Anyone going gravel?

[Grant Fondo]

The old road wheels have been taking a pounding of late, cobbled canal paths, loose tracks i.e. Non-tarmacadam. So who has got a gravel/adventure bike and would recommend? Or did it seem like a good idea at the time but the road bike wins the day. The hard earned is being splashed on a Specalized Diverge Sport at the weekend unless anyone can talk me out of it. If I could get anything bigger than 28c on my skinny carbon endurance frame we wouldn't be having this conceptual cyber discussion in the first place, all the same your thoughts appreciated.

 

[tom73]

Ribble CGR worth a look for sure. Planet x London Rd is another Great fun to ride and happy on and off the road. Mine never fails to please.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Ribble CGR worth a look for sure. Planet x London Rd is another Great fun to ride and happy on and off the road. Mine never fails to please.

Is it your only bike?

 

[StuAff]

Budget for this?

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Alpkit have a sale on their Camino Al at the moment .
Love mine .

 

[tom73]

Is it your only bike?

No my London Rd is not but i'd be happy if it was Good range of tyre clearance ,mounts etc Even with not the best hybrid tyres it still can move.

 

[Kajjal]

I have a older but similar diverge and fitting the bigger tyres means it copes well with a 50 mile mainly off road ride on canal tow paths, byways, forestry trails and a gravel trail round a reservoir. In the wetter months I put 25mm tyres on it and it becomes my road bike to keep me fit until things dry out again. The main benefit I found was you can explore various off road tracks and the road sections go past fast enough. The main change coming from a road bike is after a point the bigger and knobblier tyres you fit the slower you go on road, this didn’t bother me at all as I am not chasing strava times on the road.

 

[Venod]

I don't have a bike called an adventure bike, but I have 2 CX bikes that I use for tracks trails etc, an On One Pickrenflick, which is the best bike I have owned (I have had a lot) and a Kinesis Pro 6..

The On One has no provision for Mudguards the Kinesis does have mudguard eyes.

The On One will take up to 42 mm tyres on 700c wheels and even bigger if you use 650b. The Kinesis is running 36mm with guards, (bigger will fit without) on 700c wheels, I have 3 sets of wheels one set with Specialised Roubaix road tyres 32mm that measure 34 on rim, one set wth 36mm Panaracer 36mm but measure 38mm on the rim, one set with Schwalbe G one 38mm that measure 40mm on the rim, all set up tubeless, all very comfortable and not much slower than the 25mm I was using.

The geometry may be different to an adventure bike but I have done high mileage rides on both.

 

[User169]

Mason Bokeh!

I got rid of one road bike after buying mine and the other road bike has been mothballed as this is the only bike I'm using now.

Currently running 38 tyres, but you can go larger especially if you run 650b wheels.

v2 has just been released with internal dynamo wiring through the fork and fork bosses for many things cages.

 

[vickster]

Budget for this?

The diverge sport looks to be 2.2-2.5k

 

[I like Skol]

My GT Grade Ultegra runs 35mm tyres and is good for mild mountain bike terrain. It is also my fast long distance summer bike and moves pdq. Truly a one bike for all occasions.

 

[StuAff]

Ribble CGR Ti…
Titanium, within budget (£2.3k for a 105 build), titanium, all the fittings you want, and titanium.
Or a Planet X Tempest. Also Ti. Rather cheaper, as to whether it's lower spec, quality of after-sales…pass.

Stick road rubber on one of these and they go as quickly as the skinny-tyred stuff…

 

[Venod]

Or a Planet X Tempest. Also Ti. Rather cheaper, as to whether it's lower spec, quality of after-sales…pass.

You can get a Planet X Tempest Ultegra for £2k, cheaper if you pick another spec, its a no brainer.

 

[Pedropete]

Got a Kinesis Tripster AT with Sram 1x and two sets of wheels: one with 38mm GravelKings (slicks) for road/light offroad and the other with WTB Riddler 45s for offroad/singletrack. Does club runs, day rides, bridleways and rougher stuff without issue. Prior to that, had various CX bikes as do-it-all hacks for years and been happy with all of them. Newer gravel/adventure designs definitely have the edge for versatility though, with better tyre clearance, rack and mudguard mounts, more bottle mounts and more forgiving geometry. Would like a dedicated road bike with 2x drivetrain for getting the miles in but space and budget don't permit so the Tripster is a happy compromise. So many good bikes to choose from in this very broad category but value for money wise I'd definitely suggest looking at Pinnacle's Arkose models.

 

[flatflr]

Have just finished building a Genesis Croix de Fer as a gravel/touring bike. Just change the tyres and it'll swap from one the other.