Gravel Bike!!!!

This is the thread for anything and everything related to gravel/any road/drop bar bikes with large-ish tires. Post em up!!!

So, I have two Salsas...

I've done a thread on my SS Timberjack , thought I'd show you guys the Warbird. Both bikes are 2018s, and I got this one at a deep discount. It's the last year for the alloy frame, and is basically a stock build except for the saddle and tires. The saddle is a Brooks Swift, and is breaking in nicely. For tires, I stuffed a set of Panaracer Gravelking SKs into the dropouts... They're 700x43c, and I have about 3mm of clearance at the chainstays. Comfy tires, though; and good traction on gravel. I'm running tubeless at 40psi. 
 

Also, I may be addicted to skinwall tires...

Some photos of numerous adventures- lots of dirt roads around here-

I've always loved Salsa's various bikes, just a bit different from the standard offerings of everyone else and willing to do things that bigger brands won't like drop bar mountain bikes etc. Someday I hope to have something with their name on the downtube.

Also, can this be the gravel bike thread? I've tried to avoid that term as it seems like a bit of marketing wank from the last few years but I find myself using it more. I have two bikes that fall into this category (at least for a good part of the year).

My hardtail conversion that I built in the fall using mostly parts I had lying around. It's on some 1.95 Specialized S-works Renegades setup  tubeless which are really nice for this sort of use, not sure on durability but our gravel isn't known for cutting tires. These tires came along with another bike so I'll use them up and then figure out what to do. This bike also may see it's 100 mm travel fork again at which point it will move into the drop bar mountain bike category. Lots of fun.

I'll get some pictures of my Boone at some point, it's a cross bike but for 2 months of the year but the rest it falls into the gravel category and does it really well (It would clear 43 in the back and a 45 in the front)

Adam

In reply to adam525i :

Yes. I edited the first post to reflect it as well. Let's see that Boone!

Here is a pic of the Boone (On TOP of our local ski hill, Chicopee lol) , this is a first year (2014) frameset that my local bike shop (Ziggy's Cycle, great people) gave me a really good deal on. As you can tell I'm fairly tall (6'3"), this is a 61cm and with my really long legs I actually had to get to get a friend that builds custom carbon frames in his spare time to build me a custom seat cap as these don't use a normal seatpost and the stock units were too short. It's a SRAM force build with mechanical TRP Spyre brakes that work really well for me. I built the wheels myself using bikehubstore hubs and rims which are really nice and can be converted to the various thru-axle standards. I run Michelin Jet S tubeless which are labeled as 30c but measure in the 33-35 range, these roll really well on everything and ride quite nice. This is my favorite bike, the ride is so nice with the ISOspeed coupler at the seatpost/seatstay joint really helping. I have a second set of wheels for this that I run 28c road tires and use the bike as a road bike too (while the CAAD9 race bike sits on its hook) as it is just that nice. These first gen Boone Disc bikes also have full fender mounts so when cross season is over the fenders go on until the spring along with studded tires as needed. Like I said above, 45 fit fine on the front and 43 should clear the rear triangle, with fenders it clears 35c. 

Our gravel roads are quite nice in Southern Ontario and in a lot of cases smoother than paved roads. In our local area there are some really neat Mennonite (similar to the Amish) laneways and bridges over the local rivers. We also have some really nice rail trails that stretch quite far hitting some cool little towns and cities along the way. We definitely do not have canyons like you posted above though, scenery like that makes me pretty jealous.

Adam

In reply to adam525i :

That canyon is a 10 minute ride from my front door...

Details later

I put some planet-bike 29er full fenders on the monstercross bike over the weekend. The bike doesn't have mounts but it wasn't too bad to fit them, on the rear I used one of the disc brake mounts and on the other side a longer bolt for the derailleur hanger along with some tie straps. For the front I made a little tab off of the brake mount on one side and  a 130 mm rear road quick release skewer with extra threads added to give me extra length to mount the fender to on the opposite side. Full proper fenders make all the difference for riding this time of year, the bike and my shoes still got filthy but everything stays dry and a lot cleaner. Did 2.5 hours out in the sunshine yesterday on a mix of gravel roads and pavement, it was a few degrees below freezing.

That is the West Montrose covered bridge which was used in the 2017 film "It"

And the aftermath, the front derailleur was completely frozen by the end and the rear was having some issues with ice too. It is above freezing today so I will be hosing the bike off when I get home from work.

No pictures yet as it's still in pieces, but I have a 2016 GT Grade currently in the process of rebuilding.

It came with SRAM hydro 2x11 components, but after about 100 miles of riding it, I determined I am too set in my ways to deviate from the Campy shifters I have been using since 1993.  Plus, I discovered quickly how much I do not like flared drop bars.

So I sold off the entire component set and wheels (except the cranks), had a set of Onyx/HED wheels built, bought some used 2x10 Campy Record drivetrain bits, a pair of TRP cable/hydraulic calipers and will hoping have the bike reassembled a couple of weeks from now. 

I really want something to ride here in NH since none of the mtn bike trails are ridable and the road surface is currently really sketchy with salt, road grime and the occasional slush.

Canoe thread revival, but let's get this conversation going again :)

My wife has an old Klein road bike that she got second-hand, and she's never been all that comfortable riding it because it's got skinny tires and it's nervous. We've got a couple of road bike events planned next year, so I went looking for a gravel bike for her. A little more tire for comfort and a riding position that's got a little more emphasis on comfort than efficiency. The gearing is also better for some of the serious climbs we have around here, that was always a weak point of the Klein. It's unlikely we'll do much actual gravel riding, this is just to make road riding friendlier.

We picked up this Salsa at a local gear exchange. It's been converted to 650 wheels and is running 2" knobblies, which moves it a little more into mountain bike territory but the tubeless tires are a nice bonus. It's also been converted to a 1x drivetrain which is easier for most people to use. We'll try it like this and see if she likes it, then swap out some wheels/tires if need be. More importantly, it's comfortable and non-threatening and she's not convinced that every crack in the pavement is going to throw her off.

I was talking to a buddy about how road biking sucked due to the crazy distracted drivers out there, and that I basically had relegated my road bike to trainer duty in the winter... and he said, very smartly- 'you live in the middle of nowhere and with miles of dirt roads, get a gravel bike'.  That was back in early march, and after getting snowed in for a day with a few beers, pulled the trigger  on- 

since, I have out about 1000mi on it, and about 800 are dirt/gravel/trail.   I have 2 wheelsets for it depending on terrain (32c gravelking filetreads on hollowgrams to f**k with roadies on group rides, and 38c GK knobbies), and it surprises me every time I ride it as to how capable it is.  It's  my go-to ride for pretty much everything that isn't lift-serviced downhill, and I truly enjoy it very very much.   It definitely falls more on the 'road' side of the gravel spectrum, but that doesn't stop me from using it on rough class 6 or moderate mtb singletrack.  Like my riding buddy says- you can ride any trail with any bike, you just have to be much more strategic bringing a butter knife to a gunfight.  No fenders, no racks, just like God intended it to be- wet, cold, and stiff.  Cervelo's catchphrase for this bike is 'Haul ass, not cargo'.  They're right.  It's a rocket.
 

some foliage pics from this past weekend-

Trek Checkpoint

Ian F said:

No pictures yet as it's still in pieces, but I have a 2016 GT Grade currently in the process of rebuilding.

It came with SRAM hydro 2x11 components, but after about 100 miles of riding it, I determined I am too set in my ways to deviate from the Campy shifters I have been using since 1993.  Plus, I discovered quickly how much I do not like flared drop bars.

So I sold off the entire component set and wheels (except the cranks), had a set of Onyx/HED wheels built, bought some used 2x10 Campy Record drivetrain bits, a pair of TRP cable/hydraulic calipers and will hoping have the bike reassembled a couple of weeks from now. 

I really want something to ride here in NH since none of the mtn bike trails are ridable and the road surface is currently really sketchy with salt, road grime and the occasional slush.

Since I posted this, the bike has been completed. And then mildly reworked again. Scrolling through my Strava posts, I realized how rarely I take pictures of my road bikes during rides...  This is from early Feb:

Since the 2020 post, I've replaced the TRP RD calipers with Paul's Klamper calipers with a pull-ratio designed for Campy brake levers. Definitely an improvement in brake lever feel.  I also swapped out the very nice and super-light Thomson Katy Compton carbon 44cm bars for slightly more narrow Deda 42cm bars similar to what I have on my road bike. This was done in an effort to chase down some odd hand pain.  For whatever reason, the 42cm bars did the job. 

That said, 99% of my riding on this bike is on the road and being a 2016 model bike, the frame wasn't designed with the latest and greatest of gravel tires in mind - the largest that will barely fit is a relatively smooth 28c tire.  Many current road bikes can fit larger tires than that.  I also prefer a lower stack than this frame can provide to give it more saddle to bar drop similar to a traditional road bike. But at the same time, I do like the smoother, more comfortable ride of the wider tubeless tires than on my 90's Colnago. So now I'm shopping for a new road bike. I'll probably keep the GT around for crap weather rides. 

Road bike

Mountain bike

Gravel bike 

My gravel bike

2022 Giant Revolt Advanced 3.

Bought early this year.  Have not done as much as I hoped only about 500 miles this year on this bike including the full Katy Trail and some C&O rides.