One bike to rule them all!

[teejaywhy]

Teejay, do you do any MTB anymore?

I discovered early that I am a huge p*ssy when it comes to trails, downhill especially. I live in Arizona and there are rocks and cactus! LOL. I enjoy riding mild trails, but stick mostly to forest / logging roads.
(I guess, very similar to my skiing - groomer zoomer!)

 

[Doug Briggs]

MTB XC because that is all I ride apart from a few miles on a townie.

 

[scott43]

See, if you're mostly on gravel roads, I'd stick to a gravel bike. Forget the flat bar. Your speed on gravel is actually probably pretty high. I find I'm not THAT much slower on gravel compared to pavement, for the gravel up here anyway. If you're not doing singletrack and harder stuff, the flat bar will get old really fast. No change of hand position means you'll get tired of it. I'd stick to 2x for the gravel personally..my big beef is 1x gives you big jumps between gears and again, you're probably pretty fast on gravel where you'll find yourself between gears and annoyed with the 1x gear steps. And don't get a 32c clearance gravel..go big..42c or bigger. Then you have options on tires. You have a pure road bike so no point thinking in terms of 25 or 28c tires I think.

Having said that, a good hardtail XC mtb is still a versatile bike... People laugh but I still used bar-ends up until a year or two ago simply because I basically used it as a gravel bike.

 

[cantunamunch]

Having said that, a good hardtail XC mtb is still a versatile bike... People laugh but I still used bar-ends up until a year or two ago simply because I basically used it as a gravel bike.

Take a hardtail XC MTB from between 2012 and 2017, stick light casing tires, a rigid fork and flare bars on it - you got yourself a ca. 2020 gravel bike

The most interesting I have found is indeed a flat bar gravel bike. The only thing, I'm unfamiliar with a 1X drivetrain. Wondering how it would work for mostly road riding?
https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2022-dsx-1

IMO that bike is seriously good value for what it is - BUT with a 69.5 HT angle, 425mm chainstays and 668mm FC in size large it is NOT intended as a flat road bike.

That thing is built to climb tight on the up and be stable on the down - particularly if both the climb and the descent are measured in tens of minutes instead of tens of seconds. Think of it as a budget volcano bike.

You'd need 440-450mm chainstays to put 2x on a bike like that, and your big ring would be somewhere around a 44, so 1x is almost a necessary evil.

 

[skibob]

This is a timely topic. I'm looking for a single bike to take on my travels. One that is lightweight and good for pavement with some off-pavement capabilities. As well, not too expensive as it will be hanging on the back of the trailer in all weather and exposed to theft possibilities. Off pavement would be limited to gravel/dirt roads like forest roads, campground roads, etc. No trails, single track, or extreme downhill/uphill.

The obvious answer is a "gravel bike," but hear me out.

I have a hardtail MTN bike and a carbon/Ultegra road bike. I usually take the mountain bike and that works fine but is a bit heavy and clumsy for road rides and sometimes I yearn for the lightweight comfort of the road bike. I would take the road bike if traveling for an event like a grand fondo somewhere, but otherwise not.

My idea is a sort of cross between a hybrid/fitness bike and a flat bar gravel bike. Prolly go Alum frame to keep cost down. Actually, a fitness bike with road gearing and a bit wider tires (~38mm) would be the ideal setup. Just jump on it and go. Casual but efficient and comfortable. Flat pedals. etc.

The most interesting I have found is indeed a flat bar gravel bike. The only thing, I'm unfamiliar with a 1X drivetrain. Wondering how it would work for mostly road riding?
https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2022-dsx-1

Other ideas?

I would look for a 10 yr old soma or surly 29er with a 2x or 3x drivetrain. Find a nice fat tire with roadish tread and bob's yer uncle . . . I have exactly this as my "riding with the family" bike and it the best.

 

[skibob]

See, if you're mostly on gravel roads, I'd stick to a gravel bike. Forget the flat bar. Your speed on gravel is actually probably pretty high. I find I'm not THAT much slower on gravel compared to pavement, for the gravel up here anyway. If you're not doing singletrack and harder stuff, the flat bar will get old really fast. No change of hand position means you'll get tired of it. I'd stick to 2x for the gravel personally..my big beef is 1x gives you big jumps between gears and again, you're probably pretty fast on gravel where you'll find yourself between gears and annoyed with the 1x gear steps. And don't get a 32c clearance gravel..go big..42c or bigger. Then you have options on tires. You have a pure road bike so no point thinking in terms of 25 or 28c tires I think.

Having said that, a good hardtail XC mtb is still a versatile bike... People laugh but I still used bar-ends up until a year or two ago simply because I basically used it as a gravel bike.

+1 for the 2x setup. I had 1x11. Now I have 2x11 and I am much happier.

 

[scott43]

Take a hardtail XC MTB from between 2012 and 2017, stick light casing tires, a rigid fork and flare bars on it - you got yourself a ca. 2020 gravel bike

I got one of those! Unfortunately (or not) I still do proper MTB so I can't butcher it up yet. Maybe when MTB's become available for puchase again...one day...

 

[scott43]

I like this guy...but I like steel..so biased..and it ain't cheap. I'd likely buy as a frame and build it up..2x. GRX800 with 2X is $4100...ouch.. But that ticks all the boxes for me.

RLT 9 STEEL

The RLT 9 STEEL features our all-new RDO carbon fiber fork. The combination of steel frame and carbon fork always offers a supple ride.

www.ninerbikes.com

 

[Tom K.]

This is a timely topic. I'm looking for a single bike to take on my travels. One that is lightweight and good for pavement with some off-pavement capabilities. As well, not too expensive as it will be hanging on the back of the trailer in all weather and exposed to theft possibilities. Off pavement would be limited to gravel/dirt roads like forest roads, campground roads, etc. No trails, single track, or extreme downhill/uphill.

The obvious answer is a "gravel bike," but hear me out.

I have a hardtail MTN bike and a carbon/Ultegra road bike. I usually take the mountain bike and that works fine but is a bit heavy and clumsy for road rides and sometimes I yearn for the lightweight comfort of the road bike. I would take the road bike if traveling for an event like a grand fondo somewhere, but otherwise not.

My idea is a sort of cross between a hybrid/fitness bike and a flat bar gravel bike. Prolly go Alum frame to keep cost down. Actually, a fitness bike with road gearing and a bit wider tires (~38mm) would be the ideal setup. Just jump on it and go. Casual but efficient and comfortable. Flat pedals. etc.

The most interesting I have found is indeed a flat bar gravel bike. The only thing, I'm unfamiliar with a 1X drivetrain. Wondering how it would work for mostly road riding?
https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2022-dsx-1

Other ideas?

Easy peasy. Not flat bar, but you only think you want that.

Checkpoint ALR 5 - Trek Bikes

Discover your next great ride with Checkpoint ALR 5. See the bike and visit your local Trek retailer. Shop now!

www.trekbikes.com

Upgrade the wheelset and done.

 

[robertc3]

The only thing, I'm unfamiliar with a 1X drivetrain. Wondering how it would work for mostly road riding?
https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2022-dsx-1

I ride my MTB on the road regularly and it does just fine gear-wise. With a top gear of 42-11 you will be able do 25+ mph on the flats. The only real issue is the gear jumps are big. Depending on your speed you may feel you are in too big of a gear or too small of a gear for your comfortable cadence. You just have to be flexible to spin or mash as needed.

 

[cantunamunch]

and I am much happier.

Too happy to be shopping for tires like this? https://www.unicycle.com/vee-rubber-trax-monster-36-tire/

 

[skibob]

Too happy to be shopping for tires like this? https://www.unicycle.com/vee-rubber-trax-monster-36-tire/

LOL. My I have about as much in my SOMA hardtail as a pair of those would cost.

 

[scott43]

I can honestly say I've never mounted a 36" bicycle tire...

 

[cantunamunch]

LOL. My I have about as much in my SOMA hardtail as a pair of those would cost.

Notice that is *two* chains on the bike in post #33 - so the chain would be about the same as a tire.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Notice that is *two* chains on the bike in post #33 - so the chain would be about the same as a tire.

Did someone say 2 Chainz?

 

[teejaywhy]

IMO that bike is seriously good value for what it is - BUT with a 69.5 HT angle, 425mm chainstays and 668mm FC in size large it is NOT intended as a flat road bike.

That thing is built to climb tight on the up and be stable on the down - particularly if both the climb and the descent are measured in tens of minutes instead of tens of seconds. Think of it as a budget volcano bike.

You'd need 440-450mm chainstays to put 2x on a bike like that, and your big ring would be somewhere around a 44, so 1x is almost a necessary evil.

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like that one may not be the right choice. I really wish I knew how to evaluate geometry.

 

[cantunamunch]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like that one may not be the right choice. I really wish I knew how to evaluate geometry.

Eh, just start keeping a notepad or spreadsheet with what works for you. You can dig into theory and calculations as you go, but it's super important to start now and stay with it. Without your own notes it's too easy to fall prey to flavour-of-the-day marketing.

My spreadsheet is not terribly complicated; I just keep track of the lower triangle defined by axles and bottom bracket and the upper triangle defined by touch points. No bike theory required. You do need Heron's formula for BB drop, but that's just 3000 year old triangle geometry

 

[teejaywhy]

Eh, just start keeping a notepad or spreadsheet with what works for you. You can dig into theory and calculations as you go, but it's super important to start now and stay with it. Without your own notes it's too easy to fall prey to flavour-of-the-day marketing.

My spreadsheet is not terribly complicated; I just keep track of the lower triangle defined by axles and bottom bracket and the upper triangle defined by touch points. No bike theory required. You do need Heron's formula for BB drop, but that's just 3000 year old triangle geometry

Oy!

Ah, marketing.

Out of the bike game for a real long time. Had a late 90's mountain bike that was infrequently ridden until ~2017, when took up skiing again and also signed up for a trip to Bandon Dunes, (walking golf, 36+/day). Started riding the local canal banks to build some fitness/endurance.

Then, at the end of 2018, Performance Bicycle went out of business and were selling out their entire inventory 50% off. Properly decided this would be a good time for a new bike. That's when I found out "Mountain Bike" had evolved into so many variants. Trail? Downhill? Enduro? Cross Country??? Ended up with the hardtail (Breezer Thunder), which I understood to have a "cross country" orientation. Next thing ya know, I'm shopping for a road bike. That's when I found out "Road Bike" had evolved into so many variants. LOL. Luckily, we found a good tech / sales guy that could communicate with me the differences and chose the Spec Roubaix ("endurance" oriented).

So anyway. I do think the marketing for gravel bikes is kind of silly. Riders bombing single track, downhill, berms, jumps.... That's what a mountain bike is for.

 

[scott43]

Gravel has become a whole big cash cow for the industry. Even the clothes. You can't ride a gravel bike unless you have all new gear to match the matte black bike. So yeah, they're selling an image right? Choose the correct tool for the job and ignore the noise. And you know your riding style and locations. Like, when I go up north, I'm riding pavement and some dirt..roads actually go to dirt and back to pavement..so you don't have a choice but to ride the dirt part. But overall it's pavement. And how much slower is a 32 or 38 on pavement vs 25? And will I notice the extra 30mm of wheelbase? So my tradeoff is to look at a gravel/cyclo-cross bike and use for both with 2 sets of tires as needed. And I'll likely swap my 29er hardtail to something much more slack with more travel because I won't need it to do dual duty, dirt/pavement and mtb. So that's me. You have to look at what you want to do, where you ride, etc. I'd gladly do 1x for mtb..but gravel/pavement, I want 2x simply because the speeds change very little around one speed and I need the smaller gear steps.

 

[4ster]

So anyway. I do think the marketing for gravel bikes is kind of silly. Riders bombing single track, downhill, berms, jumps.... That's what a mountain bike is for.

Ran into a group of 3 gravel bikers out on the single track a few weeks ago, not super technical but plenty of rock gardens & exposure. It did seem kind of silly & somewhat dangerous but to each his own. The group was fully decked out & looked super fit so I don't think they were posers. I wasn't near them long enough to see if they were dismounting or dabbing frequently.
YMMV