Originally Posted by
Jono_sk
Looking to get into gravel racing and riding. And maybe the ultimate one bike to rule them all. I come from a road and cyclocross background. Never been on a mountain bike. Hoping to use this bike for a even mix of road and gravel and maybe even a few cross races. I know I'll be sacrificing some handling, but the cross is more for fun, even if I am competitive and want to push hard and try to podium.
Did a gravel race on a cross bike and enjoyed the experience. But I want to upgrade from mechanical disc brakes to hydraulic and also to thru-axles.
Looking at the Haanjo 7c with ultegra and the Norco Search ultegra or Norco Search XR ultegra. The Haajo seems way cheaper and value for the money. A little lower components outside of the groupset, which is the main think. But I don't know the quality of the carbon. Anyone ridden one? Flex or weakness in the frame? Also the standover height seems outrageously tall. Is it right or incorrect? And the reach is short.
The Search seems great minus clearance for 35mm tires.
Search XR has that with the room for 700x45mm. Plus a bunch of mouns and stuff that I probably don't plan to fully utilize. Not thinking of getting into bikepacking
So, what size tires do most recommend for gravel riding and racing? Will I feel limited by the Search's 35mm max?
Should I go with the Search XR or the Haanjo 7c?
Ill stick to the 3 bold underlined parts of your post
- I wouldnt say the Haanjo has lower components outside of the groupset. Outside of the groupset, it has a full carbon frame and fork, thru axles front and rear, Shimano R8070 flatmounts, Praxis Alba/Zayante crank(website is wrong), butted spokes, the rims are an OEM version of HED Ardennes, and the cockpit uses HED brand components.
That is a ton better than most bikes that cost hundreds more than the Haanjo at $2160.
The Praxis crank is really good quality and has a better gear range than the typical compact road crank gearing slapped on gravel bikes. If you dont like any of the other stuff, its probably due to preference vs lack of quality.
- The standover height on the largest size is pretty in line with what I would figure, using their sizing guide. It isnt a heavily sloping top tube, so the standover isnt as generous as many current adventure bikes. With that said, I certainly am not mounting and dismounting a ton on my gravel rides. And though i only do a couple races each year, I definitely am not hopping on and off the bike a ton during those. Standover height really only matters for a few seconds a few times a ride. Not something I care too much about.
The reach is short, at least in size XL, yes. Its a more relaxed and upright geometry for sure.
- Tire size depends entirely on rider comfort, confidence, and course location. What works for someone on socal hardpack dirt may not work well for someone on Iowa gravel, which may not work well for someone on that Kansas flint gravel.
I use 40mm tires and thats a pretty common middle ground. I see 38-43mm sizes all the time.
The Search XR Carbon Ultegra is $3800 and comes in an extremely unappealing cream and tan theme.
https://www.norco.com/bikes/dirt-dro...arbon-ultegra/
Thats $1700 more than the Haanjo 7. For that price, even if you didnt like the wheelset or whatever else on the Haanjo, you could sell off the parts and buy a bunch of other things and still come in less than the Search XR Carbon. Speaking of components- the Search XR Carbon uses many of the same components as the Haanjo 7- the drivetrain is the same, brakes are the same, and same crank. Then there are some generic house branded cockpit components on the Search XR. Doesnt really seem inherently better than the Hannjo.
The Search XR Carbon does have Easton branded hubs and rims vs the generic hubs of the Dback. Is one better than the other?...i have no idea. Generic hubs can be fantastic and branded hubs can be less than impressive. The Dback uses traditional jbend butted spokes and the Search XR uses straight pull spokes. I prefer jbend simply because thats what I have always used and I know they are readily available and easily replaceable(though rarely needed). Not sure if that difference matters to you.
The Search XR is incrementally longer in reach and has a slightly lower standover in the largest frame size.
A lot is similar between the two and there are also couple of significant differences.