Gravel Bike suitable for touring.

[Spiderweb]

Any recommendations please.

My friends daughter and her boyfriend are looking for drop bar gravel bikes which can also be used for touring. She has test ridden the Sonder Camino, liked the bike but not too keen on the flared drops (I’m sure Alpkit would swap these).

She has also seen the Kona Libre 2023 which she likes the look of but can’t test ride.

They live in Sheffield so will regularly ride The Peaks but also want bikes for 2 weeks road touring abroad, they are both competent cyclists.

They will need a large & extra large frames, as they are, I think, 6ft & 6ft 5”.

I think their budget will be around £1750 max.

My concern is the gearing on gravel bikes when fully loaded in tour mode.
I quite like the look of the Specialized Diverge E5 Elite which has 2x gearing 46/30t front & 11-36t cassette rather than the usual gravel gearing of 40t front & 11-42t cassette but is the gearing low enough?

All advise will be passed on and is much appreciated, thank you in advance.

 

[chriswoody]

I have a Kona Sutra LTD which is a steel framed bike based on the Kona Sutra touring bike, but with wider tires, 1x groupset and hydraulic discs. I have toured well over a thousand kilometres off-road on it with no bothers at all I love it.

Couple of thoughts though. Firstly, I find wide flared drops brilliant for touring, in fact I swapped the standard 460mm wide bars with 12.5 degrees of flare, for 500mm wide bars with 24 degrees of flare, I find these much comfier for long tours and they also improve the low speed off-road handling of the bike no end. This is purely personal preference though and if the Sonder Camino was a good bike apart from that, then I'm sure Sonder would be happy to stick un-flared bars on the bike. They are a great company to deal with and accommodating in how you want your bike to be built.

Second thought to do with gearing. 1x systems are very popular on gravel bikes and personally I love them, they allow me to fit wider tires on my bike for a start, secondly the gear range suits me much more for the type of riding I do. There is one massive caveat with that though, the 11 speed set up my Kona came with is not suitable out of the box for touring. The 10 - 42 cassette is fine, it's the fact Kona spec it with a 36 tooth chainring, far too big for my legs. Instead I run a 34 tooth chainring for most riding, then before I go on tour I swap it out for a 28 tooth chainring, which gives me a 18 inch climbing gear. Chainrings are cheap enough for my Race Face crankset and a 10 minute job to swap over, so no real hassle at all. I've found this to be the ideal touring solution and have completed some incredibly hilly rides loaded up with no bother at all.

 

[vickster]

Not sure what really makes a gravel bike a gravel bike, but how about a Spa Elan? Can customise as needed

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s223p5095/SPA-CYCLES-Elan-725-Mk2-105-R7000-11spd-Double-(Hydraulic)

The purple and copper colours are super funky!! Think they're only the old style frameset though

Support a smaller company

 

[Ajax Bay]

1x systems are very popular on gravel bikes and personally I love them, they allow me to fit wider tires on my bike

May I enquire why a 1x as opposed to two chainrings allows wider tyres to be fitted? Is this a chainline on the inner ring issue - maybe 3mm difference at the tyre. Isn't tyre width limited by the width at the chainstays?

 

[T4tomo]

Dolan GXA ? You can spec the GRX 600 groupset in 1x or 2x with whatever cassette you desire. Its is bit battleship grey is the only potential downside - has stacks of mounting points for everything.

​

 

[matticus]

May I enquire why a 1x as opposed to two chainrings allows wider tyres to be fitted? Is this a chainline on the inner ring issue - maybe 3mm difference at the tyre. Isn't tyre width limited by the width at the chainstays?

I *THINK* it's because the tail of front derailleurs fouls VERY wide tyres*. I'm not a fat tyre user so it hasn't been a problem for me ...

Perhaps long chain-stays also solve the problem? I don't remember it BITD of early MTBs - which all had triples <\sweeping statement> .

*personally I wouldn't choose such BIG tyres on a "touring" bike (and it's not an issue in CX racing), but that's getting into a whooooooooooooooole can of worms ... :P

 

[Spiderweb]

Dolan GXA ? You can spec the GRX 600 groupset in 1x or 2x with whatever cassette you desire. Its is bit battleship grey is the only potential downside - has stacks of mounting points for everything.

​

I like the Dolan (I have a Preffisio) but is 46/30t chainrings and 11-36t Cassette a low enough gear for loaded touring?
Also doesn’t look to have mounting points on the fork for front panniers.

 

[chriswoody]

May I enquire why a 1x as opposed to two chainrings allows wider tyres to be fitted? Is this a chainline on the inner ring issue - maybe 3mm difference at the tyre. Isn't tyre width limited by the width at the chainstays?

As matticus mentions:

I *THINK* it's because the tail of front derailleurs fouls VERY wide tyres*. I'm not a fat tyre user so it hasn't been a problem for me ...

With the width of the chainstays on my bike I can go to a maximum of 50mm tire width, however, having tried a front changer out of curiosity, the end of the cage fouled my 47mm tires that I currently have fitted.

I admit this may be very bike specific and bikes with longer chainstays may not have this issue. It also comes down to tire width preferences, again 47mm is wider than most folks may need or use. I've settled on 47mm as an ideal width for me given the type of terrain that I commonly ride and really wouldn't want to go any narrower, even touring, I've found 47mm to be ideal and not at all a problem.

It's one of those issues though that whilst it may not affect everyone, I thought is worth mentioning as a consideration that may not be immediately obvious.

I like that but is 46/30t chainrings and 11-36t Cassette a low enough gear for loaded touring?

It really depends on the type of touring. In my experience, off-road touring requires even lower gearing than I would consider on-road due to the rough nature of the surfaces being traversed.

All of the above is subjective of course and just my thoughts based on a lot of experience off-road/gravel touring as well as leisure riding.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

My approach is probably very dull and boring and I'd do most of the work before getting on a bike.

I'd make a list of what I needed on the bike. There's all different kinds of touring and bike riding. Common issues we see are where the parts of a bike don't adapt to the (changing) needs of the rider. Forks are a common one and sometimes gearing is easy to swap out and sometimes not. Longer chainstays are often overlooked leading to issues (especially for folks of 6ft) with heel strike.
Mounts for racks, for bottles or more Bikepacking type equipment. That kind of thing.
If Bikepacking is an option, frame design can be critical. With tall people they already have an advantage, it would be a shame to lose it with a quirky frame design.
The ability to swap tyre widths is a good one to have.

Going abroad? By plane? I'd definitely consider S&S coupling.

For me a dynohub was a necessity.

I always suggest to consider the cost of consumables in any calculation.

Customer service is a factor in my decisions too.

When considering a bike I'd consider the specs and try to understand what I am sacrificing as much as what I am getting.

Also, a pair of bikes suggests advantages when carrying spares or even familiarity for repairs and servicing if they are similar models. Not to mention a bit of power in any negotiations.

I'd take the view that a bike is for life and spending that kind of money I'd expect that. So I'd be boring and think long term.


You've given us no information on the experience of the couple in question.
If complete newbies it's probably worth pointing out that the cost of the bike is only a part of the spend required. It may be beneficial to start off slowly on used bikes and build up their own experience and knowledge.


You could always encourage them to sign up here themselves

 

[tom73]

Just ask Alpkit to change the bars and explain what sort of set up they are looking for. They will know what set up is best or what model of bike is better suited. They know the market, what works and know the local area well.

 

[T4tomo]

I like the Dolan (I have a Preffisio) but is 46/30t chainrings and 11-36t Cassette a low enough gear for loaded touring?

only they can answer that question. also remember its shimano so you get some wiggle room. if you google a bit you can see people have managed to run 46/30 and 11-40 either by just using the standard 2x RD810 or switching to the 1x RD812 rear mech with just a bit of B screw adjustment, i.e no need to resort to a wolf tooth. Also Shimano compatible 11-38 11 speeds are available.

 

[rivers]

Orro Terra C GRX600 currently on sale at merlin. https://www.merlincycles.com/orro-t..._medium=Affiliates&utm_campaign=genieshopping

I have the Terra C (what was originally full 105, but I've made a few changes). Absolutely cracking bike.
There's also the Terra X which is aluminium and within budget, and Terra S, which is steel. All on merlin, plus several others at a discount

 

[tom73]

Planet x, on-one Rujo maybe worth a look.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/gravel-adventure-bikes/on-one-rujo​

Or a London road. I've one and it's a great around bike.

 

[chris667]

I am not sure if this is helpful, but I'm with @vickster - I think your friend's daughter and boyfriend are describing touring bikes. Spa and Thorn plus any number of smaller builders could make something perfect. Vernon Barker if they want to be really local!

Put it this way. How does having a single ring and no mudguards make the bike better for any of the tasks they describe? I wouldn't want one of those massive long cage mechs on a touring bike. Modern bikes feel like sealed units, and that's a shame.

 

[Spiderweb]

Planet x, on-one Rujo maybe worth a look.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/gravel-adventure-bikes/on-one-rujo​

Or a London road. I've one and it's a great around bike.

Nice but no mounting points on the front fork and the gearing is not low enough.