Anyone riding a (newish**) gravel bike.......is it drop or flat bar ?

[Dave7]

I took my mate to look at the Cube Attain yesterday. While there he explained to the 'guy' that he wanted both a road & off road and could only afford basic/medium price price models.
The 'guy' suggested that for the price of 2 basic bikes he could get one GOOD gravel bike.
He further explained that in recent years they have come long way with design **hence me saying (newish).
Anyway we had a good look at some and my mate was quite taken with the idea as we only do road & paths e.g. Trans-Penine Way.
As I understand it...........
CX bikes are very race oriented.
Gravel bikes are very relaxed but can take 32/40mm tyres & racks etc.
Some of the ones we looked at (and were impressed with) are
Ridley X Trail
Genesis Datum
Whyte Sussex
I have to say..........with my back problems and discomfort on my road bike it made me re-think of solutions for myself.

 

[mickle]

It's interesting to see manufacturers trying to invent new niches to fill. But isn't this niche already occupied by 'Cyclo Cross'? Or even 'Touring Bike'?

 

[Andrew_P]

I have a GT Grade that I bought to cycle and commute through the winter, it takes mudguards and 23-35mm tyres. A Good spec at 105 and Ultegra level and not to weighty I wouldn't say it replaces my other bike but I would prefer it over the sportive type bikes as it is more adaptable with full guards fatter tyres etc. I have 30mm Schwalbe S-Ones with a slight knobble on them, and still have mudguards and put reasonable times in to work.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GnASmbG64U

 

[Dave7]

It's interesting to see manufacturers trying to invent new niches to fill. But isn't this niche already occupied by 'Cyclo Cross'? Or even 'Touring Bike'?

As I say.............apparently cyclo cross is quite an aggressive/racing geometry. Re' touring I have no idea

 

[StuAff]

Litespeed T5 Gravel owner here. I have a (very nice) carbon sportive frame already, didn't want another bike of that ilk. What I wanted was a lighter/stiffer/faster version of my Trek Portland- discs, fatter tyres, mudguard capable, and (if I didn't go down the carbon route) rack capable. Got it. First century I did on it was the second-fastest I did last year. Did last week's FNRttC (London to Southend), and then the return, with a couple of panniers on (I was staying in the smoke the following night), handled the job impeccably. It'll be doing two European tours this year.

 

[Dave7]

Litespeed T5 Gravel owner here. I have a (very nice) carbon sportive frame already, didn't want another bike of that ilk. What I wanted was a lighter/stiffer/faster version of my Trek Portland- discs, fatter tyres, mudguard capable, and (if I didn't go down the carbon route) rack capable. Got it. First century I did on it was the second-fastest I did last year. Did last week's FNRttC (London to Southend), and then the return, with a couple of panniers on (I was staying in the smoke the following night), handled the job impeccably. It'll be doing two European tours this year.

How do you think the 'ride' compares to an all carbon frame ?

 

[StuAff]

How do you think the 'ride' compares to an all carbon frame ?

With the bikes I have, it's not really comparing apples to apples. The Viner is full carbon & running 23/25mm folding tyres front/back, the Litespeed is running 35mm wired tyres and with rack & guards over a kilo heavier. Comfort- nothing in it, though the Litespeed would probably be better if & when I fit more compliant tyres. As for speed, on a sunny day on good roads, there's not a lot in it but the Viner has the edge. Snappier to accelerate, just a bit more lively, but both are easy to ride long distance at sustained pace. The Litespeed could easily get down to much the same weight- lose the extra hardware, fit lighter tyres- but that would be missing the point for me. It's more of an all-rounder, which is exactly what I wanted it to be. For grotty roads & steep descents the fat tyres and discs are a big advantage.

 

[Kajjal]

I have a drop bar diverge comp and it works well on road and smoother off road trails like fire roads, tracks round reservoirs, canal towpaths, byways etc. On rough, rocky off road tracks it will beat you up like an early 1990's mountain bike. Also very tight, twisty, uneven single track are harder work but while the bike in general handles well off road it is not close to a proper mountain bike.

I found the bigger tyres make road riding smooth and the hydraulic disc brakes work very well allowing much faster speeds downhill. Just think about how often and where you want to ride. If it is road and smoother trails its a good option to consider. If mainly off road / rougher off road and really thowing the bike about then a mountain bike sounds a better bet.

 

[Julia9054]

I have a drop bar diverge comp and it works well on road and smoother off road trails like fire roads, tracks round reservoirs, canal towpaths, byways etc. On rough, rocky off road tracks it will beat you up like an early 1990's mountain bike. Also very tight, twisty, uneven single track are harder work but while the bike in general handles well off road it is not close to a proper mountain bike.

I found the bigger tyres make road riding smooth and the hydraulic disc brakes work very well allowing much faster speeds downhill. Just think about how often and where you want to ride. If it is road and smoother trails its a good option to consider. If mainly off road / rougher off road and really thowing the bike about then a mountain bike sounds a better bet.

I have a diverge as well. I put mudguards on it and a rack and use it as my commuter/all purpose bike. I have also stripped it down, changed the tyres and done cyclocross on it. I have tried rougher mountain bike trails on it and definitely found its limits. I am taking it to France this summer because it can handle towpaths etc as well as being fun to ride on the road.

 

[MichaelW2]

CX bike span a wide range from full-on race bikes to everyday commuter/doitall hacks.
Practical features include adequate tyre clearance, chainstay-mounted rear brake, mudguard eyelets f/r, rack eyelets rear, clean top-tube for shouldering (ie cable placement).
GT bike and many compact-style frames have the rear-rack seatstay eyelets placed very low, so you need a downward angled rack stay, disrupting the triangulation that gives strength and stiffness to your luggage setup.

 

[Andrew_P]

@StuAff has nailed it really I love my Supersix Evo road bike it is light, agile and picks up speed quickly and lovely to ride in Spring Summer. I can average a faster speed to work on it. The Grade is about 1-2mph slower, but that has been through the winter, so maybe with better weather etc it might not be slower

But during the wet windy cold winters I want proper mudguards, fatter grippier tyres at lower pressures and a bit more comfort. If I had to have just one bike (god forbid) it would be the GT Grade purely because it does most things well enough not to bother me riding it. All I would need to lighten it up would be carbon all the parts put some 23mm tubeless and take the guards off. The only downside for me is the riding position is a bit too upright for me, even with all the spacers gone. But no different to the Synapse\Roubaix type bikes. In fact it is a Sportive bike with full mudguards and fatter tyre clearances.

I had a CX for winter and used it one year and hated it for the most part just because it wasn't really designed to do what I was doing with it and it had a tall BB height and could never get it up too speed.

 

[Dave7]

I have a drop bar diverge comp and it works well on road and smoother off road trails like fire roads, tracks round reservoirs, canal towpaths, byways etc. On rough, rocky off road tracks it will beat you up like an early 1990's mountain bike. Also very tight, twisty, uneven single track are harder work but while the bike in general handles well off road it is not close to a proper mountain bike.

I found the bigger tyres make road riding smooth and the hydraulic disc brakes work very well allowing much faster speeds downhill. Just think about how often and where you want to ride. If it is road and smoother trails its a good option to consider. If mainly off road / rougher off road and really thowing the bike about then a mountain bike sounds a better bet.

Very interesting.
The diverge is a nice looking bike.
At my age I wont be "throwing any bike around"
I have a hard-tail which is good for e.g. Trans-Penine. Its my road bike I want more comfort from.
My mate, on the other hand, needs a bike to do both things.

 

[Kajjal]

I take it easier on the mountain bike now than a couple of decades ago

On road the diverge is very smooth and i find the short reach / drop bars mean I can ride in the drops comfortably. My weekend road ride is about 4 hours over hilly country lanes, some of which are a bit rough. Downhill it is much faster than my previous proper road bike, also faster on the flat and uphill it is a little slower but not much.

We have a reservoir nearby with a 9 mile track round of variable gravel track and a small road section. The diverge is much faster round it than my xc mountain bike as it accelerates faster to a higher speed. On the other reservoir nearby which winds through long tight twisty off camber wooded sections my xc mountain bike is faster due to the extra grip, not getting affected by the terrain and having much better handling.

 

[Kestevan]

I've got a GT Grade Carbon. Superb all-rounder.

It's normally fitted with 28mm Slicks and full mudguards for the commute, but took the guards off and fitted 35mm CX tyres a few weeks ago and went and scared the crap out of the MTB's riding the easier trails around Derwent

It's not been perfect, it's had extensive problems with the brakes; but looks like all the issues have been rectified following a RH shift lever replacement under warranty.

 

[vickster]

[QUOTE 4223516, member: 76"] What's not to like?

[/QUOTE]


It's black