frames, that boutique brand with an order for 50 frames gets shoved out of the way. Giant provides about 80 - 90% of the prepreg that everyone else uses. The big three have the best engineers. The big three have the best testing protocols. The big three have the deepest dealer networks.
Enjoy.
Translation: Carbon is totally reliable except when it's not.
I mean, I've had some bits to mess with and it's a tough material. I just don't like the hidden cracks and stuff. Have to inspect and be aware of crash damage.
I'm not speaking from actual KNOWLEDGE, mind you. I'm just doing the gadfly thing.
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As far as carbon durability goes, it is also supposedly very repairable. I have no experience with that side of it, but that is what they say.
I think that if you can find a bike that fits and you like, just buy it. You are not married to it, and gravel bikes are very hard to get this year. If you don't love it and what to move on, you can flip it easily. I'm a big GRX fan, but I think if I was buying one right now, I would probably get a bike with AXS shifting because it will let you do a mullet setup with a single ring road crank and a mountain bike derailleur and cassette which will give you better range than you would get from a GRX double setup.
Seriously though, don't worry about it too much, and if your shop has something in stock that could work, just go for it.
I think that if you can find a bike that fits and you like, just buy it. You are not married to it, and gravel bikes are very hard to get this year. If you don't love it and what to move on, you can flip it easily. I'm a big GRX fan, but I think if I was buying one right now, I would probably get a bike with AXS shifting because it will let you do a mullet setup with a single ring road crank and a mountain bike derailleur and cassette which will give you better range than you would get from a GRX double setup.
Seriously though, don't worry about it too much, and if your shop has something in stock that could work, just go for it.
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I had an SL3 Tarmac, special yellow TDF edition with matching Mavic kit damaged in transit. The damage was a small impact fracture on the seat stay. Ruckus repaired it - matched paint, decals, etc. It is undetectable without NDT. I think that the bill was about $500. A couple hundred to just do the structural repair.
To repair CF (provided that it is not a major structural catastrophe) you just need a bit of prepreg, and a way to apply a bit of vacuum bagging to the area. So much easier than replacing a tube on a lugged frame. You can leave the repair in its natural CF state to show the battle wound, or it caan be paint matched to make it disappear.
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Yup, carbon is tough and the easiest frame material there is to repair.
Ruckus is among the best.
Calfee also does great work, and there is somebody in the Seattle area whose name is currently eluding me.
And, if you're brave, and not too worried about cosmetics, you can repair your own (see YouTube, etc.).
The Specialized Diverge is unique in that it has the small suspension on the headtube which really takes the edge off vibrations and small bumps. That is really cool. I have demoed one and it works well without affecting the handling.
Trek makes great carbon frames as well and their system is focused on having more comfort in the rear end.
The Santa Cruz is more traditional and beefy but nothing special really. Yes, you pay a lot for the name but the quality is there. Just not a ton of tech on that particular frame.
All 3 have awesome warranty service in the US.
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Thanks all! Trigger pulled on a Trek Checkpoint SL6 yesterday. Took it for another test ride and was thrilled with the purchase, it is very noticeably better in all respects than my previous bike and I'm excited to go for a longer ride this weekend.
Our local shop has a Boone 6 56cm in stock. PM me for the shop info if interested.
www.trekbikes.com
Boone 6 - Trek Bikes
Discover your next great ride with Boone 6 Disc. See the bike and visit your local Trek retailer. Shop now!
Pugski strava link is here
https://www.strava.com/clubs/197831
Stoke pictures here
GRoTD
www.skitalk.com
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Our local shop has a Boone 6 56cm in stock. PM me for the shop info if interested.
Boone 6 - Trek Bikes
Discover your next great ride with Boone 6 Disc. See the bike and visit your local Trek retailer. Shop now!
LOVE the color way!
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- May 31, 2018
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Pugski strava link is here
https://www.strava.com/clubs/197831
Stoke pictures here
GRoTD
Thanks for the invite -we'll see if I can get over my general paranoia over sharing GPS data online. I know it's very unlikely anyone actually cares where I live or ride.