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Aluminum or Steel Framesets Under $800

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Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational) This has to be the most physically intense sport ever invented. It's high speed bicycle racing on a short off road course or riding the off pavement rides on gravel like : "Unbound Gravel". We also have a dedicated Racing forum for the Cyclocross Hard Core Racers.

Aluminum or Steel Framesets Under $800

Old 06-27-19, 11:02 AM
  #1  
loheiman
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Aluminum or Steel Framesets Under $800

I'm interested in building up a gravel bike and am looking for a reasonably priced framesets. I'm based in the US. What I'm looking for
Aluminum or Steel Frame (will mount a child seat to it soon!)
Carbon fork
Through Axles
Flat mount disc brake mounts
Clearance for 700c x 45mm / 650b x 50mm tires
Bottle mounts, rack mounts, fender mounts
Available in XL / 60+cm
Looks good (i know it's subjective)
Not crazy heavy
Under $800, the closer to $500 the better.


Framesets I'm aware of:
Kinesis Tripster AT
Sonder Camino (not through axle)
Fairdale Rockitship
Jamis Renegade Escapade
Kona Rove ST (no carbon fork)

What else is out there? Thanks!

Last edited by loheiman; 07-01-19 at 03:37 PM.
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Old 06-27-19, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by loheiman
I'm interested in building up a gravel bike and am looking for a reasonably priced framesets. What I'm looking for
Aluminum or Steel Frame (will mount a child seat to it soon!)
Carbon fork
Through Axles
Flat mount disc brake mounts
Clearance for 700c x 45mm / 650b x 50mm tires
Bottle mounts, rack mounts, fender mounts
Available in XL / 60+cm
Looks good (i know it's subjective)
Not crazy heavy
Under $800, the closer to $500 the better.


Framesets I'm aware of:
Kinesis Tripster AT
Sonder Camino (not through axle)
Fairdale Rockitship
Jamis Renegade Escapade
Kona Rove ST (no carbon fork)

What else is out there? Thanks!
Man you can find whole bikes that fit that description for $800, or just slightly more. The lower end Jamis Renegades come to mind.
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Old 06-27-19, 12:46 PM
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The Kona Sutra LTD frame fits all that except the carbon fork. It also has one sick paint job. $599. Carbon fork is overrated imo when you're running super plush tires.
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Old 06-27-19, 01:45 PM
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https://blackmtncycles.com/frames/mcd-frames/ $700

8/5/8 butted heat treated tubing
thru axle
clearance for even larger than 45mm tires
mounts for front and rear rack, plus fenders, plus 3 bottle mounts

It doesnt have flatmount brakes and is a steel fork.

I am guessing you are across the pond, based on considering Kinesis and the Sonder?
The Jamis frameset for $850 would be tough to beat if the largest size fits you as it has everything you want...except the price.
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Old 06-27-19, 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
https://blackmtncycles.com/frames/mcd-frames/ $700

8/5/8 butted heat treated tubing
thru axle
clearance for even larger than 45mm tires
mounts for front and rear rack, plus fenders, plus 3 bottle mounts

It doesnt have flatmount brakes and is a steel fork.

I am guessing you are across the pond, based on considering Kinesis and the Sonder?
The Jamis frameset for $850 would be tough to beat if the largest size fits you as it has everything you want...except the price.
Does Jamis actually sell their bikes? That Renegade frameset looks to be absolutely impossible to get.
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Old 06-27-19, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by gus6464
Does Jamis actually sell their bikes? That Renegade frameset looks to be absolutely impossible to get.
Ha, I see them around me from time to time...admittedly I usually ride gravel alone, so anyone I see just happens to be out in the sticks at the same time. I definitely dont see a lot of Renegade bikes, but i dont see a lot of anything.
So you have asked around and dealers cant get them or what?
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Old 06-27-19, 04:13 PM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Ha, I see them around me from time to time...admittedly I usually ride gravel alone, so anyone I see just happens to be out in the sticks at the same time. I definitely dont see a lot of Renegade bikes, but i dont see a lot of anything.
So you have asked around and dealers cant get them or what?
Only 1 Jamis dealer in my city and they don't have the bike in the showroom.
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Old 06-27-19, 06:32 PM
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We have a couple Jamis dealers that have plenty of their bikes for sale.
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Old 06-27-19, 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted by gus6464
Only 1 Jamis dealer in my city and they don't have the bike in the showroom.
The closest Jamis dealer is 30mi from me. Makes sense why I don't see a bunch of them.
There are 3 steel 631 renegade frameset in size 61 available in North America. Fun fact.
That's insanely limited.
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Old 06-27-19, 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by loheiman
I'm interested in building up a gravel bike and am looking for a reasonably priced framesets. What I'm looking for
Aluminum or Steel Frame (will mount a child seat to it soon!)
Carbon fork
Through Axles
Flat mount disc brake mounts
Clearance for 700c x 45mm / 650b x 50mm tires
Bottle mounts, rack mounts, fender mounts
Available in XL / 60+cm
Looks good (i know it's subjective)
Not crazy heavy
Under $800, the closer to $500 the better.


Framesets I'm aware of:
Kinesis Tripster AT
Sonder Camino (not through axle)
Fairdale Rockitship
Jamis Renegade Escapade
Kona Rove ST (no carbon fork)

What else is out there? Thanks!
The Soma Double Cross Disc does all that besides having a thru axle. around $640 with a fork.
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Old 06-27-19, 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
The closest Jamis dealer is 30mi from me. Makes sense why I don't see a bunch of them.
There are 3 steel 631 renegade frameset in size 61 available in North America. Fun fact.
That's insanely limited.
Isn't Jamis a US company? Guess they don't like to sell bikes.
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Old 06-28-19, 09:24 AM
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Originally Posted by idiotekniQues
The Soma Double Cross Disc does all that besides having a thru axle. around $640 with a fork.
$640 would be a pretty good deal if that includes the Soma carbon gravel fork. MSRP for that combo I think is closer to $800. That's still within the OP's price range, but unfortunately, in addition to lacking thru axles, it also lacks flat mounts, and tire clearance on the 650B side is just a tad small (47mm max).



By the way, that Fairdale Rockitship looks like an outrageously good deal for $799 if it truly includes the same ENVE CX fork that is like $550 on its own. The sizes top out at 58cm though, and looking at the geometry chart, I don't think I'd qualify that as an XL frame.
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Old 06-28-19, 10:25 AM
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Yeah Jamis doesn't deal in high volume. We had to order my wife's and wait for it. It's amazing they aren't more expensive really.
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Old 07-01-19, 03:39 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions so far. I am in the US and the Jamis does seem like a good path but I'm not sure if I really want go with steel. Will be test riding a built up one soon (unfortunately it's built with Force which is out of my budget so it'll spoil me!)
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Old 07-03-19, 09:16 PM
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I test rode the Escapade (which was fitted with Force 1) and I really enjoyed it. Was able to order a frameset for $850 and should get it in about a week!
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