Gravel Bikes...........anyone got a new(ish) one..........any thoughts ?

[Cycleops]

This is extremely pretty in the metal!! I just had a drool

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Rondo/Ruut-Steel-Gravel-Bike/H965

Now, that’s a proper bike! It’s got a very clever adjustment built into the fork that alters the geometry from aggressive to more relaxed, a true do it all:

https://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/rondo-ruut-cf1-review-51754/

 

[vickster]

The cf1 is £3300

Here’s the whole range. The green steel one is definitely my fave

https://www.sigmasports.com/brand/rondo

 

[jowwy]

Lovely looking bike!

Does, however, do that really annoying thing of claiming to be Rival (in this case), but then using an Apex crank and cheaper cassette.

It's sram s350 crankset not apex.........and as there's not many 11/42 cassettes around the sun race is a good option and isn't cheap at all

 

[ADarkDraconis]

Are there no flat bar equivilents?? (Not checked that option myself)

Not sure, I haven't looked. I just meant that I would enjoy that particular bike more if it had them It is a very nice bike, I just like riding mine better!

Many rigid hybrids would happily fall into the gravel bike genre surely

True. When I asked him what made his bike classified as such (because we both seemed to handle gravel roads well when we were out and they don't give me any bother) he explained that his type was made for gravel road racing and so it was sportier or quicker or something like that with its racing-ish features but ruggedness compared to my hybrid which is rugged but less sporty. Depending on the hybrid it could definitely fall into the gravel-type category! I have a 7100 Multitrack so more of a comfortable soccer-mom hybrid for one such as I

 

[maxap]

My gravel bike came with full Sram 1x11 rival, which means a 10-42 cassette, not 11-42

 

[Deleted member 1258]

This is extremely pretty in the metal!! I just had a drool

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Rondo/Ruut-Steel-Gravel-Bike/H965

I like that, not sure about the bent drive side chainstay though, it looks strange.

 

[StuAff]

I like that, not sure about the bent drive side chainstay though, it looks strange.

An increasingly common design feature on gravel bikes- the Open U.P. was first- allows clearance for fat tyres without longer chainstays (420mm on the U.P.). Does mean smaller than 30t chainrings aren't an option.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

An increasingly common design feature on gravel bikes- the Open U.P. was first- allows clearance for fat tyres without longer chainstays (420mm on the U.P.). Does mean smaller than 30t chainrings aren't an option.

I wonder how much room there is for bigger chainrings with that arrangement? I notice it comes with a 40 tooth which may make it a little under geared.

 

[I like Skol]

It's all tosh!

A well fitting, comfortable bike is always going to be a well fitting, comfortable bike. I have a hardtail MTB that has done commuting duties when shod with fat slick tyres and a couple of century rides that were immensely enjoyable and certainly didn't leave me thinking I don't ever want to ride an MTB that far again. I also use it for pretty hardcore MTB stuff that a lot of riders won't even attempt.

My rigid hybrid now does nearly all the commuting but is usually called into service for longer road rides if the weather looks at all iffy so has done many 100+ mile rides. It is comfortable, capable and fast. At the other end of the spectrum, it is a great exploring bike as it can carry all and any kit that might be wanted for a days trip into the unknown and can handle almost anything I would ride on the MTB.

My old Ali frame roadbike was/is a great bike. Fast, comfortable and surprisingly robust. Obviously good at the normal road riding stuff but also perfectly capable of hitting the rough with the only limiting factor being the tyre profile limit of 23/25mm. I would often go hooligan on it and bunny hop up and down kerbs or ride down flights of steps etc. I just had to be more careful not to prang the rims due to the thinner tyres. Perfectly at home off the well trodden track as long as due consideration was given to the tyre size.

Now I have a Gravel bike, the GT Grade, I can honestly say that despite it being a great bike it doesn't really do anything that the other 3 bikes can do equally as well. If I was brutally honest I would say the hybrid is the closest match and is more useful due to panniers and mudguards. The Gravel bike is really just a marketing term......

 

[Arjimlad]

I have had a Giant Revolt 3 for rough work, winter or wet commuting, trails and family rides etc. for a couple of years now.

For £550 (last year's model at the time) it isn't at all bad but next time I would try for something a bit lighter.

It rolls very well on 700x35 Smart Sams & has tackled a MTB trail around the Forest of Dean. No issues with Claris gearing.

I find it more versatile than a hybrid or MTB.

 

[Pedropete]

On my fourth CX/gravel bike, a 2016 Boardman CX Team. On the 'Gravel' theme, the term is really only relevant to the US where they actually have gravel roads of significant length. For UK riders, 'pothole resistant and road-river capable' is more accurate. In my cycling past I've raced XC, ridden for fun, commuting and general fitness and the CX bikes have been the most versatile and fun I've ever had.

Where I live in Sussex there's not much off road that warrants anything beyond a hardtail XC/trail bike (I raced in the days of fully rigid MTBs), but there are miles of country lanes (more like bridleways with local spending cuts), real bridleways and tracks/trails. So, with limited space and budget and with wheels being cheaper than bikes, a well designed drop bar, relaxed geometry frame with decent tyre clearance and rack & guard mounts is near perfect - along with 2-3 wheel sets for road/mixed/offroad duties - covering 90-95% of what I'm likely to ride, or want to ride.

The 2016 CX Team was exceptional value on offer (and decent value at full price), with the only downsides being PF30 BB, slightly weighty (but bomb proof) non-tubeless wheelset and perhaps a bit less tyre clearance than I'd have liked. And the exposed cable run on the down-tube was just lazy speccing. However, having paid less than £700 after discounts and haggling, some of that saving went on a Wheels Mfg PF30 BB converter (solving the PF30 creak), a pair of 43mm Gravel King SKs (which mounted tubeless without too much grief and with 5mm clearance each side ), and a run of Fibrax sealed cable to the rear mech making a huge difference to shifting speed and accuracy.

So, for less than £800 all in (Halfords have since reimbursed me for the BB converter), I got a Rival 1x HRD ride that does everything I need. I've just put a pair of Hunt 4Seasons Gravel wheels on it for £299, taking the cost to £1099 before whatever I can get back for the stock Mavic 319s.

Doesn't mean I'm not eying up a Tripster AT or Mason Bokeh when funds allow though...

 

[wheresthetorch]

Yummy!

 

[jowwy]

Flat bar in gravel mode

 

[I like Skol]

View attachment 395717 Flat bar in gravel mode

Them invisible rotors are cool, where do you get them from?

 

[jowwy]

Them invisible rotors are cool, where do you get them from?

Didn't have anymore 160 rotors left....so waiting for them to arrive. But you missed the invisible cassette too lol