Thinking about a gravel bike

[mikes781]

So for the past several months I’ve been working to get myself in better shape mainly though hitting my Peloton hard 5 to 6 days a week. I’ve really enjoyed my time indoor biking and have really had the itch to start real cycling in the outdoors. Right now I have a 15+ year old mountain bike that I bought when I was living in PA and would take it around the state while I was away for work. Now that I’m a flat lander living in NJ most of the local trail are gravel tow/rail paths and flat hardback sand roads. I’ve started to look at gravel bikes for these local trails and maybe some time on our country roads.

Am I correct in my understanding that when comparing bikes between the major manufacturers it comes down to fit when looking at the frames? After that it’s the quality of the components that are the next criteria to look at? I’m budgeting around 2 to 3.5k which seems that can get me a decent middle of the road bike that I shouldn't grown out of anytime soon if at all. Sound reasonable? It also seems to put me with either an aluminum frame or a lower end carbon frame with really the difference being price and weight. Do carbon frames generally absorb rough terrain a little better? Anything else I should consider? Gearing seems to be a hot button topic. I briefly looked at a Cannondale Topstone Carbon 3 and Topstone 1. I’m hoping to visit a few bike shops this weekend and get in a few different brands/models. Thanks!

 

[scott43]

Welcome to my nightmare!

My lessons: you can't beat the price/performance ratio of aluminum. Carbon doesn't make THAT much difference in ride quality..especially if you drop 5psi in the tires. Gearing, I wanted lower to be honest. I'm not 20 anymore and frankly, a more cx gear would be better for me. Like 46x30 in the front and a 12-34 in the back. I wanted a 2x crank because I do more pavement than gravel and like smaller gear steps, but maybe a 1x is better for you. Bottom line, we're not getting younger so depending on your fitness level, think lower gearing perhaps. I ended up with a 50x34 front and 12-34 rear. I'm not that happy with the 34x34 low gear..as horrendous as that sounds. We have punchy little 1km climbs that are fairly steep (7%) and it's a grind for me.

I'd think Tiagra or 105 in road gear, or GRX 400-600 and maybe 810 derailleurs if you go gravel. One warning, if you do pavement and are used to pavement bikes, you might find a true gravel rig a bit on the long side. If you're used to more modern MTB geo, gravel will seem normal. Don't discount cable disc brake calipers..but hydraulic is nice.

Stuff I was looking at, Topstone, Giant Revolt 0, Trek Checkpoint. I ended up with a Domane Al because I mostly do pavement and some gravel road and frankly I'm used to road bikes with tight geo..and I've done a lot of MTB'ing and am fairly confident riding technical stuff.

Good luck!

 

[scott43]

Sorry, I should add the Canyon Grail 7 and Inflite 2x bikes. They are not as great a deal here in Canada. I ended up not going that route but they may work for you. Note you may have to pay duty, shipping and for the delivery box. Interestingly, the geo on the Grail is actually more racy than the Endurace "road" bike. So pay attention to the stack heights on the bikes..it's a good indicator of how low the bars will end up. I ended up dropping the Domane stem down 1 spacer and probably will put the other one on top as well eventually. It's got a pretty high stack.

 

[mikes781]

I think I’m leaning towards a 2x but probably should at least get on a 1x. When looking at gearing is it a matter of preference on what type of cadence you prefer and terrain? The bikes I’ve looked at so far have had Shimank GRX components and 810s.
I’m probably going to end up doing a mix of gravel and pavement just not sure if I’ll lean one way or another. I’m guessing gravel to minimize the chance of getting run over but not sure. I’m looking at this as a way to keep fit and enjoy myself outdoors]. Maybe do some long distance rides but nothing competitive.

I had also looked at the Canyon Grizl but wasn’t sure about fitting since they seem to be direct to consumer.

 

[scott43]

The Grizl is more gravelly..less racy than the Grail. As far as 1x vs 2x, the range of gearing (lowest to highest) is the same more or less, you just have less steps from top to bottom. For gravel and off-road stuff, I think that's fine. On pavement though, I find I'm more picky about gearing and cadence and I like having smaller gear steps for finer cadence selection. I think it's entirely up to you..if you like fine tuning your cadence to a specific number (I typically ride 90-100 as much as possible..it's my "natural" range) then maybe 2x is better. If you can handle a wider cadence range, 1x is probably fine. My buddy for instance can ride 60-110 and doesn't bother him. If I have to grind 60 or 70 for long it bothers me.

Incidentally, the Canyon aluminum bikes (probably carbon as well) are made by Giant as near as I can figure.

 

[mikes781]

I can’t say what my natural cadence is in a real bike. On my peloton I fall right into that 90 to 96 range most of the time. I’ve been forcing myself to ride lower cadences and higher resistances to get out of my comfort zone. Great advice! Thanks!

 

[scott43]

I can’t say what my natural cadence is in a real bike. On my peloton I fall right into that 90 to 96 range most of the time. I’ve been forcing myself to ride lower cadences and higher resistances to get out of my comfort zone. Great advice! Thanks!

Yeah in long seated climbs I'll grind at 70rpm back off the saddle a bit. The old saying is, if your lungs hurt, spin lower cadence, if you legs hurt spin higher cadence, if both hurt, slow down or get easier gears!

 

[scott43]

I should also say, my favourite piece of advice is, get a good fit from a good shop. Fit is very very important and a good shop will sort you out.

 

[Shawn]

I've got my eyes on the Lauf Seigla Weekend Warrior Wireless. Wired version without the power meter is $2,990. The fit here is race-like but also comfortable with the dropped seat stays and suspension fork. You may want something you can try first though instead of the direct-to-consumer brands like Lauf and Canyon.

 

[scott43]

I really wanted a nice steel bike like the All City Cosmic Stallion or Nature Cross... Or the Niner RLT Steel but the price is quite high when compared to the Domane AL 5. Like the AL 5 I got here in Canada was $2500 for 105 and near 20lbs. That's hard to beat. If I could justify more money I would have but...

 

[scott43]

You may want something you can try first though instead of the direct-to-consumer brands like Lauf and Canyon.

This is a good point in fit too. I had very good idea of what my measurement base was so I had a fairly good chance of picking the correct size. Average folks ie less nerdy, may not get it right on mail order.

 

[mikes781]

Thanks @Shawn that is another name that has popped up in my searches. Seems like there are a lot of good options in the range and it will come down to fit. I guess that I need to get on a few different bikes and see how they feel and get some advice from the shops. Maybe after that I could take a look at some direct to consumer bikes. I am tall but its all torso with long arms and shorter legs. Little bit of an outlier from your average person,

 

[cantunamunch]

My buddy for instance can ride 60-110 and doesn't bother him. If I have to grind 60 or 70 for long it bothers me.

I can’t say what my natural cadence is in a real bike. On my peloton I fall right into that 90 to 96 range most of the time. I’ve been forcing myself to ride lower cadences and higher resistances to get out of my comfort zone. Great advice! Thanks!

Strong suggestion: take your '08 MTB and singlespeed it as a training tool.

I will also point out that you don't know what your natural body angles are on a road-geo bike. What feels good now can totally feel too upright, too cramped, too... after you get 1-2K non-Peloton miles in the legs.

Thirdly, keep in mind that as of the last 2 years 'all road' bikes have been getting very close to what you want out of a gravel bike - and gravel bikes that aren't Unbound-type-event bikes have been getting very close to hardtails.

To simplify this third point, you might do just as well to seek an "all road" bike that can clear 30-38mm tires, unless you have a specific gravel target. The "gravel" envelope is broader than any of your current riding goals.

 

[mikes781]

Is an all-road bike also called an endurance road bike and do they just have a more upright/relaxed geometry compared to a regular road bike with similar gearing? As I’ve been reading up I’ve seen the ranges of gravel bikes come up (Grail/Grizzl, Domane/Checkpoint) blurring the lines between road, gravel and mtbs. I assume that I should focus on one of those three depending on what the main use would be and with a bias in one direction or another depending on the secondary use? Guidance from a local shop might help me there. Why do I see discussion in bike quivers coming up next.

 

[scott43]

Is an all-road bike also called an endurance road bike and do they just have a more upright/relaxed geometry compared to a regular road bike with similar gearing? As I’ve been reading up I’ve seen the ranges of gravel bikes come up (Grail/Grizzl, Domane/Checkpoint) blurring the lines between road, gravel and mtbs. I assume that I should focus on one of those three depending on what the main use would be and with a bias in one direction or another depending on the secondary use? Guidance from a local shop might help me there. Why do I see discussion in bike quivers coming up next.

Yes exactly. For instance, compare the stack measurement between the Grail, grizl, checkpoint and Domane. The Grail is quite low and the Domane is pretty middle of the road. So yeah, pick your mileu and then the appropriate bike. And tuna made a good point with me.. Just because I can ride with the bars below the saddle now, doesn't mean that will continue in five years as I pass sixty..

 

[cantunamunch]

Is an all-road bike also called an endurance road bike and do they just have a more upright/relaxed geometry compared to a regular road bike with similar gearing?

Not exactly.

I can see why you'd say that, but you can totally have an all-road bike with crit or aero geometry.

Endurance was originally invented as a marketing category for century riders who didn't really want to chuck their bikes into corners all the time and didn't want aero positioning and didn't want a 'climber' weight weenie frame.

A randonee bike would be both more endurance and more all-road than an 'endurance' bike, but never mind that weird little subgenre.

 

[dan ross]

And don’t forget, the rear cassette is replaceable with in the limits of the rear derailleurs travel ability. You aren’t locked in. There are online gear calculators which you may be able to correlate to your peloton- I’m not sure. There is always some redundancy in 2x and 3x systems, it unavoidable, 1x has a lot going for it -simplicity and weight savings but it depends on you, where your normally riding, and how close you like your gearing.

 

[scott43]

I just got this trek Domane Al5. It's considered endurance. Notice how high the bars are? That's higher than the gravel race bikes generally. So there is some crossover. I already put one spacer above the stem since this pic.

 

[dan ross]

I just got this trek Domane Al5. It's considered endurance. Notice how high the bars are? That's higher than the gravel race bikes generally. So there is some crossover. I already put one spacer above the stem since this pic. View attachment 190359

Bar width?

 

[scott43]

Bar width?

Those are 40s no flare. I prefer 42 so that may change soon ..