Originally Posted by chas58

Hmm. You mention things like the Domain, 3T, and the Foil, then say a cyclocross bike is too twitchy. I find a cyclocross bike is less agile than a road bike, but more agile than an endurance gravel bike. It’s a big continuum. The 3T or the Domain are going to be “twitchy” compared to a pure gravel bike.

A cyclocross bike may fit your needs if you want it to feel more like a road bike. Most of the modern designs have a lot of gravel features (compliant frame, wider tires). For that matter, putting 40mm tires on a cyclocross bike is going to significantly increase the trail making it more stable. But of course, a CX bike is a race machine, where a traditional gravel bike is an endurance machine.



As far as geometry, I wouldn’t worry too much about the seat angle. Head tube angle is what counts most. Actually, Trail (which is based off of head tube angle) and wheelbase make a bike agile vs very stable. Look at head tube angle (or trail if you can) stack reach (for your comfort), wheelbase to get a good feel for what the design is trying to do. I’m rather intrigued by the Checkpoint, as it has a fairly low trail and long wheelbase, giving it good turn in and stability.

Yes, Sending back a Canyon is a significant Hassle.

My LBS will let me ride a couple of miles to test out a bike if I ask, and often will “rent” me a bike for a day. I agree – its hard to tell from a parking lot.